Park House low-cost organic dairy with on-farm wedding venue and cheese making

Mark and Jenny Lee have made radical changes to their family dairy farm on the edge of the Lake District in the last five years, completely turning about the system to fit in with new diversification projects.

Since 2016 – when they sold the pedigree Holstein herd at Park House, Torpenhow, near Cockermouth – they have been establishing a low-input low-cost organic system, as well as setting up an on-farm wedding venue with the latest venture being a cheese making operation.

The Lees farm the 358-acre all-grass Park House in partnership with Jenny’s parents, James and Marie Grindley. They met at Newcastle University where Jenny was studying agriculture.

Mark, who played professional rugby for Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders for several years, captaining Scotland’s Sevens team, then spent the next 10 years in the Army, firstly as an infantry officer and then, as a solicitor, studied for his law degree.

They married in 2007 and have two daughters, Jessie, now 12 and Isla, 10. But they could see the Army life, moving every 18 months or so, was not good for family stability and they came to Cumbria in 2012 when they took over the running of the farm.

Mark took the opportunity of the Army’s offer of re-settlement courses and enrolled on numerous agricultural courses, which he found worthwhile. He became one of the inaugural members of the RABDF’s 'Entrepreneurs in Dairying' to better understand the opportunities in the dairy industry.

The herd is predominantly Jersey Friesian cross which are put to Scandinavian AI sires from late May with the aim of a tight 10 week calving block from Early February to mid April Ref:RH190721042 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

“Jenny grew up farming at Park House, but I had no previous experience and I couldn’t even reverse a trailer when I came here," said Mark, who embarked on his third career in 2012. “It was a baptism of fire for the first 12 months!”

At the time, the herd of 220 pedigree Holsteins was being milked three times a day but there was a low in the milk price in 2015 of 15ppl. “We had a lot to thank our herdsman, Tom Brown, for and he has now been with us for 38 years building up a good pedigree herd yielding 10,000 litres on average,” said Mark.

The choice was to either invest heavily in more high input/output cows and new buildings, or to back off a bit from intense milking and move to a grass-based system and diversify.

“We visited a lot of farms and we went to the Republic of Ireland where we were impressed by what we saw. We thought it might be a bit wet here to be grazing for 10 months of the year – but they managed to achieve it in a wetter climate in south-west Ireland,” he said.

“Everyone we spoke to said if they were to start up again their advice would be to get the right cows and get the basic infrastructure in place.”

A visit to the research farm at Moorepark ignited an initial interest in switching from high input Holsteins to a cross-bred, grass-based herd. They got help and advice from Noel Gowen, of the Irish based livestock services group, Grasstec.

On beginning the organic conversion process they direct drilled about 70 acres of the grazing ground with 2kg to the acre of white clover in a ryegrass mix Ref:RH190721052 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

They also got involved with a local discussion group run by Bess Jowsey, the Pasture to Profit consultant for LIC, which has helped their understanding and knowledge of the system.

In August, 2016, the 330 head of Holsteins were sold and the money re-invested in a new herd which arrived from Eire in November. Through Grasstec, they bought 250 females from high EBI (Economic Breeding Index) Jersey cross NZ Friesian herds, 180 of which were in calf heifers. The majority were of 70% Friesian and 30% Jersey breeding and some were in calf to the beef bull.

“My parents were happy for us to take charge, although we still discuss everything with them,” said Jenny. “Selling the Holsteins was a big decision and it was a very emotional day when they went.

“It was about finding a work-life balance,” said Jenny. “We had both worked in jobs outside of the dairy industry, which meant we were keen to take a broad view of the whole dairy sector.

"We wanted to make the farm more profitable but try to be sustainable for the next generation. The spring calving grass based system seemed to fit the farm and our aim to have a balanced family life.”

The big changes made on the farm have brought many challenges – some made worse by the Coronavirus epidemic.

“A big change on the farm had been getting organic certification. It had been a big financial cost and a big personal achievement,” said Mark. “It has been a technically challenging process to go through.

"We noticed the lack of production from the soil after withdrawing the chemical fertiliser our yields were down nearly 40%. This improved over the last couple of years as the soil adjusted. We have been certified fully organic since June, 2020, but are still supplying milk on a conventional contract as our milk buyer won’t pick up organic milk from this area.

“We have got to be able to get a decent return on the milk we produce. Arla has been good at keeping the price up, but they won’t pick up organic milk in the north and OMSCO is not recruiting any new suppliers,” he added.

Of the farm’s 358 acres, the ring fenced grazing block is 228 acres, ranging from sandy loam around the edge of the farm to heavy clay, and was already accessed by a number of cow tracks. With the farm buildings in the centre of the land, it is compatible with a grass-based system.

Now, the farm has almost 5km of cow tracks with 2km of concrete railway sleepers topped with astroturf being put in recently, some of which have been constructed with the help of an environmental stewardship grant. The others are of hard-core. Water pipes have also been laid to new troughs.

All the paddocks have water troughs install to keep the cows with a fresh supply of water Ref:RH190721041 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

On beginning the organic conversion process, the Lees direct drilled about 70 acres of the grazing ground with 2kg to the acre of white clover in a ryegrass mix and a further 80 acres was re-seeded and over seeded with a mixed species ley.

In the first year, the fields were split with electric fencing into 8-10 acre paddocks.These are now more permanently fenced, having been split with hedgerows.

They planted 5km of hedgerows under mid-tier stewardship and this will also will provide wildlife corridors to link up with the farm’s woodland. Jenny, who trained as a teacher, is a Forest School leader and groups of children from the local primary school come to the farm to do nature studies.

