The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2019 - Issue 60 | Page 44

44 AIREDALE HOUSE
DEC/JAN 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk
THE BUTCHER WHO FOUND
HIS WAY BACK TO THE FARM
Chris Berry talks with David Isherwood of Silsden.
THERE was no prospect of a farming life
for David Isherwood being one of seven
children even though his father and grand-
father had both farmed, but it remained an
ambition for the young man who became a
butcher.
David’s first step back towards farming
was when he and his wife Judith bought
an existing butcher’s shop in Silsden that is
now run by their son Josh, but ably assist-
ed by David and Judith who have farmed
nearby at Airedale House just out of Silsden
for over 20 years.
‘I went into butchery straight from school
with West Yorkshire Co-op when I was 16
because it was a related trade to farming,’
says David. ‘We only had a small family
farm like most around here when I was
young, which wouldn’t have kept any of
us employed. I’d worked for a local dairy
farmer Maurice Jackson in my teens and
went on to court and marry his daughter so
my father-in-law to be was effectively pay-
ing me a pound an hour to kiss his daugh-
ter! I’ve never been so well off since!’
‘Once I’d started my apprenticeship I
wanted to have my own butcher’s shop
and after working in Silsden and Keighley
I became a relief man and worked in most
of the 70 Coop stores in West Yorkshire as
well as a year in Keighley Abattoir. After
managing the Coop stall in Keighley Market
for two years Judith and I bought what had
been Barker’s Butchers in Silsden in 1987
for the princely sum of £25K of which we
borrowed £24K. I was 23 at the time.’
‘When we started there were several mills
in Silsden and a lot of people walked passed
our shop on their way to and from work. Our
busiest times were lunchtime and teatime.
That’s all changed now as buying habits and
employment has moved on.’
‘We bought land just one mile out of
Silsden in 1991 and received planning
permission to build our house here in 1993.
We started building up a farming enterprise
to run alongside and supply the shop with
beef.’
Having initially bought 42 acres they in-
creased their acreage in 2001 when Judith’s
father finished farming and in the few years
before he passed away two years ago last
November he left 50 acres to Judith. The
couple now farm 117 acres with other land
acquired along the way, which is all grass-
land and home to a pedigree Aberdeen
Angus herd of around 160 and a flock of 120-
150 Texel X Mule ewes put predominantly to
a Suffolk tup.
‘We went for pedigree Aberdeen An-
gus after having started with crossbreds
because purely from a commercial aspect
it has the best brand name. If you ask
somebody what steak they want nine times
out of ten they will say Angus. I still had res-
ervations though as I’d seen the breed had
become stocky and short with not enough
meat on the carcase and even though it ate
lovely we needed each beast to be bigger
to make it worthwhile.’
‘Originally I was thinking about using a
Black Limousin bull to put the shape and
conformation back but when I took a
closer look I could see how the bred was
coming back into really great quality. It had
improved no end. It was just what we need-
ed to have something the supermarkets
couldn’t deliver – our own beef with every
bit of traceability and maintaining consist-
ency, quality and the required quantity to
match demand.’
‘Being a little bit of a control freak I
wanted to see and understand every part
of the process from breeding to feeding,
rearing and producing what we needed.
I have complete control as I know what
they are fed affects how the meat finishes
up. Combining that with hanging times and
butchering skills I had the right mix.’
David is extremely enthusiastic about Ab-
erdeen Angus breeding and is continually
moving his herd forward through better ge-
netics, bloodlines, AI and embryo transfer.
David is a lifetime member of the Aberdeen
Angus Cattle Society.
David recently sold some foundation
stock but had enough good quality young
heifers to replace them. He currently has 70
breeding cows and heifers and supplies 50
beasts to the shop each year.
‘We take them to 18-24 months having
grazed them to get the flavour into the
meat. We give them some barley and sugar
beet for the last 12 weeks if needed to put a
finish on. The young stock gets a mixed calf
ration to get them going. Calving is in spring
and autumn.’
‘We try to keep them out until Christmas
if we can. It’s ground issues that are the
concern because everyone knows their
hardiness, but they can trash the land if the
weather is not good.’