Last dairy farmers in the Upper Calder Valley celebrate 100 years in farming

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When the Sutcliffe family farm began, they were delivering milk by horse and cart. Now 100 years on the methods have vastly changed but the farm is still going strong.

NFU members Alan Sutcliffe and Sandra Evans are celebrating 100 years on their family farm, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire this month.

The third-generation farmers are the last dairy farmers in the Upper Calder Valley. The sister and brother took over running Pextenement Farm from their father and grandfather previously and this month, is celebrating 100 years of producing milk for the nation. Now, Alan’s daughter, Hannah, makes it four generations of Sutcliffes at Pextenement.

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A traditional dairy farm they turned organic in 2000 and then started making cheese and more recently they are looking to diversify and develop holiday lettings.

Yorkshire Farmer Alan Sutcliffe and daughter HannahYorkshire Farmer Alan Sutcliffe and daughter Hannah
Yorkshire Farmer Alan Sutcliffe and daughter Hannah

The dairy farm has 100 Meuse Rhine Issel (MRI) cattle and supplies organic milk to Organic Herd and cheese to local delis, cafes and farm shops.

NFU member and former branch chairman Alan said: “We are really proud to have steered the farm into its centenary. Garnet, my grandad, started with maybe three cows and now we milk 60 – which is small-fry by today’s standards.

“It’s not easy running a small dairy herd in the Pennines. When I joined the business in the 1980s, there were around 20 dairy farms in the Upper Calder Valley, and slowly they’ve all given up.

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“Going organic was the best thing we could have done. We’ve never been massively into fertiliser and routine anti-biotics, so it seemed the logical path to take. Our values closely align with Organic Herd’s ethos of ‘How we farm matters’, and I have served on their membership committee for the last five years.

“It’s a good way to care for the farm – after all, we might own the land for now, but it’s not really ours, we’re just caretakers for our little slice of time.”

Alan works closely with Myerscough College to offer placements on farm and is a firm believer in giving everyone an opportunity to learn about farming. Several young people have come through the farm and ended up at Harper Adams and other agricultural universities.

He said: “I’ve had lots of apprenticeships and student placements over the years, some people from farming backgrounds but mostly they’ve come from a non-farming family, and it’s great to see them passionate about farming, and to watch their skills develop and confidence grow.”

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“We don’t know what’s coming next for us – but we hope our family will still be stewarding this little patch of Yorkshire in another hundred years’ time!”

NFU county adviser Jennifer Costello said: “It’s great the family farm business is still going strong and providing organic milk and cheese to the local community.

“I hope they have a great time celebrating this huge milestone and continue to farm in the Calder Valley.”

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