Farm of the Week: Window fitter who gave up following Bradford Bulls for breeding bulls

Daniel now combines his windows and doors fitting business with his work on the farm and said his return to being involved with livestock has meant his love of bulls has dwindled.

“I used to be big into my rugby league and followed Bradford Bulls home and away but now any spare time I have I’m here at the farm.

“I was always here growing up as a kid, on weekends and school holidays. I’d always loved it but around my late teens and early twenties I got to doing other things. I started in the windows and doors business when leaving school.

“It was my grandma’s phone call one day, about 10-12 years ago when my granddad had fallen poorly, that brought me back to the farm to help out with things like feeding up and I got the farming bug again.”

Then Daniel asked his grandmother whether he could have some pigs of his own.

“I started with buying four pigs just to fatten up. My family has a background in butchering and so fattening stock for butchers must come naturally even though I’m the only one in four generations not to have gone into butchering.

“My grandparents David and Barbara Brown had the butcher’s shop Ye Olde Pork Shop in Otley for many years where my mum used to work, and my dad worked at Rowland Agar’s in Ilkley.

“I sent three of the four to market but kept the other which I had served and I’ve grown from there. It was when I bought a Pietrain boar to cross with my Welsh sow that I fell in love with the Pietrain breed and decided to go pedigree.

“I like the double-muscle on them. The way they look and how they stand out against other pig breeds. When I started taking them to market they did well and still do. They’re the pig breeding equivalent of the Belgian Blue cattle that are also noted for their double-muscle.”

Daniel said his sow herd numbers fluctuates according to the market.

“At the minute I have eight sows and four gilts coming into the herd. I like to keep 10-12 sows but at the end of last year I cut back because of the price of feed and also other people were going out of pigs which I felt was reducing my market for selling boars.

“I sell boars mainly for crossbreeding as the Pietrain boar has a great reputation and with my reputation having also grown I sell a number of boars direct from the farm. I sell boars at between 8-14 weeks. I used to run everything through to fat, but now I take them just to weaners and sell at J36 livestock market at Milnthorpe where there is always a good trade.

“The pig trade has picked up again from where we were at the start of the year and so I’m now aiming to be back at 10-12 sows from which I like to get two litters per year.”

Daniel also shows his Pietrains and at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show he had three second places, a first place and then he was awarded champion butcher’s pig.

“The champion at Harrogate this year meant the world to me. My grandad passed away the month before the show and to have champion butcher’s pig was just really special. It was like he was looking down and smiling on what I’d achieved.

“I went to Notts & Newark Show for the first time this year and got a second place, and we were at Tockwith last Sunday where we had male champion and reserve overall champion with a February born boar. We will also be at Pateley for Nidderdale Show.”

Daniel had been hoping to be running pig classes at Arthington Show this year, but it wasn’t to be.

“Unfortunately, the show couldn’t take place again this year because we’ve lost our showfield and we couldn’t get sorted for 2022. I’ve had a lot of interest from my fellow breeders and hopefully we will have pigs at a new showground for 2023.”

Pedigree Beltex sheep, the Belgian-Dutch breed, has seen Daniel’s wife Emma taking over the running of the flock and Emma has also taken on the showing mantle having entered stock at Weeton Show and Tockwith in recent weeks to great success with continental champion at Weeton and good placings at Tockwith Show.

Daniel said his attraction to the breed was ‘that Belgian thing’.

“My granddad wasn’t struck on them and a friend of mine said that I must like my vet, because they are not known for easy lambing. I must have got away with it in my first three years of lambing because I hadn’t had one Caesarean.”

He added: “Emma has always had horses but now she has really got into the sheep and so too has our daughter Rosie who has just entered her first young handlers’ classes.

“We are aiming to lamb in late March next year, as we will be starting to calve our Belgian Blue-crossed cattle for the first time."

The Belgian influence is there once again with the cattle, as it is with Daniel’s pigs and sheep.

“We have 10 Belgian Blue-crossed sucklers that granddad bought as calves. He bought them a while ago as they are now all nearly three years old and we’ve hired a Limousin bull. I’m looking forward to seeing their calves at the end of March and beginning of April."

Prospect House Farm is all down to grass and Daniel takes one cut for silage which he took at the end of June this year. The farm runs to 40 owned acres and 20 rented.

Daniel said he just loves running the farm.

“My windows and doors trade pays the bills that allows me to farm. I’m loving having taken it on which I had discussed with my grandad who had said he wanted me to take over. That was quite a special moment.”