GOD’S OWN COUNTRY Lambing season at Turner Top Farm
‘Farming life is very hard work but i’s very rewarding at the end of the day’ Richard Greenwood
THREE
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY TURNER TOP FARM
Adrienne Kerr FIVE
CONTENTS 08 Introduction 10 Richard Greenwood 24 Mary Greenwood 40 George Greenwood 52 Eleanor Greenwood 68 Lizzie Greenwood 76 Life on the farm 78 Acknowledgement SEVEN
Turner Top Farm, situated in the heart of the Yorkshire Pennines just off junction 22 of the m62, the highest motorway point in the United Kingdom. It’s Easter and its lambing season. The Hill Upland sheep farm which accomodates 700 plus sheep, 200 acres of land plus moorland, is run by John Greenwood, Richard and Liz Greenwood and their children George 14, Eleanor 12 and Mary 8. Richard and Liz were introduced to farming before they could walk, and so George, Eleanor and Mary too, were introduced. ‘It’s a way of life’ Richard says. It’s a life like no other. It’s clear this is no 9 to 5 with weekends off. Richard is at the farm at first light daily, 365 days a year and during the holidays the whole family are working. At lambing time this work can go on all night. I’m talking to Richard, and Eleanor walks up. She calmly tells her dad that there’s a lamb needing help birthing and goes off in the Buggy. She comes back later having helped with the birth. Mary tells of her first experience with lambing at 3 years old. ‘I’ve done plenty’ she says with calm confidence, ‘I’ve lost count’ In the background George is back and forth with the tractor and trailer transporting sheep. This is farming life.
‘I just love the memories Richard and I have made together, and with the kids. We both agreed that we wanted our kids to have the same memories as we did growing up.’ - Lizzie Greenwood
NINE
RICHARD GREENWOOD Richard has always come from a farming background,
his earliest memories of being on the farm were housing hay, feeding pings the farm yard. From being at the farm from such an early age he has accumulated many skills, from dry stone walling; fencing; sheep shearing; veterinary skills; common sense; safety; and working dogs. “You learn many different skills on the farm.” Richard is extremely passionate about his work, explaining “farming life is very hard work but is very rewarding at certain times of the year. You learn so much about nature and the weather and how you need to work with them.” I ask him what it’s like working with the children and how they act on the farm, he mentions how much they have learnt already at such a young age, saying, “the children are brilliant, they work like adults especially at lambing time.” Working as a married couple can be hard, but being put in stressful situations on numerous occasions can be an even larger strain, Richard explains, “You quickly learn each other’s strengths. I think we make a good team. We have to be to make it work. I always knew if I was to get with anyone they had to be as passionate about the farm as I am.” Unlike most jobs, Richard is constantly working with a minimal amount of time off, however the holidays he does take are ‘treasured.’ In addition to the job allowing minimal time off, Richard’s days are long and strenuous. “The start of my day varies depending on the time of year. Lambing time almost 24-7. It also depends on the daylight hours.” It seems intense, but because Richard has grown up only knowing farming, it’s only ever been the norm for him. I ask what will happen to the farm when he gets older, “I don’t think I could live without the farm. Not sure how I’ll cope with the farm when I get older, time will tell. It depends on health as farming is very physical work.”
Walking by, I see a line of sheep, looking as if they had been mauled by a bear, Richard explained, with annoyance strewn over his face, that a dog had got into the field and killed 5
of his sheep. This had amounted to a great loss of money, and to prevent it he explained there were measures he could have taken, “by law if a dog is on your land the farmer can shoot it.” Apart from
the sheep being killed by dogs in this instance, he explains the sheep cannot be killed on his land as they have to be ‘killed at approved abattoirs around the country.’ ELEVEN
Richard cleans the sheeps hoof to remove any small stones, mud and manure. He then clips and bathes the foot in an iodine solution.
THIRTEEN
SEVENTEEN
“Mary once pushed Richard out of the way (with her sleeves rolled up) so that she could lamb a sheep, she was only tiny and with limited speech she would say “I do it Daddy!”.” Lizzie Greenwood
NINETEEN
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-THREE
MARY GREENWOOD Mary isn’t your typical 8-year-old girl. She understands
how a farm works and recognises that every animal is worth money. She respects life on the farm and doesn’t get phased when faced with uncontrollable circumstances such as a sheep or lambs death. It has been interesting to watch how she operates around everyone else, and how she exudes confidence in her work. She observes everything that’s happening around her and boldly puts that knowledge into practice. The farm life has clearly been bred into her, as she is able to pick out the pregnant sheep with ease and precision to inform Richard about sheep that are ready to lamb. She is able to locate which of the sheep are lambing by checking for the tell-tell signs. She is then able to describe the sheep’s characteristics and detail the way in which it is behaving. She knows every breed of sheep, the look and the type of wool. She is thorough in the information she provides, and this is imperative for Richard to be able to find and lamb the sheep she is describing. The first memory Mary has of farm life is lambing her first sheep, she was 3 years of age and had no fear, “I pushed my daddy out of the way once he helped me to get the nose and head out, I wanted to pull it out.” Since her first time as a 3-year-old, she has now helped lamb countless sheep with Richard and is always eager to assist whenever she can. She describes working with her brother and sister and fun, however, there can be disagreements, ‘we tend to argue over who wants to lamb but we work well together.’ When Mary gets older, she would like to have a farm for herself with Herdwick sheep, one or two dogs and horses.