“The system is more prone to weather events – in 2018, we had 11 weeks when we were feeding silage in the paddocks which led to a shortage in the winter. That year, we also had the ‘Beast from the East’ which led us to evaluate how many cows we could carry,” said Mark.

For the organic conversion, artificial fertiliser use ceased and slurry no long applied using a splash plate but a dribble bar. Mark said this had the benefit of improved uptake of nitrogen and being able to use the paddocks sooner, within 21-24 days.

Grass growth is measured with a plate meter and grazing managed with Agrinet for optimum production. The grass is generally grazed at the three-leaf stage for 24 hours.

To improve soil structure and condition in most of the paddocks, they also hired an aerator. The fields were soil-tested before the conversion began and where pH was below 6, lime has been applied. Some areas were low in sulphur and they intend to apply elemental sulphur to restore the balance.

Initially, they were planning to run a flying herd and put the cattle to the beef bull and sell the calves. However, once the spring grazing herd was on the ground they felt the next logical step to suit the new system was organic conversion – and they realised buying in replacements for an organic herd would be difficult.

So that they can grow enough feed for the cows under the organic system, herd numbers had been reduced from 220 to 135.

The lack of chemical fertiliser impacted on grass growth rates and grain is no longer fed to cows, with the farm currently considering going through pasture fed certification with the Pasture Fed Livestock Association.

Yields have improved from 4000 litres at the start of being organic, to average 5100 litres at 4.6 % BF and 3.5% P – attributed to better grazing management and a more established, mature herd.

The aim of the system is to get the maximum amount of milk from forage. To try to achieve this, cows are grazed the day they calve and graze 24 hours a day as soon as conditions allow.

The herd is predominantly Jersey/Friesian cross which are put to Scandinavian AI sires from late May with the aim of a tight 10-week calving block from early February to mid April. Jersey sexed semen is being used on the more Friesian type of cows.

Cows and heifers are monitored in the paddocks at morning and evening grazing. Last season, the conception rate was 93% across the herd, with 100% of heifers getting in calf.

After six weeks, the cows are run with the farm’s four Hereford bulls. Heifers are served with sexed semen in the first three weeks and are then run with a bull for seven weeks.

“The system breeds fertile, hardy cows which keep body condition,” said Mark. “The Friesian/Jersey crosses are the best for converting grass to milk. This will, hopefully, increase as the grazing leys and soils continue to improve with a more mature herd.”

Jenny and Mark run Three Hills Barn wedding venue, along with their family Ref:RH190721040 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

The Three Hills Wedding Barn, the stone barn in which Mark and Jenny were married and then converted into a 150-seat venue in the middle of the farm steading, hosted 45 weddings in 2019.

With 45 weddings booked for 2020 and a further 20 this year, which have had to be postponed or cancelled because of Covid, the third string of the bow was taken away from the cash flow. There are also five shepherds’ huts and a camping field.

“It has been hard trying to look after the couples who have postponed their weddings three times. Some have changed their plans and got married in a registry office,” said Mark.

“While people are desperate to get married they are also realising it is not the best idea to get so many people together until everyone is vaccinated and they are still being very cautious. We have been trying to look on the bright side. It has allowed us to focus on the farm, the cows and the soil – and our new cheese-making enterprise,” he added.

“Jen and I decided on the cheese-making enterprise three years ago. It took about 12 months to design and build and get environmental health officers on board."

The spring calving herd is dry from the end of December to end of February, so Jenny and Mark started making their first cheese and packing it at the end of 2019 and the Torpenhow Cheese Company was born.

Experienced specialist cheese maker, Kathy Biss, who runs cheese making courses from her North-west Highland Dairy, in the Kyle of Lochalsh, spent four days on the farm showing them how to make cheese.

Further technical advice came from Cumbrian-based technical adviser in the cheese industry, Adrian Evans and in particular on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food hygiene standards.

They had made around three tonnes of cheese by 2021 but because the outlets they had envisaged, such as shows, were cancelled and many local shops were closed, they had to re-think. Retail outlets for the cheese were found through butchers shops which were still open last spring and by doorstep deliveries. They now operate a click and collect service from the farm, as well as nationwide delivery

So far, the cheese-making has created a full time job. Demand for the cheeses is creating more jobs and the Lees are looking to fill a further full time and part time position.

Six different cheeses have been made so far – Park House Cheddar, Torpenhow Brie, Binsey Red, Trusmador (a white Stilton type) and most recently ewes’ milk from James and Catherine Hadwin’s Love Ewe Dairy, at Mansergh Hall Farm, Kirkby Lonsdale, has been made into a pressed blue cheese which was offered to state leaders at the G7 Summit in Cornwall, in June.

Cheese maturation room full of cheddar, It is responsible for the distinct flavour of the cheese Ref:RH190721032 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

The first cheese they made won a silver medal in the Virtual Cheese Awards for their traditional cheddar cheese, just one point behind Wyke Farms and beating Montgomerry Cheese into third place. Judges commented on the 12 month mature cheddar cheese’s floral and long-lasting taste, which Mark said was attributable to the pasture fed cattle.

“I believe milk is worth £1 per litre and, if farmers were paid that, standards would be even higher and there would be greater benefit for the environment as we would be able to employ more staff to work on the farm. I have been to some amazing big scale commodity producers, but the family farms are caught in the middle,” said Mark.

The Lees say the options are open to process more milk on farm with cheese-making – organic growth could see last year’s production of three tonnes more than triple to 10 tonnes. Jenny has already started to make butter and they could move to milking once a day to increase milk solids to help with that.

All the milk used in the dairy is pasteurised for the cheese, so on-farm liquid milk sales are a possibility. “All the options are open to us. There is a big move to buy local. We have to have the right plan and the right amount of capital to invest. There are several options we are looking at,” said Mark.