Wortley Wagyu: How this Yorkshire farm became the region’s Clarkson’s Farm

Cote Green Farm, on Finkle Street Lane, in Wortley, was founded in 2020 by 29-year-old Jake Tue.

Cushioned between Rotherham and Barnsley, The 200 acre farmland on Wallcliffe Estate may be over 130 miles away from the Cotswolds where Diddly Squat Farm is located.

However - while it’s not run by a famous face - the celebrity endorsements and social media coverage have led to people travelling from afar to source the business’ Wagyu beef.

Jake was brought up in a farming family and later went onto become a gas engineer before returning to Yorkshire to start a farm on his own terms.

Jake said: “I hadn’t wanted to farm. There’s not a lot of money in it.”

He said that it’s the only business where you buy everything at retail price but have to sell at a wholesale price.

“It’s back to front,” said Jake.

Jake got gifted some cattle which turned out to be Wagyu which he started breeding.

He decided to start selling to butchers until lockdown struck when they decided to sell from the farm.

Jake said: “It snowballed from there.

“Then lockdown happened, meaning more people were shopping locally and appreciating healthier and better quality products such as Wagyu Beef.

“We started selling burgers to restaurants as well as directly to customers off the farm.”

What is Wagyu?

Jake explained that Wagyu is the healthiest of all beef.

He added: It's more marbled visually and muscular, it melts in your mouth. It’s umami flavoured, buttery, tender.

“It’s slower to produce - but a better product.

“You can't go back to normal beef once you’ve tasted Wagyu.”

With people becoming more health conscious, Wagyu, which is a healthier option, has boomed in popularity in recent times.

Jake added: “Wagyu has been a big positive thing for farming and the realisation of it.

“Food is seen as an essential item that used to be taken for granted. People used to want meat as cheap as possible.”

Jake added that Wagyu is on the uptrend to overtake native breeds.

He said: “It’s on trend and more premium.”

Trailblazer Jake and his family now live on the land full time in the farmhouse.

While they’ve been likened to having the enterprising nouse of Jeremy Clarkson, Jake admits they haven’t had the finance to chuck at the farm like he has.

Jeremy Clarkson has done a good job at bringing awareness to the general public of the challenges in farming and farmers.

Jeremy lives nearby to Diddly Squat Farm on the site of a farm house he purchased to blow up in order to create his mansion which has reportedly cost more than £4m.

Jake instead started off with a small farm shop, much smaller than that of Diddly Squat Farm where customers could buy Wagyu produce such as burgers and steaks and various cuts of wagyu breed

He then set up a street food van serving Wagyu burgers, fries and street food.

“We had huge queues at the start, especially when the weather was good”, he said.

“Sometimes it was burgers we sold out of, it was all weather dependent.”

Jake started with picnic tables and chairs in an area of the farmyard before extending the site due to its popularity to make it “bigger and more comfortable.”

He said: “We’ve had to invest money as we go along. It’s snowballed online.

“We’ve gone with the trend.

“We’ve expanded the farm shop and built a bigger kitchen. It’s still a street food van style and still on the farm.

“We’re hoping to grow even bigger in the future.”

The farm is accessible based on the trans pennine trail connecting Sheffield and Barnsley which means it’s a popular spot with cyclists and hikers.

Jake added: “There’s massive things happening, huge things happening.

“We’ve got more cattle than we’ve ever had and we’re looking to expand the wholesale side of the business.”

So much so they have their cattle on bed and breakfast at other farms and contract farmers.

He said: “We’re looking for farms to join us - we need to grow more calf producers.

“We’re looking for people wanting to get into Wagyu.”