Farm of the Week: Four on the farm gives greater business flexibility

James Bainbridge farms in partnership with his father David, uncle Les and cousin Jonathan at Greystones Farm in the village of Seamer near Stokesley. He’s a third generation farmer. His grandfather Walter, who passed away at the age of 101 two years ago bought the 250 acre farm when he was 21 and today the quartet farm across a total of 1,500 acres through land rentals, share farming and contract farming arrangements. Their arable operation makes up the largest proportion of the business that also sees them with cattle, sheep and hens.

James feels that the NFU and all farmers need to be diligent in ensuring members of parliament are wholly aware of how UK agriculture could be affected by sloppy attention to detail.

“I’m very concerned that if things are not handled correctly our government will allow in a lot of foreign food imports produced to lower standards than our own. I don’t want us to be flooded with poor quality food when we’re producing the best in the world. We need the government to get that message out to the public. It (Brexit) will take some sorting out and they need pointing in the right direction because there is no blueprint for leaving the single market.”

James is one of a new generation of younger farmers who are taking on senior roles in the NFU. He’s positive and passionate about agriculture, food and farming while being well aware that he is in a more fortunate position than most of his age in being able to take time away from the farm to conduct his duties.

“We work in a fantastic industry and we need to continually drive it forward both here at home and throughout the country. I’ve been involved with the NFU at branch level at Stokesley since finishing my young farmers club days and have had great support from my good friend and branch secretary Greg Proll. It is vital farmers get involved but I know I’m luckier than most as I have my dad, uncle and cousin here who can look after whatever I leave.”

It was another of James’ cousins, Simon Dunn who runs Breck House Enterprises near Helmsley, who set James on his road to understanding the business of farming nearly 20 years ago.

“I’d left school and all I really wanted was to drive a tractor. Simon said I would do far better getting myself away to agricultural college. It was a big decision because at the time I didn’t feel it was going to be right for me, but I went to Bishop Burton and my years at college were the best years of my life. You don’t just learn more about what you already thought you knew, you also make friends for life, and in my case end up happily married as I met my wife Sam.

“I came back from college with enthusiasm to farm and grow our business. Granddad had bought Greystones Farm for £8,000 over 80 years ago and I kept offering him the opportunity to double his money. Dad and my uncle Les had set up an agricultural contracting business about 25 years ago as a diversification enterprise and as a family idea we thought our best bet was to roll the contracting side further forward by taking on more land.

“We’ve built up the arable side quite dramatically in the past ten years. What we’ve found is that as well as renting more land when it has come available that a number of the customers we were handling agricultural contracting work for have come to retirement age and have been wondering what to do for the best. We’ve told them we would like to farm it for them and that’s what we’ve done either through share farming or contract farming arrangements mostly within a seven-mile radius of Seamer.”

In addition to Greystones the Bainbridges grow wheat, barley, oilseed rape and beans over an additional ten holdings and James is always in the market for more.

“All of the wheat sold off the farm goes on a tractor and trailer to Noble Foods just a few miles from here. We feed a lot of the barley to our own cattle and the barley straw provides another welcome income. Oilseed rape is still a very good break crop and I particularly favour it as we can then get our first wheats in early.”

Another of James’ concerns wearing his NFU hat is over the current European debate on the possible banning of glyphosate.

“The way to drive our business forward is to farm more land and I like growing crops but the scaremongering over the use of Roundup and glyphosate is very worrying. It would be like farming without machinery if we lost the use of it. That’s one issue that’s really close to my heart.”

The other Bainbridge farming operations include turning over around 500 cattle a year all bought by Les out of Hexham Mart and sold through Northallerton Mart; 400 Mule X Texel ewes tended by Jonathan and his father-in-law shepherd Steve Coulson producing butchers lambs that are also destined for Northallerton; and 9,000 free range hens with David at the helm, producing eggs for the Happy Egg Co. They have a livestock wagon service with Jonathan as driver.

“Les buys really smart top quality butchers heifers that we finish on ad-lib barley. They’re mainly Limousin X. He regularly tops the market.

“Jonathan and Steve started the flock two years ago and are really keen to expand it further; and the poultry enterprise provides a good steady income. We’ve certainly not got all our eggs in one basket.”

James and Sam, who is a farmer’s daughter from Ellerker in East Yorkshire, have three children – Holly, Jack and Chloe. Jonathan and his partner Claire have a son Robert. James’s mum is Jean and his auntie, Les’ wife is Karen.