From milking cows to chairman of Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Robert Copley is a lifelong supporter of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) and was delighted when he was made chairman of the organisation. His career path has been varied, but he now carries out his chairmanship duties alongside running Farmer Copleys, the family’s award-winning farm shop and cafe on the outskirts of Pontefract.

Robert grew up on Ravensknowle Farm, which covers 120 acres and had a dairy unit and arable rotation during his childhood.

“The income was not sufficient to support multiple family members when I left school, but I had always wanted to farm and I studied at Bishop Burton College, where I gained a National Diploma in Agriculture,” he explained. “After graduation, I moved to Dorset to take up a job milking high-yielding dairy cows three times a day.

“My next role was an AI technician and it was there that I met my wife, Heather, who was an agronomist. I was then ‘head-hunted’ by a cattle feed firm, which led to our relocation in Cheshire. When we were ready to start a family, we felt that it would be nice to bring up our children in a farm environment and therefore we set up home at Ravensknowle.”

The couple had to find a way to increase farm business income and several options were considered, including a paintball enterprise and a soft play centre for children. Their first choice was to open a farm shop, but the idea did not receive wholehearted approval.

“I broached the suggestion to Dad and his immediate response was that it would never work. Nevertheless, he was willing for us to give it a try. The shop opened its doors in 2003 and I continued working as a cattle nutritionist until it became obvious that it was going to be a success; we now employ 80 staff in total.”

The business, which has twice won the Farm Retail Association ‘Farm of the Year’ award, offers a wide range of fruit on a ‘pick your own’ system that includes 14 kilometres of raised-bed strawberries and a 300-tree apple orchard. The site has a licence to hold weddings and runs a number of other events each year. The most popular is the Farmer Copleys' pumpkin festival weekend, which attracts 100,000 visitors to the site in the autumn.

Farmer Copleys Farm Shop

They can choose from more than 30 different pumpkin varieties to pick and take home. If they are intended to be eaten after the celebrations, Robert always recommends the Blue Crown Prince variety, which he says has excellent flavour. A prize is awarded for the best Hallowe'en fancy dress and children can have their faces painted or watch the birds of prey show, among other attractions.

Meanwhile, the Moo Cafe offers a full menu and seats up to 150, with the farm shop having its own butchery, bakery and delicatessen. Products are sourced locally wherever possible and consequently Farmer Copleys also supports food producers in the West Yorkshire area and beyond. It has come a long way since Robert’s grandmother, Millie, dreamed about living on the 120-acre holding.

“My grandmother lived nearby and would sit under a tree overlooking the farm, hoping that she would one day make it her home,” said Robert. “At that time the family had just one pig and one cow, but she got her wish when she married my grandfather, Ernest, and they bought Ravensknowle in 1967.

"My parents, Ken and Janet, carried on the farming tradition until I came along and changed its course. The latest project is the addition of a jam kitchen, where the public can watch our preserves and chutneys being made.”

Despite running a demanding business, Robert finds time to act as chairman of the YAS, which has a wide remit including the management of the Great Yorkshire Show. He has been involved with the society since 2008.

“I have always been a huge fan of the Great Yorkshire Show; I used to go with my grandparents and it was one of the highlights of my year. One of the biggest decisions in recent times was to go ahead and run the event in 2021, during the Covid-19 outbreak. It was held over four days in order to maintain social distancing and this worked so well that we decided to continue the format.

“Part of my role is to raise awareness of the excellent work of the YAS and one example is the ‘Growing Roots’ charity, which provides advice for agricultural entrepreneurs and business leaders. I went on one of the courses two years after the farm shop opened and it had a very positive influence on my approach.

"The YAS also has ‘Future Farmers', which brings together producers and the wider industry for knowledge-sharing. Plans for the next show are well underway and we hope that it will be even bigger and better in 2023,” said Robert.