The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2019 - Issue 62 | Page 59

WASS GRANGE FARM 59
• APR/MAY 2019
The shoot is Nick’s enterprise. He
changed it from purely a private shoot
to including letting days after corn he
was feeding his pheasants rose to £200
per tonne and one year alone he used
26 tonnes to feed them. He was going to
hatch his own birds last year, as he also
operates a successful hatchery business
but just before the laying season the fox
ravaged his pens.
Pheasant and some partridge make
up the shoot birds and it was having the
game that brought about the farm shop.
Annabelle and Nick were already selling
to the local pubs in Wass and Coxwold,
now they’re selling to the public too.
Rare breed Hampshire and Kune Kune
pigs have recently been added to the
farm mix. The Kune Kune pigs because
they were cheap and have made great
sausages. They currently have two plus
three little ones and five Hampshires.
There are also 9 Boer goats, with hens,
ducks, quail and geese making up the rest
of their livestock.
Nick’s many strands of farming life also
include being a licensed huntsman of
wild deer, venison sausages are already
a Wass Farm Shop speciality, and quite
a production line of egg hatchery using
incubators. He’s presently working with
Paul Tallin of Loose Birds in Harome on
producing heritage breed ducks and
hatches thousands of eggs for customers
wanting hens and bantams from as far
afield as Bishop Auckand to Selby.
Annabelle and Nick have been together
just over two years and both already had
five children between them from past
marriages, all girls, before their first son
Ralph was born last year. Charlotte is a
farmer’s daughter from between Masham
and West Tanfield. Her mum started the
successful Just Puds business and Anna-
belle worked with her for many years.
‘Food is my thing. I’ve also started a
company called Just Bake Happy pro-
viding ingredients for children to bake.
I now run children’s parties and bakery
workshops at Helmsley Walled Gardens
and will start hosting them at the farm in
the future. It’s a great way of educating
children about food and where it comes
from and bringing them here means we
can show them the animals and collect
things from what will be our herb gar-
den.’
‘The farm also has a walk that brings
around 50 walkers per day past the
farm, so we’re going to start serving teas,
coffees and cakes – and at the same time
people can take a look at our little farm
shop and find out more about our educa-
tional baking days.’