Making the Ryedale showground a happy place

‘Helmsley YFC and Kirkbymoorside YFC both do their share, so we have the younger end contributing to the show’s success and we’ve a few new recruits this time that we’ll be helping direct the right way.

Richard and his family have a proud showing tradition including the Great Yorkshire Show, where Richard’s father Frederick is chief beef steward and where Richard shows commercial cattle, and have been inextricably linked with Ryedale Show since Richard’s grandfather Sydney showed pigs. He was also show president.

Richard’s earliest recollection of the show he’s never missed is of a somewhat earthy nature, or that’s what he recalls tasting.

‘I was dragging a pet lamb around, but to be more accurate I was being dragged around by it. I would be three or four years old at the time. I like to think my livestock handling skills have improved since then.

Ryedale Show may not have ‘taken a break’ but it moved from its 62 years at Welburn Park last year, returning to Duncombe Park, Helmsley for the first time since 1963 and aside from a few teething issues with traffic the show couldn’t have gone better.

‘Welburn Park was a great place,’ says Richard. ‘But things move on and John Kendall, one of our great team, has designed an amazing showfield.

‘Last year brought a lot of curiosity about what the show would be like and fabulous weather led to a bumper crowd. We do have a second route coming in from Nelson Gates and we had a stone track that should have brought in all the traffic from Thirsk and Malton last year, but it dusted up so much no-one could see where they were going.

‘We have Simon Dunn lined up with water tankers this year, in case it’s another heatwave, to water that road so that dust does not happen. We always look at how we can improve because, like I say, we want everyone to be happy.

Richard farms with his parents Frederick and Jane at Harriet Air Farm in Rievaulx where they operate a mixed farming enterprise across 700 acres with 750 breeding ewes, 130 suckler cows and 160 acres of arable land primarily adjacent to the B1257 Helmsley-Stokesley road.

‘I’m the third generation to farm here. It’s tenanted from various landlords but mainly Duncombe Park Estate. My grandfather came here in 1955. We’ve just kept adding and losing bits over time.

‘We’ve always had sheep, cattle and arable crops. Our land runs to around 650 ft–700 ft. We are primarily livestock farmers and grow winter barley, winter wheat and spring barley, pretty much all grown to feed and bed the cattle.

‘This year we’re now at harvest stage of our 80 acres of spring barley and 40 acres each of winter wheat and winter barley. It’s all in rotation with grass. I’ve recently been working with Mortimer’s Seeds who supply latest varieties and we’ve had some decent yields for up here.

‘We’ve just had our second cut of grass, which was fairly dismal, but the first cut was up on last year, and for less area.

‘We have been milling all our own cereal crops for around the last ten to twelve years, which has made life a lot easier, using a Redrock wagon.

Showing commercial beef cattle has been part of the Fairburn family’s DNA for over fifty years and they take great pride in producing quality stock not just for show but to be sold at Northallerton’s Applegarth livestock market. Richard says that in common with the rest of the sector their beef price has been good for a few years.

‘We’ve had some good years. Just in the last few weeks bulls aren’t adding up as much as they have been, but it’s still decent.

‘We have British Blues, Limousins and native crossed cows. We use Stabiliser and Angus bulls with the heifers for first time calving. The Blue cows are with the Blonde bull this time. The Limousin and other crossbred cows all go to a British Blue. We are all-natural bulling.

‘We largely breed our own replacements, but buy a few dairy-crosses in. We run a young herd. Ours generally go at 6-7 years old. We weigh everything during their growing and before selling.

‘All stock goes as fat at around 14-16 months. We’ve been selling at Northallerton for the last 10-12 years.

‘They have to be gone because we don’t have the shed space to yard everything. We fatten inside and the cows are outside nearly all the time, apart from calving and some will calve outside in the spring.

Richard says the sheep operation has had a new twist more recently.

‘We have Texels, Suffolk and Mules and I bought a decent packet of Romneys last year after seeing my neighbours with them. They’re easier handling and easier working and will thrive outside.

‘We touched 800 ewes last year when I bought the Romneys but we’ve pegged back a fraction since.

Richard is married to Catherine, who is originally from Billingham and they have a daughter, Ebony (14) and son Oliver (10).

He says the farming responsibilities are shared and while the family’s showing of cattle isn’t quite what it was in their heyday, it’s still a commitment they like to keep, along with other commitments.

‘I’m in partnership on the farm with my parents, and I’m on the Northern Livestock Board for the NFU. In my young farmers club days I was Helmsley YFC chairman and District chairman.

‘We continue to show at the Great Yorkshire Show and Ryedale. We will support Bilsdale by taking a few sheep and a pony, and we’ll maybe take a couple of ponies to Osmotherley or Borrowby for the gymkhanas and finish off at Stokesley with some cattle and sheep.

‘Dad retired from Ryedale Show committee a few years ago and put me forward. I took over in his place. I was chair last year and again this year.

‘We’re looking good for livestock numbers again. Achieving record numbers are great to bandy about in the press but it’s not all about that. It’s about having a good show and happy people. Nick Hargrave, one of our show directors, does a great job with the pigs. At Duncombe he has them under the trees. He picked the pitch.

‘And we’ve now the fourth generation of our family showing at Ryedale with sheep and calves entered this year. And the little lad’s entered wool for some silly reason. He may know something I don’t.