Colt Park Farm is a 585ha farm, located near Rothbury. Rich and Jen run an upland breeding farm with a strong focus on pasture management and producing quality stock on a pasture-based system. Stock includes 2000 ewes comprising of Lleyn, NZ Romney and Easycare, with a plan to move to a full wool shedding flock. They have 120 Angus breeding cows, which are outwintered, and 100 Red Deer hinds.
Rich and Jen started the day with a presentation on their background and journey as new entrants in agriculture. This was followed by a trailer tour around the farm to see first-hand the systems they have in place and their thriving Angus cows and sheep. They also highlighted the new hedgerows they have planted and showed members their herbal leys 鈥� examples of their commitment to sustainability on farm.
Lunch was provided by local caterers The Running Fox, before a thought-provoking afternoon with guest speaker Joe Henry, vet and partner at Black Sheep Farm Health, based in Rothbury.
Joe has been a registered vet for 26 years and has worked in both the UK and New Zealand. In 2023 he became president of Sheep Veterinary Society and has been involved with discussions on Bluetongue serotype3. Outside of work, Joe runs a farm with 130 ewes and 140 cattle all outside on forage only diets, with his family. Joe spoke about improving farm profitability by focusing on production, efficiency and animal welfare. Joe鈥檚 talk allowed members to debate subjects like removing the bull earlier, calving outside, soil health and changing breeds to suit your system.
Inspiring and insightful
Poppy Smith, York East County Adviser and North livestock lead, said: 鈥淎 huge thank you to Jen and Rich for hosting us and to Joe for his insightful and thought-provoking talk. You really must admire anyone who jumps in feet first as new entrants and it鈥檚 inspiring to see a young couple who are as passionate as Jen and Rich embracing building a sustainable farming enterprise. Joe鈥檚 passion was really evident, and it seems Northumberland members are embracing Black Sheep Farm Health鈥檚 knowledge on farm.
鈥淭he commodity boards allow you to get a real insight into upcoming policy and allow you to help shape the future of farming. Please consider attending your next livestock, dairy, crop or poultry event which can be in person or online and is open to any member.鈥�
Events invites will be sent via email and also published to the North area of the website.聽
Host Jen Oglesby said: 鈥�'It was great to host the Livestock Board meeting on farm, as this opened up lots of discussion around systems that are often not addressed within the NFU. We always enjoy welcoming others on the farm and it was great to have Joe present on the benefits of sustainable farming for the future, which we also share a real passion for.鈥�
