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2010 farm walk
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Farm Walk at the Pendle and Brennand British Blue Herds
The North West Club members, families and friends were privileged to be invited to a farm walk with the Hartley Family’s Pendle Herd and the Walker Family’s Brennand herd on the 1st August 2010. After a ‘catchy’ time with the weather the Sunday morning dawned overcast and dry in fact a perfect day for the walks.
Gathering first at the Pendle herd and being welcomed with a very fine morning coffee with cake and biscuits some 150 people set off around the cattle. Mark explained that the herd was founded in 1994 on a small amount of ground that was surplus to the requirements of the caravan park. Additional land adjacent to them was purchased as it became available and now, including a small amount of rented ground, they farm 200 acres and have just entered the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. It is intended to re-plant all the hedgerows around the fields and reconstitute 800 metres of dry stone walling.
Their first purchase was an in calf cow from a Society Sale at Chelford, accompanied in the trailer by a bull and a heifer purchased by friends of the family. The fact that they all arrived home safe and well is testament to the power of the Landrover and the ease with which it overcame the hills and dales of the Pendle countryside (a fact not lost on those of us who also conquered the farm terrain!) the cow calved naturally one week later and the Pendle Herd was founded. The herd’s first bull Stowbeck Storm really set them on the road of successful breeding not only siring top quality bulls but also producing outstanding heifers. Stowbeck Storm was eventually sold at Carlisle and still to this day holds the record price for the Lot 1 first bull through the sale ring, realising 7,000gns. At the same sale Blue Stone Union Jack was purchased and it is easy to say that the rest is history. However, let us not forget the stockmanship that is required not only to produce quality cattle but to also achieve the numerous females within the herd all of whom consistently calve naturally. When so many of Union Jack’s daughters were retained in the herd it became necessary to reluctantly let him go to carry on his duties and he was sold to a commercial herd. A new stock bull, Greystone Bonzer was purchased, again from Carlisle, and he too is carrying on the outstanding breeding patterns of the Pendle prefix. This is all due to the aim of the breeding in the Pendle herd to produce naturally born calves with accompanying longevity. On the walk we met a daughter of their original purchase, Pendle Robinea, whom at 11 years of age produced her seventh naturally born calf, Pendle Flintstone, in May this year. Flintstone is a Greystone Bonzer son.
We also met Pendle Witch, a naturally born daughter of Robinea by Stowbeck Storm and a granddaughter of the first cow they bought. Witch produced Pendle Dazzle who has this year been shown with great success in the south of England by the Dunn family winning many Female and Breed Championships, and standing second in her class to the eventual Breed Champion, Boomer DKNY, at the Royal Welsh. In the same field was Pendle Whizzy who produced Pendle DJ in 2008 and this young blue bull sold at the Carlisle sale in May 2010 for 6,000gns. In the next field was a recently acquired bull, Newton Blues Chico, who is owned in partnership with the Coates family’s Greystone herd, and is a complete outcross to the heifers already within the herd. The cows grazing with him had Greystone Bonzer calves at foot.
In the following field herd stock bull Greystone Bonzer was grazing quietly with his females and their calves and in the valley below was a flock of Beltex sheep that are son Thomas’s pride and joy along with some black sheep that daughter Isabella has been breeding and has shown with some success at Agri-Expo.
We descended down the hill to the next field where Isabella and her friend gathered up the Zwartble flock. These are Isabella’s pride and joy and a great credit to her having again been shown successfully. Elaine then did a ‘fell run’ to bring down to us four young bulls. It is their belief that rather than being housed indoor all year that the young bulls should be out at grass in the summer proceeding their intended sale the following year so that when they do move on to the next herd they are fully aware of and used to foraging on grass.
The young bulls completed our farm walk and the assembled group gratefully gathered in the buildings to devour a hearty lunch before moving on to the Brennand Herd. Brennand herd
Brennand farm has been in the care of the Walker family since 1970 and on our arrival Geoff, Margaret and their sons, John, Steven and Robert, warmly greeted us. The land rises to 1700 feet (a patch of heather moorland on the farm has been calculated by Ordnance Survey to be the 'true' centre of Britain) and has anticipated annual rainfall of 90 inches (over 2 metres), although this year has been rather different as is witnessed by the normally rapid River Brennand lying unusually benign. Brennand farm consists of 3,000 acres, with 30 acres of meadowland and some inbye land with 80 acres of meadowland at Chatburn, nr Clitheroe. The farm also has 200 acres of newly planted native woodland and has HLS and ELS agreements along with SCaMP. Also within their care for the last 3 years is the sister Whitendale farm that also consists of 3,000 acres of moorland with just 10 acres of meadowland and some inbye land. Since taking on the tenancy of Whitendale 200 acres of natural upland oak woodlands have been planted. This farm is in HLS and ELS agreement and is also part of the SCaMP programme with scrapes for Lapwings and grip blocking, making Whitendale farm a model SCaMP farm. The farm runs 475 head of Swaledale ewes, of which 300 are put to the Swaledale and 175 to the Blueface Leicester tups. The sheep are all fattened on the plastics slats and they also buy all of Brennand’s store lambs. Brennand farm also has 750 sheep including Swaledales, Blueface Leicester’s, Mules and Texels. The Mule gimmer lambs being sold through Skipton Auction. Perhaps better known in the Clitheroe, Gisburn and Skipton areas for their award winning and much sought after commercial cattle the Brennand farm has 55 head of suckler cows, 8 of which are pure British Blues, with all cross bred cows being put to the British Blue as well. Cross bred heifer calves are sold as stores at around 7 – 12 months of age and the cross bred bulls are all sold fat at 12 months old. All the commercial cattle consistently top the shows and sales through these markets and they have had many ‘Craven Day’ Champions. Thankfully all the cattle had been brought down from the fells for our viewing and in the first meadow we were treated to some fine suckler cows with their calves a foot. They were all in wonderful condition and seemed very happy for us to walk amongst them.
In the next meadow we were able to see a few of the dry cows and some of the flock of sheep. One cow was making a very good job of suckling two calves The last meadow contained the pedigree cows and heifers that also seemed non-plussed with all the people who descended on them. Geoff explained that all the pedigree young stock is either retained for the herd, sold privately, or through the British Blue Society sales.
Next it was into the buildings to see the young pedigree bulls and meet the Bluefaced Leicester tups.
We were then treated to a superb Lamb roast supper during which a vote of thanks was given to both family’s by North West Club vice chairman John Okell and a presentation of flowers was made to both Elaine Hartley and Margaret Walker as a token of our appreciation at having been invited to one of the best days out that will live long in the memory.
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