BAKEWELL AND DISTRICT PROBUS CLUB CRACKING ON – FROM POULTRY TO PASTURES
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Most of the speakers at the Bakewell and District Probus Club meetings are members of the club itself but on occasion, a guest is invited to talk on a special topic. One such meeting was held recently when the speaker was Robert Thornhill of Great Longstone, the current head of a long-established farming family in the village.
Robert described how his farming grandfather in 1912 had decided to concentrate on poultry production. Over the following few years, he had expanded his operations such that his flock reached ten thousand laying hens producing free-range eggs. In order to handle these quantities, he set up an egg-packing station, which was the first of its kind in Derbyshire. (An example of the sort of wooden boxes in which these eggs were sent to market is shown in the photograph). In time, the business turned to the production of poultry meat, which was a premium product, far more expensive than beef in the years before World War II. By the 1970s, Thornhill’s chicken processing factory in Great Longstone employed 450 people. In the meantime, Robert’s father (Peter) and uncle who, by then were running the business in partnership, decide to diversify, with Peter concentrating on cattle rearing from the 1950s.
After studying farming techniques in several countries, Robert joined his father in the family business. By crossbreeding Holstein Friesian with Jersey cattle, imported from New Zealand, they created a grass-fed herd of dairy cattle which produced milk of enhanced quality with a high fat content. Now in charge of the farm, Robert has a herd of 250 cows which he grazes on sections of his land in rotation, thus allowing the maximum growth of grass with the least damage to the ground. He described how he uses technology to monitor the growth of the farm’s pastures and the health of his animals. Along with his usual day-by-day farming activities, he is also clearly focussed on environmental matters, such as tree-planting and the restoration of the historic dewponds which are a feature of this limestone area.
It was clear to his audience that here was a farmer whose attitude and actions are worthy of far more appreciation by government and the public in general than is usually afforded them, and that they should be encouraged and supported.
Further details of the Bakewell and District Probus Club, including reports of earlier meetings, can be found on its website at www.bakewellprobus.org
