Northern Farmer Awards 2024: Beef Farmer of the Year finalists

The winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony at Pavilions of Harrogate, the Great Yorkshire Showground, on Thursday, February 22.

Also to be revealed on the night will be the overall 2024 Northern Farmer of the Year, chosen by the panel of judges from the category winners.

Beef Farmer of the Year finalists, sponsored by Carr's Billington

Graham Walker, Break Hill Farm, Rainton, Thirsk

Graham, of Break Hill Farm, Rainton, Thirsk, showed an interest in livestock from an early age, starting off on the family farm.

He has always worked with stock – cattle or sheep – and was approached by Jane Grant to work as stockman with 70 Longhorns to bull plus followers. Graham has been involved with beef suckler cows all his life through the family farm and has kept a small herd of pedigree Longhorn cows at home since 2005 alongside the commercial cattle.

In 2007 he started showing Longhorns, since which time he has had many successes at shows throughout the country.

In 2016 Graham was appointed as a Longhorn Society panel judge and in the same year became chairman of the Northern Longhorn Breeders Club, which he still is to this day. He started a three-year term on the society council in 2022.

In August 2022 he started a new job as livestock manager for the Longbridge herd of longhorns at Easingwold and has since increased the number of breeding cows, with 80 to calve from January 2024.

The farm is about 200 acres of grassland, all within a ring fence, with modern buildings and handling system. All cattle are electronically tagged and data stored through Shearwell.

Read more: Finalists revealed for 2024 Northern Farmer Awards

Recently, 600 store lambs have been purchased to follow the cattle mob grazing with the intention of fattening the lambs. Bulls that meet the grade for registration are sold to other breeders.

Wildflower strips are in place around several field boundaries and hives of bees are kept.

Wilkinson family, Ivy Farm, Leyburn

Siblings Beth and Luke Wilkinson of Ivy Farm, Leyburn, have had amazing success with Maggie their March 21-born home-bred heifer who was champion calf at the November 2021 English Winter Fair and returned last year to take the Overall Supreme Champion title.

The farm operation is a family affair with parents James and Rachel still playing a leading role. Beth and Luke were introduced to showing at a young age by dad, James, who first took them to the show ring in 2005. Now the siblings have taken over the reins and do the majority of the showing themselves.

Ivy Farm has only 20 head of cattle, split 50/50 between commercial and pedigree. The Wilkinsons have 15 acres of grassland and rent a further ten acres nearby. The commercial herd was established by James and Rachel, but in 2018 Beth and Luke bought their first pedigree Limousin. After a successful showing career, the heifer was flushed, and embryos transferred. One of her first embryo calves sold for £17,000. This cow is the foundations on which the herd has been developed.

Beth says: “Maggie (by Truman Idol) is the third calf out of an outstanding cow known as Millie, who back in 2016 took Reserve Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show, Countryside Live, the English Winter Fair and the East of England Show.

Once finished showing, Beth and Luke plan to flush Maggie for embryo transfer and put her in calf, hopefully to produce the next generation of Ivy Farm champions.

William Barker, Greylands Farm, Hinderwell

William Barker is the fourth generation of the Barker family at Greylands Farm, Hinderwell, since 1903 when William’s great-grandfather bought it.

Parents Carol and John ran the farm with a small number of cattle and sheep. When William left school he worked away from the farm but returned in his mid-20s.

William still works off the farm some of the time as a plant operator/digger driver at a mine near Whitby. With a wife, Joanne, and young daughter, Emily, William finds this brings in a guaranteed income and gives him the freedom to expand the farm and follow his passion for breeding Blonde D’Aquitaine cattle.

The farm is now just over 200 acres, the family having recently acquired a 70-acre plot that was effectively splitting their farm in two. It is now all contained within one block, making things much easier, especially when moving stock.

More than 25 years ago John brought three Blonde D’Aquitaine cows to the farm and so began William’s affinity with the breed. They now have 36 cows with 38 calves (two sets of twins this year) and one bull, Hallifield Poirot.All cows are served naturally by the bull.

Calving Christmas to March, they aim to keep five or six females as replacements each year and sell three or four privately.

A holiday cottage and caravans bring people on to the farm and William and Joanne are both keen to share information about their farming methods and working in harmony with nature.