The Farmers Mart Oct-Nov 2018 - Issue 59 | Page 30

30 STOTT HALL FARM OCT/NOV 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk Great year for White-faced Woodland showman CHRIS Berry talks with Paul Thorp of Stott NFU MUTUAL IN HONLEY ARE PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH PAUL AND HIS FAMILY We offer you an attentive personal, local service for your insurance, pensions and investments. For a real conversation with real people call 01484 664119 or pop in NFU Mutual, Cowley House, Queens Square Business Park, Honley, Holmfirth HD9 6QZ Hall Farm, Rishworth Keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground rather than having your head in the clouds is a typically Yorkshire maxim. It helps in the similar way to what my dad used to tell me of cutting off your peaks and filling in your troughs, managing expec- tations and not getting too far up or down. I can’t say I’ve always done that as victories deserve to be celebrated and hard times should be analysed, reflected upon and really should require soul searching but I agree with the sentiments that are there to avoid over much stress. Paul Thorp of Stott Hall Farm near Rish- worth or more notably the one in the middle of the M62 with carriageways running both sides had a fantastic Great Yorkshire Show this year with his White-faced Woodlands. He had breed champion, reserve breed champion and both male and female champion. ‘We do quite a few shows including Honley, Moss, Halifax, Mottram and Hope Show is one of our main ones as it’s a big show for the breed. My wife Jill and broth- er Casey do quite a few, but we don’t go anywhere where they run just an Any Other Breed class. I don’t see how you can put a carthorse alongside a racehorse.’ ‘This has been our best year in a long time at the Great Yorkshire Show. The thing with showing is you have bursts of success because if your tups are right and your ewes then your lambs are going to come good for a couple of years. It can easily go the other way if you get something wrong but just at the minute I’m pretty happy with how they’re going. We’ve done well at Hope Show in the past few years too but there have been times when we’ve had a little run without champions. To my mind that can work well that the same people don’t win all the time as if they did others might give up showing thinking things only ever go one way.’ ‘While my White-faced Woodland sheep are very much a commercial flock, one of the largest, we show because we enjoy it. For me I get to see people I only see once a year and have a pint of two with them in the evening. It’s harder work than actual working because of having to be in the ring at certain times and our little lad John now has to be in the ring with his pony. We work like hell at home for the fortnight beforehand then instead of coming here and putting our feet up for four days we’re flying around all over the place.’ Paul has around 1500 breeding ewes with a mix of White-faced Woodlands making up 450, 150 Derbyshire Gritstones, 200 North Country Cheviots, 80 Lonks and the bal- ancing number accounted for with North of England Mules. Draft ewes are put to the Texel. He also has a suckler herd of 50 mainly Angus and Angus X put to the Limousin bull. His tenanted land runs to around 2500 acres which is mostly moorland grazing. The patch between the carriageways makes up just 15 acres with other land covering Rishworth Common, Butterworth Common, Deanhead Clough, Deanhead Valley up from Scam- monden Water and further rented land in Huddersfield. ‘I was brought up on a small family farm at Holmfirth where we had 20 Friesian cows. Dad used to love his milkers but it has always been sheep for me until lately. I do like suck- ler cows and I’m moving towards preferring cattle to sheep.’ ‘I started working part time for Ken Wild, who was the tenant farmer here at Stott Hall Farm when I left college in 1994 and went full time in 1998. When Mr Wild passed away in 2004 I managed to take over the tenancy from Yorkshire Water. He taught me all I know about White-faced Woodlands and all other breeds. He’d been here since 1934.’ PENNINE FEEDS LTD. SUPPLIERS OF QUALITY ANIMAL FEEDS Proud to be associated with Paul Thorp of Stott Hall Farm and wish him continued success. Call 014223 77704 | Email [email protected] Address: Scarr View Farm, Lindley Moor, Huddersfield, HD3 3SZ Agent of the National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited.