Memories and looking ahead at Humberstone

Previous tenants Arthur and Rita with ‘new’ tenant Jonathan

A new era at Humberstone Bank

This week the Hub at Humberstone Bank farm has opened its doors and hosted its first open afternoon to showcase the new meeting facility . The barn which has been converted for use as the Hub looks quite different on the inside now – it was originally used for storage of hay, and housing cattle.

Before Jonathan took on the tenancy at Humberstone in Autumn 2016, Rita Tuley (nee Heseltine) and her family had been tenants since the 1930’s when the farm belonged to the ‘Leeds Corporation’.

A few weeks ago, we caught up with Rita and her husband Arthur for a chat, to show them progress with the building work and learn a bit more about their time at Humberstone. We wanted to find out about the history of the farm so that we can keep share the story of Humberstone in the future. Rita also always has plenty of good advice to offer about the farm – especially when it comes to the sheep.

Early days

Rita’s parents moved to Humberstone as a young couple in the 1930’s. The basic structure of the farm then was the same as it is now – 900ha of upland mostly suited to rough grazing and as a shooting estate.

Rita and her sisters were born in the 1940’s and when Rita reached school age she stayed with her grandparents at Bolton Abbey during the week to attend school in Silsden and later Grassington.

From an early age her passion was for the farm and especially its sheep flock. Aged 15 she left school to come home and work on the farm. When Rita’s father died unexpectedly Rita and her Mum and sister took on the running of the farm and Rita, her husband Arthur and her Mum Mary stayed there until 2015 when they retired.

Rita met Arthur Tuley at Darley dance hall (Arthur remembers her arriving at the dance on her own in her landrover and hanging around after the dance to talk to her!) and they were married in 1963. Arthur was brought up at Padside further down the valley and remembers cycling up past Humberstone and round Greenhow hill with his friends on a Sunday afternoon. He also helped his Dad with to cut rushes and tend his stirks just a little further down the valley so was familiar with the area before he met Rita.

Rita, Arthur and Mary made a formidable team and established a way of working that continued for more than 50 years. Rita was the sheep farmer, Mary took care of the house, domestic affairs and looked after Arthur and Rita’s three children and Arthur was the cattle man, builder, joiner, plumber and Rita’s right hand man.

Swaledale sheep

Humberstone’s sheep flock has always been predominantly Swaledales and although Arthur learned to clip and other basic husbandry the sheep have always been Rita’s domain. In local farming circles seeing a woman at the helm was unusual and when Rita first started out she would take Arthur along to the Auction Mart for support or would go along with her neighbour. She told us that, especially in the early days she found it hard to fit in and remembers well her anxiety at Kirkby Stephen and Hawes Auction Marts when looking to purchase new stock – she’s delighted now to be able to just look on and not have to worry about bidding for the right tup!

Humberstone has supported a flock of about 1100 on it’s 900ha as well as a small number of cattle which started with a few limousin cross heifer calves kept by Arthur in the barns on the farmstead.

The land is rough and ranging – the farm boundary at ‘Washburn head’ at the start of the catchment is more than 4 miles from the farmstead. Arthur remembers Mary dropping them off at Greenhow when the sheep were being gathered – to walk them back over the moors to Humberstone.

Working the land at Humberstone

Humberstone was the first farm in the area to have a quad bike – actually a three-wheeler, which Rita remembers the children having a great time on riding up and down the lane. For Rita it revolutionised her working day – cutting down drastically the amount of walking time involved in checking the flock.

Walkie talkies were another tool, which proved useful when working with the sheep. Along with a couple of helpers Rita was able to ‘gather the Moor’ and bring all the sheep back to the farm without missing any by  keeping in touch and ensuring no one got too far ahead.

Unlike farms that share a block of ‘commons’ moorland Rita always appreciated the fact that the Moor was her own with her own sheep that she looked after how she wanted to. Rita talked to Jonathan at length on the day that we met about which bits of the moorland are best suited to which sheep.

Farming memories

Having a look in the newly converted hub building provoked a number of memories for Arthur and Rita: clipping out sheeps tails in the area which is now the kitchen, ready for dipping the next day; (“I remember going in to the house for a drink and coming out again to get them finished staying out til goodness knows what time – there must have been 400 or so to do”) unloading 10 tonnes worth of 50kg feed bags and Arthur carrying them up the tiny ladder into the upstairs storage area / hayloft.

Rita and Arthur are now embracing their retirement and enjoying a very well earned easier pace of life – with a raft of memories of the farm to look back on. Rita told us about the very last sheep that she lambed at Humberstone before they left. ‘It was a lovely ewe – carrying twins but not getting on with lambing. Both lambs were stuck with their legs back and I gave her a hand. She wouldn’t have managed it without me there to help, so it felt like a very fitting way to end our time at Humberstone”

Humberstone Bank Farm joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in September 2016, with Jonathan Grayshon taking on the tenancy of the 910 hectare upland farm above Thruscross reservoir in Nidderdale AONB. The Vision for the farm is to demonstrate Humberstone Bank as an exemplar in upland management for water, biodiversity, carbon and farming and sporting enterprises.

June 2018. Land work and Learning at Humberstone

 

With the weather taking a hugely welcome turn for the better over the last few weeks, attention at Humberstone has focused on getting onto the land and cracking on with a number of jobs that have been waiting in the wings. The Beyond Nature ethos for the farm emphasises the improvement of wildlife habitats – especially for wading birds and there are various activities going on to put these aims into practice.

Pond digging

Work has begun on digging out an area for the establishment of a pond with a grant from Yorkshire Water’s wildlife and biodiversity fund. The pond has various aims: it should be a good place for wildlife generally and, it’s hoped will encourage new species as there isn’t a pond in the area. It will also act as a buffer and balancing pond – providing a buffer for water after high rainfall and acting as a sediment trap to stop any sediment ending up downstream.

Rush and Grassland Management

Areas of rush provide an important habitat on the farm for wading and ground nesting birds, but need to be of a density that provides access for them – work to ‘thin out’ the rushes involving ‘weed wiping’ with Glysophate has also been completed recently.

The other ‘tool’ that will help with improving the ground conditions for nesting birds are the six new belted Galloway cattle,  bought in York last month and settling in well.  These kind of cattle don’t graze the sward too low, but take out rougher grasses and trample and break up rushes so they do a great job of slowly helping to improve the habitat. It also feels great to have some bovine additions to the farm livestock!

Earlier last month a delivery of 10 tonnes of Calciprill arrived – a lime based fertiliser that will get to work on improving the pH and overall soil fertility of large areas of meadowland, which will be cut for silage and hay later in the Summer. Top marks to the wagon driver who did a great job of reversing out of the farm lane!

A Hub for Learning

One of the key aims of the ‘Beyond Nature’ vision at Humberstone is to provide a space for learning and information sharing – with a focus on conservation and land management. The upland hub building is the first big step towards putting this into practice. Converted from a stone barn previously used to house cattle and animal feed the hub will provide excellent facilities for groups who want to come and learn more about the farm, it’s habitats and wildlife as well as those who just want to hold a meeting or conference in inspiring surroundings.

On the subject of learning the farm has hosted a number of interest groups over the past few weeks – including the Wharfedale Naturalists botany group looking for an unusual plant belonging to the primrose family known as ‘chickweed wintergreen’ (and they found some!) and a group from Nidderdale AONB’s Wild Watch project who carried out a reptile survey site visit – and found adders!

Coming up

In the coming weeks drystone walling is high on the list as well as sheep husbandry – keeping an eye out for flystrike and getting on with the job of clipping all the sheep. All being well the farm should be welcoming it’s first ‘baby belties’ (Belted Galloway calves!) too.

Humberstone Bank Farm joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in September 2016, with Jonathan Grayshon taking on the tenancy of the 910 hectare upland farm above Thruscross reservoir in Nidderdale AONB. The Vision for the farm is to demonstrate Humberstone Bank as an exemplar in upland management for water, biodiversity, carbon and farming and sporting enterprises.

The latest from Humberstone Bank Farm March 2018

March 2018

With lambing time getting underway, catch up with the latest news from Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ Farm at Humberstone Bank, near Thruscross reservoir.

This week Humberstone welcomed two lambing students to boost the staff team for a couple of weeks. Ieva and Matthew are both first year Veterinary students at Liverpool University and need to fulfill a commitment of 12 weeks practical work in their first year – starting with 2 weeks of lambing.  Ieva has had some experience working on a fully automated dairy farm in Denmark (so not quite so ‘hands on’ as Humberstone!) and Matthew has spent a little time lambing on a farm near Ripon.

Ieva and Matthew are really keen to put the theory that they’ve learned so far at Liverpool into practice – and are enjoying working with the ‘real’ thing – despite the cold wind and early mornings.

Lambing of the mules at Humberstone is well underway with the usual mix of problem free births and a few more challenging situations. In the last day or two there have been a couple of adoptions – one text book perfect with the mother accepting her new lamb (just a single) without batting an eyelid and another ewe not quite so keen on having an additional lamb to add to her own single – though she’s got plenty of milk for two so the plan is to persevere.

In the background to all of this Jonathan is currently trying to find time to prepare the farm’s application for a new 10 year Environmental ‘Higher Tier’ Stewardship Agreement. With a ream of options on offer this is a massive piece of work. (The manuals with all the options set out are 329 and 184 pages…)This is the one thing that will have the biggest influence on the way the farm is managed in the years to come so it needs really careful consideration.

Jonathan is trying to strike the right balance for water quality, wildlife conservation, livestock and moorland management – which goes right to the heart of the Yorkshire Water ‘Beyond Nature’ vision for the farm. The deadline for submission is 13^th April – so time is tight, particularly when the days are so full with lambing.

On the wildlife front the Spring birds are making themselves heard – with the first curlew appearing a couple of weeks ago. The farm also hosted a training day for volunteers from Nidderdale AONB’s ‘WildWatch’ project, which focused on surveying for reptiles and successfully pinpointed the home of Humberstone’s resident adders.

The next few weeks will continue to be taken up with lambing – the Swaledales are due to start in early April. A bit of warmer, drier weather will help in getting some ewes and lambs turned out to free up space in the shed. Fingers crossed that Spring is not far off.

 

Humberstone Bank Farm joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in September 2016, with Jonathan Grayshon taking on the tenancy of the 904 hectare upland farm above Thruscross reservoir in Nidderdale AONB. The Vision for the farm is to demonstrate Humberstone Bank as an exemplar in upland management for water, biodiversity, carbon and farming and sporting enterprises.

Looking ahead at Humberstone Bank. April 2018

Is this Spring? 

At last! Spring finally feels to be arriving at Humberstone Bank. Lambing of the horned sheep is well underway now and after a tough few weeks juggling space to keep the new lambs inside where it’s dry and warm, this better spell is meaning they can be turned out. The cold wet weather has held back signs of any new Spring grass, which means bought in feed has had to be relied on – so Spring can’t now come quickly enough. This is only the second Winter that Yorkshire Water’s tenant Jonathan Grayshon has been at Humberstone and he’s very much hoping that this Winter’s weather isn’t something that’s going to be repeated in the near future!

Whilst busy with lambing, last week presented an important deadline for future plans at the farm. 13^th April was the last date for applications to be submitted to Natural England for the ‘Higher Tier’ Countryside Stewardship scheme. This is the environmental support scheme, which will provide payments for work that benefits the environment. If the application is successful, participation in the scheme will play a key role in implementing the ‘Beyond Nature’ vision for the farm in the future.

634 hectares of the 910 hectares that make up Humberstone  Bank are moorland and classed as “Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)”. This is a “formal conservation designation for an area which is of particular interest because of its fauna, flora or geological or physiological features”. In layman’s terms this means that the moorland is a very special place for wildlife habitats and species!

One of the main aims for the farm is to improve the status of this land for wildlife. With this in mind, the application to the new Higher Tier Scheme (with the help of Nidderdale AONB’s Land Management Adviser – thank you Marian!) focuses on Management of the Moorland, Management of Rough Grazing for Birds and Rush Control (which is also important for providing bird habitat).

Opportunities to improve the condition of the moorland focus on work to block drainage grips, and restore the bare peat. As well as having important benefits for wildlife the peat moorland is hugely important for carbon storage.  A feasibility study had to be completed to provide information to support the application, which meant surveys of the land being carried out on some very bleak days on the Moor!

In the weeks ahead work is continuing apace on conversion of the barn on the access lane at the farm into a ‘hub’ for educational use and as a meeting space. The weather hasn’t been kind to the builders on the project but it’s hoped to have the basic facilities ready by the end of May.

Other wildlife related projects also need progressing –including the establishment of a wildlife and sediment pond funded through Yorkshire Water’s Wildlife and Biodiversity grant scheme.

Also on the list is the important issue of commencing Moss the sheepdog’s official training regime! Signs so far are that he’s going to be very capable – watch this space for an update on how he’s getting on.

Humberstone Bank Farm joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in September 2016, with Jonathan Grayshon taking on the tenancy of the 910 hectare upland farm above Thruscross reservoir in Nidderdale AONB. The Vision for the farm is to demonstrate Humberstone Bank as an exemplar in upland management for water, biodiversity, carbon and farming and sporting enterprises.

April 2018. Spring? We need you at High Woodale!

8 sets of triplets, 210 sets of twins, 653 singles and127 not in lamb (known as ‘geld’)

These were the results from the pregnancy scanning of the sheep at High Woodale Farm in March – a month later than planned due to bad weather.

The figures compared with last year tell their own story. There are twice as many ewes not in lamb this year and about a hundred less ewes carrying twins. The relentless bitterly cold weather and frequent snow is likely to have influenced this. Despite increasing extra feed and mineral supplements the harsh conditions have taken their toll on the maternal health of the flock.

The news from High Woodale at the end of January was all about being in the depths of Winter and “ensuring the sheep are well fed and looked after in the (often!) poor weather, keeping them strong and fit for pregnancy and lambing.” Fast forward two and a bit months and errrrrr nothing much feels to have changed! This has been one of the longest, hardest and coldest Winters at the top of Nidderdale for years. And with the official start of lambing time only a few days away, some better weather is now desperately needed.

 After scanning, the ewes carrying twins and triplets were brought inside for extra care and the singles turned back out. Of those not in lamb some have been sold and the rest turned back out on to the ‘ling’ (moor) with the hogs (young sheep – last year’s lambs)

Keeping on top of jobs

Martyn Brown the tenant farmer at High Woodale and his helpers have been trying to fit in other jobs around caring for the sheep in the rough weather. There are always a wide range of tasks on the never ending ‘to do’ list

• ‘Horn marking’ the ewes that are staying in the breeding flow– using a hot iron to add the flock initials (JGB) and a number to indicate their age;
• Tackling the ongoing issue of moles on the land, which create a problem for grass and then silage quality;
• Keeping on top of drystone walling (High Woodale is part of a ‘Higher Level Stewardship Scheme’ which commits to maintenance/ repair of at least 40 metres of dry stone wall each year)

Signs of Spring?

The land around Scar house and Angram reservoirs, which make up the 970ha of High Woodale  Farmare important habitats for wading birds. Flocks of lapwing, oyster catcher, curlew and redshank are now gathering noisily around the farm preparing to pair up for breeding. They have dispersed and gathered again a few times in recent weeks in response to the snow.  The less sociable Snipe are also a common sight.

The land at High Woodale rises to an altitude of over 600 metres, so at this level the fresh Spring grass won’t emerge in any quantities until May. Warmer drier weather will help to push this on.

Lambing is officially due to start on the 8^th April,  with the pure bred Dalesbred sheep due to start on 20^th April. As the days get longer and weather improves Scar House and Angram reservoirs will welcome an increasing number of visitors. Martyn makes a plea to all visitors to leave gates as they find them, keep dogs on leads and not to pick up any lambs that they may think have been abandoned. Their Mums will know where they are and if they’re moved it will be virtually impossible to reunite them!

 

High Woodale Farm in Upper Nidderdale joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in the Autumn of 2017, with the signing of a new tenancy agreement.  The 970 hectare upland farm surrounds Angram and Scar House reservoirs reaching an altitude of 604 metres at Little Whernside. The Vision for the farm aims for High Woodale to be an exemplar in upland land management with a focus on water quality, biodiversity, carbon storage and farming and sporting enterprises.

 

 

 

News from Humberstone Bank Farm February 2018

February 2018

Now 14 months into his tenancy, Yorkshire Water’s occupant at Humberstone Bank, Jonathan Grayshon is cracking on with stocking the farm and bringing to life the Beyond Nature ethos, which underpins his Vision.  With the tenancy still in its early days the implementation of Jonathan’s plans at Humberstone ‘from scratch’ provide an insight into establishing a business on an upland farm.

In the last few months the number of livestock on the farm has increased (mostly sheep, but not forgetting Moss, the new sheep dog!) and building work has started on a new education hub. Jonathan is also tackling the application process for farm environmental payments, and has been selected to take part in a project funded by the Friends of Nidderdale AONB – focusing on Farm Business Planning.

Growing the flock

Humberstone’s sheep flock has grown in recent months with 200 more sheep – mostly Swaledales purchased in the Autumn sheep sales. A New Zealand Texel tup has also taken up residence – Jonathan has selected him for specific traits of the breed – including a  slightly narrower carcass than the traditional Texel (which should make for easier lambing) less foot problems, and the ability to thrive on a purely grass fed diet. Time will tell whether the breed is well suited to Humberstone when the first offspring are born – lambing time is due to start in early March.

A new hub for education

The idea for establishing an educational facility at Humberstone was first considered when the tenancy came up for renewal. The wide range of biodiversity on the farm, it’s (not too remote) location and range of buildings provide an excellent backdrop for a wide range of groups to learn more about the special qualities of Humberstone, as well as groups looking for a great meeting venue with excellent facilities. Plans to convert a stone barn on the farm into an educational hub were approved before Christmas and work has recently started.

Conserving Biodiversity

Humberstone is a very special place for wildlife – with more than two thirds of the area of the farm designated as ‘Site of Scientific Special Interest’. This means the land has been designated for protection because of its exceptional conservation value.  Results from last year’s reptile surveys completed by Nidderdale AONB on the farm provide an insight into what this means in practice, suggesting that Humberstone Bank supports an important population of reptiles – including adders, slow worms and common lizards. Land management practices in the future will need to ensure their habitats are well looked after.

Business Planning

Jonathan has also recently been selected to be involved in the Friends of Nidderdale AONB Farm Business advice project. Funded by the Prince’s Countryside Fund, the project is working with farmers in the AONB to improve their resilience and profitability, and consider their options post Brexit.

Just around the corner – lambing time!

In the next couple of weeks day to day work will be focusing on preparing for lambing – cleaning out the lambing shed, preparing pens and feeding areas and ensuring the heavily pregnant ewes are well looked after. Two veterinary students from Liverpool University will be arriving on the farm to join the team for a few weeks and provide extra people power throughout lambing time.

Humberstone Bank Farm joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in September 2016, with Jonathan Grayshon taking on the tenancy of the 904 hectare upland farm above Thruscross reservoir in Nidderdale AONB. The Vision for the farm is to demonstrate Humberstone Bank as an exemplar in upland management for water, biodiversity, carbon and farming and sporting enterprises.

January 2018 Winter at High Woodale

Tending the flock in the depths of Winter at High Woodale

High Woodale Farm in Upper Nidderdale joined Yorkshire Water’s ‘Beyond Nature’ vision in the Autumn of 2017, with the signing of a new tenancy agreement.  The 970 hectare upland farm surrounds Angram and Scar House reservoirs reaching an altitude of 604 metres at Little Whernside. High Woodale is aiming to be an exemplar in upland land management with a focus on water quality, biodiversity, carbon storage and farming and sporting enterprises. The farm is one of two ‘Beyond Nature’ farms in Nidderdale AONB.

January at High Woodale Farm is a month to focus on ensuring the sheep are well fed and looked after in the (often!) poor weather, keeping them strong and fit for pregnancy and lambing.

Martyn Brown the tenant farmer at High Woodale, in Upper Nidderdale works with his partner Natalie and family to tend almost a thousand sheep and at this time of year it’s crucial to keep them in good health. The daily routine revolves around checking the sheep to confirm they’re all where they should be and ensuring they’re well fed.  Being located on the edge of Scar House and Angram reservoirs, which are popular with walkers and cyclists it is a continuous issue ensuring visitors to the area keep dogs on leads and close gates behind them.

Martyn keeps a mix of sheep breeds, including two traditional Yorkshire Dales breeds – the Dalesbred and Swaledale as well as less hardy more lowland cross breeds including Texel crosses and ‘Mules’ (Swaledale or Dales bred crossed with Blue faced Leicester) which are bred to produce butchers lambs.

The younger sheep, which have been kept from last year’s lambs to replace breeding stock in the flock (known as ‘gimmer lambs’) spend the Winter on a farm near the balmy sheep holiday destination of Harrogate (!), whilst the rest of the sheep stay at High Woodale. They receive extra food at this time of year when grazing is sparse and they need good nutrition during pregnancy. This year the bulk of that food comes from big bale silage as the weather was too wet last Summer to make any hay.

Mineral blocks are also put out on the Moor for the sheep to lick at and ensure they have the vitamins and minerals they need for a healthy pregnancy and unborn lamb.

At this time of year the ground tends to be mucky and boggy so Martyn needs to find the cleanest spots he can around the reservoir edge for feeding.

The sheep are also brought in for ‘dosing’ during January with each receiving a dose of selenium, cobalt, iodine and copper to keep the rumen healthy and working well. Liver fluke is also an issue to look out for and sheep that don’t look in top condition receive a treatment for it.

High Woodale’s hard working collies are absolutely vital members of the team when there is any work that involves moving the sheep around the farm – Minnie, her sister Belle and Misty taking a leading role, with Flick, Annie and Old Jess contributing a bit more sporadically!

With short daylight hours and difficult ground conditions, time for other jobs on the land is limited – any ‘spare’ time is filled with the checking and upkeep of walls and fences and general maintenance jobs around the farm.

As the days very slowly start to lengthen, attention in February will turn to sheep scanning. All the ewes will be pregnancy scanned to see how many lambs they are carrying so that their care and nutrition can be planned accordingly. The holidaymaker gimmer lambs will return too – ready to be turned out onto the Moor in Spring.

Situated in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, in North Yorkshire, Nidderdale AONB is one of 46 AONBs in the UK. Between them they cover 18% of the UK’s finest countryside and are special places, worthy of protection. The special qualities of Nidderdale AONB are embedded in the working nature of the landscape, which supports a wide range of nationally and internationally important habitats and wildlife.