From Open Cast Mining to Farm & Wildlife Haven

A farm just five miles from Durham City which has “started from scratch” to bring
former open-cast mining land back into agriculture with an emphasis on encouraging wildlife has been rewarded by winning the Tyne Tees Area of the prestigious Tye Trophy.
 
The Tye award recognizes the contribution of farmers in Yorkshire and the North East to wildlife conservation and environmental protection and is organized by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and the region’s Farming and Wildlife Advisory Groups (FWAG). 
 
Mark  and Jane Gray’s Broom House Farm, Witton Gilbert is an organic livestock enterprise with some arable crops such as wheat, oats, peas, lupins and broad beans  grown with the aim of producing all their own feed for their stock.  The business also has a farm butchery, coffee shop and extensive access for schools.
 
Mr Jim Clark of Northumberland, leader of the Tye judging panel for Tyne Tees area said that the judges were most impressed by the work the Grays had undertaken: “They have a way to go, but the results of work in hand are there to be seen with wildlife coming in. It is most rewarding to see and they are to be congratulated.”
 
The farm is one of the five area winners which now goes forward to the finals with the overall winner announced on Wednesday 9 July at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate. In addition, all the area winners have the option of going forward to next year’s prestigious Silver Lapwing Award. The five areas represented are North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South & West Yorkshire, Northumberland and Tyne Tees.
 
The Tye awards will be presented by Mrs Alison Saville who gave the trophy in 1989 in memory of her grandfather Howard Tye, founder of Tye Trailers, and also her father Kenneth Tye.   Now sponsored by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the Awards are part of the Society’s charitable work which sees more than £1million allocated to aid to the farming community each year. 
Broom House Farm has a herd of 120 Aberdeen Angus cows, as well as a large flock of Lleyn sheep, a herd of Saddleback pigs and an egg laying flock of hens. The aim is to breed all replacement animals on the farm, enabling improvement of quality through breeding.  All animals are reared outside on grass pastures in the summer and in woods and straw barns during the muddiest winter months.
 
Within the 1,000 acres there are always animals on view for visitors, but the aim is to remain a fully working livestock farm. The most recent addition is an imaginative adventure trail in the woods, including bird hide, observation towers and quizzes.  This nature based woodland adventure reconnects children with trees and wildlife whilst they have fun.