Farm of the Week: Ryedale Show president who can trace his family's presence on their farm back to 1790

“It was the Baxter family back then, from my mother’s side of the family, who set it up as a tannery powered by a water mill as we are next to the River Dove. There were two or three generations of Baxter tanners up to the beginning of the 20th century until my grandfather ceased to tan hides having built up his farm from land nearby.

“My grandfather John Baxter was the reason we have Sinnington Lodge. He had various properties in between the wars and had put money up with one or two other partners to lend to a gentleman who was buying Sinnington Lodge. When the depression came along in the 1930s the chap couldn’t raise enough funds and grandfather bought his other partners out and ended up taking it on and putting a tenant in.

David and Ruth lived at Sinnington Lodge from 1969 until five years ago when they moved back to Lowna and one of their three sons James moved in to Sinnington, where he lives with his wife Anne.

“The tenant stayed until he retired in 1969,” says David. “Ruth and I, having been married the year before, had been living in a cottage in Gillamoor and that’s when we took the opportunity to move to Sinnington Lodge.

“I’d farmed alongside my father John Wass. He’d married Mary Baxter. Today it is a farm partnership between myself, Ruth and James and we farm a mix of livestock and arable.

“James worked away from the farm and in construction for quite some time, but then decided he wanted to come back to the farm. Our two other boys are Andrew and Simon. Andrew is in the music business in York and Simon works in IT and lives in Poland.

David’s arable land is mostly at Sinnington Lodge, but he does grow some barley at Lowna.

“Around 270-280 acres of our 450 is down to arable cropping with the remainder as permanent grassland. This year we are growing a bigger acreage of winter wheat due to rotation, but we usually grow between 120-150 acres of the crop and the variety we are growing most of currently is Gleam. It is predominantly heavy land at Sinnington. In a good year we might manage nearly 4 tonnes per acre, but then in a bad year we might struggle to get 3 tonnes. We grow a 6-row variety of winter barley, Kingsbarn. It helps choke out blackgrass.

Livestock includes both cattle and sheep with all stock going to Malton livestock market.

“We keep around 60 suckler cows of varying breeds,” says David. “We’ve had Blonde bulls for a lot of years, our last one was from Dickie Ward at Allerston Blondes, but we’ve now gone to having a Blonde bull and a Limousin bull.

“We have a few pedigree Blondes left, but we are not specifically into the pedigree job. We just crossbreed with either of the two bulls. It’s all natural service and we sell them at the fatstock market in Malton.

“Our flock of 70 breeding ewes run at Lowna. They are Mule-cross-Texel crossed back on to the Charollais tup, which we buy from Charles Marwood of Whenby.

As James only returned to be part of the farm business several years ago David is still very much involved, but David also looks back and thinks of how he too may have tried something different at the same age as James had.

“Looking back I was a real petrolhead. Like all young farmers my life revolved around machines and livestock and I have always fully enjoyed farming, but perhaps if I’d gone into engineering I might have also had a second career in the motor trade.

One of David’s friends was involved in the farm machinery trade, the late John Russell, and the pair found themselves often together through their membership of Ryedale Lions Club which David says saw them regularly working as a team at Ryedale Show, Farndale Show and Rosedale Show.

“I’ve been in our Ryedale Lions Club for about 50 years. I had been getting to the age when I was one of the older ones of Kirkbymoorside Young Farmers Club and was invited by a friend to go to a meeting around 1972-73.

“It appealed because it got me away from 110 per cent farming. You met other people in other walks of life. I’ve enjoyed fundraising and the comradeship we’ve had over the years.

“John Russell was a charter member when the club was formed in 1967 and as the years went by we seemed to do an awful lot of things together. We were both stewarding on the gate at Ryedale Show for many years. I continued with that until last year, when the show got a security firm in, but now we do other jobs like picking up litter, handing out brochures, members badges. We help as much as we can and do what we’re asked to do.

David says that Ryedale Show, which takes place again on Tuesday (July 25) has a special place in his heart.

“I remember in my earlier days the show moved around. I can remember going to it at Helmsley. I’ve never missed a year since I left school in 1962. It is a real honour and privilege to have been asked to be show president this year.

“Ruth and I always say that at Ryedale Show it’s a case of ‘you see and be seen’ because you meet everyone that you know at the show year-in, year-out come rain or shine, and we’ve had a few of both. We’ve had shows when you’ve been up to your knees in mud, and others when everyone is sweltered. It is just a very friendly community show that also attracts a lot of holiday people as it is at the start of the summer holidays.

“We have a couple of holiday cottages at Lowna. It is surprising how many actually book that week just to go to Ryedale Show.

“The show venue at Welburn Manor is ideal. I know the Shaw family quite well. I took over managing the farm for a few years while Johnny was in the army and before William came back. William has been very good to the show and has spent a lot of money draining the fields. The show owes a lot to the Shaws.

“I’ve never shown anything. It is a great show for livestock and horses. My family has shown in years gone by. Ruth has shown regularly in the produce section. Ruth is from the Scaling family, comes from a dairy farming background and has been involved with many community organisations including Sinnington WI.