Keeping it all in the family at Cherry Burton

Chris Berry talks with the Warings at Field House Farm

It’s not often you see a grown man on his knees, but James Waring will do anything in the name of competition and tried his best to convince the judges in just that manner at this year’s Driffield Show.

Of course it was all conducted in the right spirit and the eventual outcome was that mother and son, Judith and James went head-to-head again in the overall dairy championship. ‘And he beat me this year,’ says Judith with a smile and playful stomp. ‘We ended up with both the champion Jersey and champion Holstein, with home-bred cow Winton Indro Meg winning in the end. I’ll get him next year!’ Judith has a 20-strong Jersey herd whilst Field House Farm at Cherry Burton is also home to 150 black and whites on their 200 acres. They have a further 150 acres of grassland on summer lets. Peter, Judith’s husband, and James run the Holstein herd and until recently the Warings were in partnership with Peter’s brother, Paul, and their father, John, as J Waring & Sons, but they are now completely separate. It has led to Field House Farm now also being home to their young stock, which used to be housed at John’s farm, and they have put up a new building to house them. Their herd average is around the 9500 litre mark and all of the milk from both breeds goes into the tank, helping with their butterfat levels which stand at 4.2%. They have enjoyed showing for many years and are regular winners around the county. Unfortunately, like many others, their show season has been rather brief this year. ‘We were a bit worried at the start of the season because we didn’t know whether we would be able to show or not because of the blue tongue restrictions.

We moved our best cow on to someone else’s farm so that it could go to the Great Yorkshire Show but luckily the zone didn’t happen until after the show had been completed, so we took another as well. We didn’t show any Jerseys at Harrogate this year but Cleaton Jordon Glenna, who we had moved, took the Reserve Champion,’ says Judith. And that was that this year! The Great Yorkshire and Driffield - no more than that! ‘The calf shows were all cancelled because of the blue tongue restrictions and the final of the National Calf Show isn’t going to be held in October this time. It’s going to be held in February along with the National Holstein Show at Stoneleigh,’ says Peter. ‘The Yorkshire Calf Show is due to be held on December 6 and that will signal an important year for the Holsteins as the centenary of black and whites, started through the British Friesian Society, begins in November.’ But there have been some recent show and sales in auction marts and Peter has had success. ‘We showed at Lancaster and took champion and reserve, as well as best pair. That’s two more cups!’ The Warings sell their milk to ARLA but they are not on a supermarket contract, something that causes Peter some grief. ‘We’re getting 26ppl, which is better than what we used to get but costs have risen and yet we still get a penny less than everybody else. It must be something to do with us being at his side of the country.’ James has, metaphorically at least, been down on one knee in recent times too as he is set to marry dairy farmer’s daughter Rebecca Kent, from Derbyshire, in November. They met, unsurprisingly, at the Great Yorkshire Show two years ago. Peter‘s wry humour is to the fore at this point. ‘These shows have got a lot to answer for you know!’