Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show: The Yorkshire agricultural show which is held on the grounds of a country house
Kate and husband Ben moved to Rooker Hill Farm, as tenants, just north of Boroughbridge thirty-five years ago and, in 2016, purchased Clott House Farm, Ellenthorpe, which had been part of the Crown Estate, and now sees them farm 1,100 acres overall.
Their farming business is a mix of arable and beef cattle, and Kate says that, in common with most arable farming operations, it has been a challenging year.
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Hide Ad“Our crops look well, but the proof of the pudding is when you get in with the combine. We know it is not going to be a record-breaking harvest. We have our own combine, grain dryer and storage but everyone is looking at costs and it would be nice to have an easy, dry harvest.


“Rooker Hill is a good arable farm, while Clott House has much heavier land. In a good year it can grow tremendous crops, but this year it has been wet and heavy going.
“We’ve 380 acres of winter wheat for feed or biscuit; 220 acres winter barley for cattle feed; 125 acres of oilseed rape which has been attacked by the weather, flea beetle, pigeons and slugs.
“We’ll be pleased to get it harvested and out of our sight as it has been a really disappointing crop. It can be such a good crop in many ways. We’d like to continue with it, but are mindful we may have to consider other options.
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Hide AdBen and Kate also have 84 acres of beans for human consumption or feed; 48 acres of maize turned into silage; 28 acres of fodder beet; and grassland including some riverbanks as Clott House is situated where the Swale and the Ure meet and incurs quite bad flooding from time to time.


Ben has always been interested in livestock from his days farming with his father John and brother Chris at Thorpe Bassett near Malton and buys cattle mainly out of Hexham livestock market as strong stores.
“Ben is there nearly every week buying continental crosses. The largest proportion that we finish go to Woodheads in Colne and into Morrisons, with whom we have a strong relationship. The rest go to Thirsk as we believe in supporting our local market. It’s a very robust supply chain, as our beef is literally farm to fork.
“We buy and sell cattle all the time and beef and sheep prices have held up amazingly well.
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Hide Ad“We also buy about 1000 store lambs in the back end, taking through to February/March, again selling through Thirsk. We buy mostly Suffolk-crossed lambs and a few Texel-crosses. We buy most of our cattle and sheep through Hexham.”
Kate says they have just gone into a three-year SFI agreement having been advised by son Sam.
“It will work alongside our existing Mid-Tier stewardship. We’ve always been mindful of the environment. People talk about regenerative farming as something new but many farmers have been doing it quite a long time.
“Sam works as an agronomist and farm business consultant for GSC Grays. He does all our agronomy and has been able to formulate our new SFI involvement which will include establishing more hedgerow trees, not using insecticides on some crops, doing legume mixes on improved grasslands with herbal leys and legume fallow to mitigate some of the risk if oilseed rape continues to be problematic, and organic matter sampling.”
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Hide AdKate says their older son Edward who has been managing a private estate in South Cambridgeshire is coming home to join the family business at Christmas.
“Both our boys have worked away from the home farm, which we actively encouraged. I feel it is vital to pick up all the skills needed to run a modern farming business today. Edward did four years at Harper Adams, Sam went to Northumbria. They’ve both worked in Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s so important that you pick up on all the skills that everybody has within a family and to respect the skills they have through work they’ve done. We’d be fools not to want to bring that into our business and develop to the best effect. When the Clott House opportunity came up it was a big decision and the boys were in on it too.”
Kate also pays tribute to the team at Rooker Hill and tells of their good fortune in taking on the farm.
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Hide Ad“We have two really good full-time men and Ben works with them every day, and a part-time man who is now past retirement, lives here and is a very loyal member of our team.
“Coming here was a great opportunity for us in our late twenties. I grew up on a farm near Ripon, one of five daughters. My dear dad Robert Chester, a well-respected farmer, would be thrilled to see two of us are still farming today.”
Kate has had a varied career alongside growing a family and the farm with Ben.
“I went to Bishop Burton College where I did agricultural and horticultural business studies, went into farm bookkeeping, worked in a primary school and went back to my farming roots when I worked for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for 14 years until January last year.
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Hide Ad"I looked after the Yorkshire Rural Support Network and got the society’s Women in Farming organisation going as well.
“I am so passionate about that. We must never forget the contribution women have made to farming. We have always been there but now we are more visible, more of a voice in family farming businesses and we are an integral part of any farm’s ongoing success.”
Kate’s presidency of Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show is now in its third year.
“I was nobbled by local builder Arthur Hawkridge who worked on our house when we moved here,” says Kate.
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Hide Ad“Arthur got me on the committee thirty-five years ago and I’m really proud of the fact that the show is in its 107th year. It is a very precious community event and we have the perfect setting for a traditional agricultural show on the parkland next to Newby Hall.
“We have such a good mix of people on the show committee too, not all farming people because it really is important to have a mix of talents.
"Farmers have all the machinery, we have two young ladies who have developed the sheep section and lots of others who’ve been involved for years, but then you need everyone from all backgrounds with what they can bring, such as organisation, management and new ideas to keep the show relevant.
“I believe part of my role as president is to ensure that everyone’s work is valued, because without that goodwill and commitment shows like ours wouldn’t be able to go on.
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Hide Ad“Newby Hall are great too. Entry to the show also allows those who come to have access to the gardens on show day as well. We love to see everybody. Competitors, stewards, visitors. Everyone is welcome.”
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