Commercial and pedigree sheep farmers are gearing up for what is likely to be the biggest one-day business event in the area for such producers – North Sheep, to be held on Wednesday, June 7 at Bradford House Farm, Ponteland, Northumberland.

The National Sheep Association event, which was due to be staged in 2021, but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus, will be hosted by JE Woodman and Son – a well known farming enterprise noted for its livestock.

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Willie Woodman, who farms with his wife Christine and son Martin will provide a glimpse into a traditional Northumberland farm, which is based around 2130 acres located at two separate units, 30 miles apart. The business includes the 930 acres Bradford House Farm near Ponteland and 1200 acres based at Great Chesters, a hill farm in the shadow of Hadrian’s Wall.

The family has run Great Chesters as a livestock farm since Willie’s father Ted took the tenancy in 1969. They bought Great Chesters in 1993 and purchased Bradford Farm in 2002 as a base to grow wheat, barley, oilseed rape, and beans. In recent years have added more acres to the Bradford holding.

Willie Woodman, who is a director of Hexham and Northern Marts, is proud of his heritage and of the way he and the farming community has moved ahead of the changes to keep abreast of changing demands and Government policies.

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“We are traditional Northumberland farmers, but I hope we can showcase not only our own approach here at Bradford, but also the progressive approach farmers are taking in the surrounding area. This is a very big honour for us to be asked to host North Sheep. It’s an opportunity to share our lifetime’s work and a traditional Northumberland livestock enterprise with other dedicated farmers.”

The Woodmans have 270 suckler cows, mainly Limousin crosses with a few British Blue crosses and 40 to 50 bulling heifers. They sell their suckled calves as stores at the Hexham store sales.

During the Bradford House Farm tour, visitors will see some cattle that are ready for market, including older stores at 20 months, yearlings just taken off their mothers, and cows with calves at foot.

But at North Sheep, the focus will be on the the family's sheep operation. The two farms carry 1150 sheep made up of 700 Blackfaces and 450 Mule and Texel crosses.

“Our sheep flock is in the main self-sufficient,” says Willie. “We breed all replacements and only buy in Blackface and Texel tups from Hexham Mart. We occasionally purchase a Bluefaced Leicester tup to put to the small number of Bluefaced Leicester ewes which we have, specifically to breed Bluefaced Leicester tups to use on some of our Blackface ewes.”

Where possible, all lambing takes place indoors with the sheep being housed approximately a month before lambing starts. Finished lambs are sold fat through the live auction at Hexham Mart. The Woodmans start selling lambs at the end of July through until the end of March, aiming to sell at weights of between 46-50kgs.

“Visitors to North Sheep will not see show sheep or cattle at Bradford House. We focus on breeding and producing quality commercial animals, with the aim of getting a good sized carcase that will be in demand in the main UK markets.”

Bradford House Farm, which sits at almost 500feet above sea level, is a typical Northumberland mixed farm, half permanent pasture and half temporary grassland and arable. The arable enterprise is extensive, growing wheat, barley, oil seed rape and beans. Soil testing is undertaken regularly and variable rate fertiliser is applied as and when needed.

The Woodmans grow all their own silage and hay with whole crop bean crimped for silage and fed to the cattle, alongside their wheat and barley and oilseed rape, of which the remainder is sold through through Tyne Grains. Lambs graze at Great Chesters until the end of October and are then brought down onto the lower land at Bradford to feed on stubble turnips during the winter.

In addition to the family, the two farms provide employment for a shepherd, and two stockman. They all work together across both holdings as a team, helping with the silage, harvesting and other areas to meet the needs of the annual farming calendar and challenges of the Northumberland weather.

“We have a fantastic team says Willie, and we couldn’t manage without them, their support makes our faming life so much easier.”

“Farming at two locations, 30 miles apart, inevitably creates additional challenges and costs. We have machinery costs to deal with at both farms, which is more expensive than one independent unit.”

But it is coping with the increasing amount of red tape, the UK Government’s post-Brexit policies and this year’s huge rise in costs that present the biggest challenge for the Woodman’s farming business, and their fellow farmers.

“The lack of direction from Government makes planning for the future almost impossible. It is going to be very useful indeed to have these issues discussed at North Sheep. But rising costs are not in anyone’s control, and that’s a major problem in running a commercial farming enterprise and trying to maximise returns.”

The two farms are managed under a system that aims to make the business as self-sufficient as possible. Along with silage and hay, the Woodmans produce all their own straw and most of the feed their cattle and sheep need. This has been of huge benefit in minimising input costs – apart from the extraordinary extra cost of fertiliser this year.

Existing and new schemes are maximised too with the land at Great Chesters on Hadrian’s Wall in a Higher-Level Stewardship scheme.

Visitors to NorthSheep will also be able to see a presentation of the results of the Carbon Audit of Bradford House, undertaken with Carbon Partners, Virgin Money.

Willie added: “We’re already very conscious of our carbon usage, and if the Carbon Audit identifies opportunities for us to reduce our carbon footprint, as I am sure it will, then I know that it will help save costs and improve our financial efficiency.

"We are already looking at planting trees in some of the less productive corners of our land which will help reduce carbon, and I am expecting the Carbon Audit to show that we might also improve our carbon and commercial performance by reducing our livestock numbers.”

An NSA member of many years’ standing, Willie sees North Sheep as a vital forum for sheep farmers at a critically important time for the industry. “Organisations like the NSA give grassroots farmers like myself a voice, and a platform to share problems and solutions. I hope when visitors come to Bradford House at NSA North Sheep, they’ll get a good insight into our costs and margins, and how we have tried to improve efficiency.

"I hope very much the whole event will stimulate debate about how we can make sheep farming fit for whatever the future brings, for the benefit of the next generation and beyond,” he concluded.