The Farmers Mart Oct-Nov 2018 - Issue 59 | Page 24

24 SOWERBY PARKS FARM OCT/NOV 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk FULFILLING AMBITIONS WITH BEEF SHORTHORNS Chris Berry talks with Graham Hunt at Sowerby Parks Farm PROVING yourself once with a breed is one thing, but switching to another breed, starting all over again and achieving success in a bigger arena well that is surely the mark of someone who knows what they are about. Such is the case with Graham Hunt of Sowerby Parks Farm between Dalton and Sowerby near Thirsk. Three years ago, he switched to Beef Shorthorns fulfilling a lifelong ambition having grown up with them in both the breed’s and Graham’s own homeland in County Durham where his father worked as cowman for the Harrisons of Gainford Hall, one of the most famous Shorthorn breed- ers of the time. Graham’s first three years with the breed have been nothing short of sensational and he and son Sam are determined to contin- ue building on their already healthy repu- tation. Graham’s not without humility over how success has come so quickly either. ‘We’ve been lucky. After selling our Dexter herd earlier in 2015 Sam and I headed north to the society sale at Stirling in November where we bought our first four Shorthorns spending £5500, but it was when we came out from paying and de- cided to have a cup of tea and a sandwich before heading back home that really set us on our way.’ ‘We were talking about our plans with Jack Ramsay from Ayrshire and Martin Moore from Worcester telling them we 76152 - RobinJessopLtd - 8TH.pdf 1 10/10/2018 12:04:07 were starting a herd from scratch. Martin told us we really needed a few old cows as well as young stock and invited me down to pick a few out of his herd. A month or so later I did just that, picked out three and drove down again the following Saturday with my trailer as Martin was away the previous week.’ Even at this stage the luck Graham talks about hadn’t yet fully materialised, but it was a week later that led to the moment that kick started his and Sam’s Shorthorn prowess. ‘I could only get two of the three I had selected into the trailer and I wasn’t going to come back the next week just for one so Martin let me select another. It was that last one that has made all the difference in our first three years. She had a bull calf Sowerby Parks Kincade that we took to 14 shows and he won at all of them apart from one last year. At the Royal Welsh he was male champion, junior champion and reserve breed champion overall. I never thought I’d have a bull good enough to go to Stirling yet he also won his class there and sold to one of the top herds for 8000 guineas. It was luck getting him but you’ve still to rear and show stock for it to win.’ This year Graham has continued being successful in the show rings with another bull Sowerby Parks Gypsy Leader out of the same mother Wenmar Gypsy that bred Kincade and a heifer Wenmar Tessa. ‘We had a right good Great Yorkshire Show as Leader got junior champion and C C M M Y Y CM MY CY Chartered Surveyors, Auctioneers, Land & Estate Agents Specialists in the sale of farms, Land & Smallholdings Proudly supporting Graham Hunt & family of Sowerby Parks Farm CMY reserve male champion and we had re- serve overall champion with Tessa. We also had a second place at the Royal Highland Show and reserve champion at the Three Counties and Royal Norfolk. I like the three and four day shows as you can get there the day before, wash them, show and relax, you’re not jumping in and out all the time.’ ‘Our season starts with Devon County in May then it is Bath & West, Three Counties, Royal Highland, Royal Norfolk, Great York- shire, Royal Welsh and calf shows at Thirsk and Agri Expo at Carlisle in November and Peterborough Smithfield in December. We’ll take Leader to Stirling.’ ‘I liked showing the Dexters and the beef went well, 76121 Dexter beef is very good and - Brockhills Of Yorkshire - 16TH.pdf 1 10/10/2018 CM MY CY CMY Brockhills of Yorkshire Ltd, Dalton Lane, Dalton, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 3HR. Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [email protected] Web: www.brockhills.co.uk K K 01677 425950 robinjessop.co.uk Proud suppliers to Graham Hunt of Sowerby Parks Farm I was showing a 25-35 shows every year. We had 100 cows at one time and a nice arrangement with the Gaunts at Wetherby and supplying Wood Hall nearby but com- ing into Beef Shorthorns was a completely new experience despite having been around them as a little lad with my dad.’ ‘The first show with the Shorthorns was two years ago. I took five to Newbury on my own and a lady on the Shorthorn com- mittee came to introduce herself and asked how I was going to show all five on my own. She offered to clip them for me, which she did, and got a man to help me Bob Istead who has continued to help me since. I got champion with a cow and reserve with one of the heifers. It showed me how much Beef 12:22:23 Shorthorn people help each other.’ Graham bought his 30-acre Sowerby Parks Farm in 2000. He’d been working towards buying a farm since leaving school having soon realised that purely working for other farms he would be unlikely to own one. He has worked for the water authority, for a couple of feed companies and for a fencing contractor in order to make ends meet over the years. He has kind words for the farmer he worked with as a young man. ‘John Hodgson of Gainford where I grew up taught me everything I know about stock and if I had my life over and go and work with him again.’ The farm the way it is today has been shaped by events.