Farm Of The Week: Abbey farm that’s ready for the next chapter

“It’s a ruin, but it’s not falling down because they’ve done some work on it, re-pointing it, and putting stones on the top of it,” says Matthew Barker, who farms what is now Abbey Farm with his father, Mike.

It was occupied by “the white robed silent nuns”, says his father Mike. There were monks, too, but they lived across the river at Marrick Priory.

Because of the historical importance of the site, there are some restrictions on how the land can be farmed, but according to Matthew these are not too onerous.

“You’re not allowed to cultivate the land, because of its archaeological features,” he tells me. “It hasn’t got a lot of restrictions other than that.”

Mike Barker says the main reason why the fields are protected is that originally they were far more than just open spaces.

“At one time there were a lot of people living round the abbey” he tells me, “You can see all the bumps in the fields. In the field at this side of the hall (to the south) there’s a restriction because that would be a village as well.”

For a while there was an experimental right of way through to the abbey, but there were problems with vandalism and it has been cancelled. There are no restrictions on animals coming into the fields around the remaining abbey tower.

Ellerton is at the heart of a revolution in the way farmers sell the meat they produce, and the way that meat is used.

Along with nine other farmers across the Yorkshire Dales, the Barkers are selling some of their lamb to Tanfield Foods, based in Consett, County Durham, who will be using it in their Look What We Found range.

This is a new type of ready meal which is sold in a sealed pouch and can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Raw ingredients are sealed in the pouch and then cooked in it, in a process resembling that of a pressure cooker. Tanfield Foods say this seals in the goodness and all that is needed is a simple re-heating.

One selling point of the products is their emphasis on provenance. Everything in the range identifies the farmer or group of farmers that supplied the main ingredient and features a photograph of them on the pack.

“It’s a very impressive product. The thing they’re looking for is the provenance, and the food security,” Mike Barker says. The group of farmers who will be supplying the lamb – 1,500 carcases a year – is called Yorkshire Dales Farmers Ltd. It has evolved from a group called The Yorkshire Dales Farmers’ Network – part discussion group, part buying group, getting its members cost savings on inputs such as fuel, plastics for bales, and feed. Mike Barker says that in the future farmers will have to work together more in this way, both for buying and selling.

“We can’t be individual businesses all the time. Sometimes it’s beneficial to be, but we’ve got to be versatile, because we’re in a volatile market. I don’t think we’ve ever seen such volatility in the market place, so we’ve got to protect ourselves from that if we can.”

Tanfield Foods will be using the lamb in hotpots which could end up flying around the world as airline meals. Mike Barker says: “There’s big potential in the aeroplane business for food which can be stored at room temperature. If it’s not used, it doesn’t have to be thrown away. At the moment, aeroplane food is either used or wasted.”

The selling point of the Tanfield meals is that they can be stored at room temperature for a year.

The emphasis on identifiable provenance means Matthew could become one of Yorkshire’s best known farmers. His photograph is being used on the packaging to represent the Dales farmers supplying the lamb. “I’m going to be a celebrity,” he jokes. “I’m looking forward to it.”

As well as about 900 sheep on the farm, which is actually four older farms combined, the Barkers also have different varieties of beef cattle, ranging from pedigree Aberdeen Angus, which they favour as sucklers, to dairy Friesian bulls which they fatten to sixteen months old before slaughter.

n Last week’s feature omitted details of where to find the products of E & EG Bullivant & Daughters. They sell at Driffield and Malton Farmers’ Markets. See also www.theinternetfarmshop.com/