Beef Industry Farm Tours - will not be taking place in 2024
NBA announce farm tours as part of Beef Expo 2022
Two informative and educational farm tours have been confirmed in the Darlington area for Friday 27th May, ahead of the NBA Beef Expo 2022 taking place the following day, Saturday 28th May at Darlington Farmers Auction Mart’s (DFAM) new state-of-the-art Humbleton Park Auction Centre.
NBA Beef Expo is the largest technical beef event in the UK, and the farm tours are an important element showcasing the innovative thinking behind some of the country’s progressive farm operations. This year, the farm tours will be delivered by kind permission of the Suddes and Richardson families.
The Suddes family have farmed at South Farm, Cornsay for over 100 years. The business is a family affair, Rob and Janis farm alongside their sons Richard and Karl. Sitting at 900ft, the 800-acre unit carries 120 pedigree Limousin cows.
Pedigree bulls and heifers are sold at home as well as at Carlisle and also local auctions, including Darlington and Hexham; those not suitable for breeding are finished on home-grown rations and sold live at 12-14 months old through Darlington market.
Of the 800 acres, 500 are arable, the remainder are pasture. External to the home farm, a further 400 acres are worked on a shared farming basis, and the farm’s contracting business drills and combines a further 600 acres. All crops are established using conservation agriculture techniques. The farm is also home to 32,00 free range hens.
Bracken House, Melsonby, has been farmed by the Richardsons since 1916. Totalling 780 acres, the business has always finished cattle, sourcing cattle live from local markets. The farm finishes between six and seven hundred head per year, split between bulls and steers. Finished bulls are sold live at Darlington market, the steers are sold deadweight through Woodheads or ABP.
In 2004, Bracken House was only the second farm in the UK to build a Roundhouse, with another being added in 2019. The two Roundhouses hold a total of 390-head, and have integrated handling systems. The family also own and operate Lowgrange Quarry Ltd.
The farm tours represent an additional and informative element to the exhibition taking place the following day. Drawing in 4,000 beef farmers annually, the NBA Beef Expo is considered a major showcase for pedigree and commercial breed societies who want to promote the quality of their cattle.
Displaying some of the finest examples of British breeding anywhere in the UK, farmers, exhibitors, agricultural companies and interested members of the public use the annual event to network, do business and share knowledge. A full seminar programme and working machinery demonstrations will also be announced shortly.
Numbers for the farm tours are limited, and early booking is advisable.
Buy your Farm Tour tickets here - https://nationalbeefassociation.digitickets.co.uk/category/10654?branches.branchID=1426
Tickets for the NBA Beef Expo, are priced at just £10 per person, when brought in advance by visiting - https://nationalbeefassociation.digitickets.co.uk/category/10654?branches.branchID=1426. Tickets will be £12.00 on the gate.