TWENTY-FIVE
“Richard wouldn’t be able to tell you which of the kid’s he’s holding in the picture but he’d be able to tell you everything and anything you’d need to know about the lamb” - Lizzie Greenwood
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-NINE
Mary adds a small amount of hydrated lime under the bedding which can help to reduce infections. THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-THREE
“We couldn’t leave them by themselves, but we still had to work. We would put them in their chairs and they’d sit watching us happily.” - Liz Greenwood
THIRTY-SEVEN
Mary watches over the newly born lamb to ensure the mother interacts and bonds with it.
THIRTY-NINE
GEORGE GREENWOOD George is an average 14 year old boy; he goes to high
school and plays for a local football team. But from a very young age he always enjoyed taking apart and putting back together machines on the farm. Because of this exposure to hands on jobs, he is perfect for farming life. At an early age he was able to drive, and now is also able to execute tricky manoeuvres through narrow fences and muddy ditches in the buggy as well as expertly driving the tractor. He’s a practical person, and enjoys working on the farm, “I don’t mind the early starts, I’m used to it. And I’d much rather do this than be stuck in an office job.” He works well with Eleanor and Mary, and takes on the big brother roll perfectly by bossing them about when needed. He is able to use his initiative and doesn’t have to be told what to do by Richard or Liz. “I would be able to leave the farm with the kids for a couple days, especially George. He knows not to muck about” tells Richard. George was once asked at school as part of a project, What would he like to be when he grew up. Some kids were putting, footballers, singers etc. George wrote about how he wanted to be married with children and own their own farm. His teacher thought it was great because he wanted what he already has. For Richard and Lizzie, it was a great testament.
FOURTY-ONE
George and Eleanor practice driving on their toy pick up trucks
FOURTY-THREE
A lamb, dead at birth, lays skinned on the floor waiting to be disposed of.
The skin of the dead lamb, pictured left, is placed like a jumper on the lamb, pictured above, to trick the mother into believing it is her own.
FOURTY-SEVEN
George cries after having had Richard throw sheep dung at his face because he was misbehaving. It is a reminder for George to be sensible on the farm.
FOURTY-NINE
ELEANOR GREENWOOD I stand with Eleanor, looking at the lamb on the floor as
its legs tremble trying to take its first steps. I ask about her first memories of the farm and she tells me she recollects being in a sheep shed similar to the one we were standing in. “I was about 3, George was 5, and we used his sit on the loader tractor and trailer. Grandad, Dad and mum would put muck into the trailer for us to peddle it over to near the window and tip the trailer. It was interesting to see the whole family work together harmoniously, but I wondered how Eleanor felt about working in such a way. ‘I can’t think of anything better!’ Working with her family seemed important to Eleanor as she tells me it’s a big learning process, ‘I’ve been learning the whistle to command the dogs, I would love to work the dogs like my dad.” Along with learning the correct whistle command, she has learnt some of the sheep’s different characteristics. ‘We once had a Texel cross ewe who had a really good Texel lamb. He grew to be a good one as well, so we called him Fatty, and his mum became Fatty’s mum. George, Mary and I could pick her out wherever she were.’ Because Eleanor has spent so much time with Richard on the farm she has developed many other skills, such as cleaning out the pens correctly to minimise risk of infections, bottle feeding the lambs and learning to drive. ‘I’m able to drive the buggy around the fields to check for lambing sheep, which I’m confident to lamb by myself ’ I’d be finding this out later, as I took a ride with her round the fields over tricky terrain.
FIFTY-THREE
Richard holds Eleanor with the farms new sheepdog.
FIFTY-FIVE
In their first days of life a large number of lambs die. Taking care and paying attention to detail improves a lambs survival rates.
Eleanor goes round the lambs and uses iodine to sanitise their stomachs to prevent umbilical infections.
FIFTY-NINE
Eleanor prepares an injectable antibiotic to releave foot pain for some of the sheep.
SIXTY-THREE
Orphaned lambs require a milk formula every 4 hours for the first week which is made from a milk substitute.
SIXTY-SEVEN
LIZZIE GREENWOOD Lizzie comes from a farming background,
although people think she got into it because of Richard. At 16 she went to Essex Writtle Agricultural College, “my dad was keen for me to learn different farming skills that could be carried out in large scale farming.” She recalls her childhood picking the eggs up with her Grandma and following her dad and grandad around the farm. “I have an older brother Paul and a younger brother Steven. We were once playing in the yard when we heard a little blert coming from sheep shed, we were so excited shouting to Dad ‘there’s a lamb!’, that marked the start of that years lambing.” Growing up, Lizzie leant if she wanted something she had to make it and describes her family as a “a mend and make do family.”Having the knowledge of building and DIY has stuck with her and the time she spent building dens as a child has enabled her to progress and make things for the farm and children at home. “The first skill I learnt was to straighten nails, something I still find myself doing now (old habits)” “Farming is a way of life, it has to be in you, you can’t just do ad-lib. you have to have a passion for what you are doing. Although it is hard work it is also very rewarding too. I have had so many special animals over the years that hold very special memories to me.”
SIXTY-NINE
Lizzie’s great grandad was among those to deliver vital supplies by horse-drawn sledges to people cut off by the snow.
SEVENTY-ONE
Lizzie prepares a gate to secure the sheeps head which enables her lambs to feed properly.
SEVENTY-FIVE
LIFE ON THE FARM
The children are great on the farm; they have all
been brought up going up there from the moment they were born. Richard has always wanted them being involved, that’s how they learn. “A dog doesn’t learn at the end of its chain” Richard always says. Obviously we don’t live at the farm and our base is down in the village, but with Richard being at the farm, I would take them up and spend time with him as often as I could. As they have got older and stronger they are so helpful, they are like having extra men. At busy times such as lambing time we always need extra help but like Richard always says it’s alright having people coming but they need to know what they are doing, Richard needs to know that he can set them off and be trusted to a good job. With the children being brought up on the farm they have just learnt the way things are done here and can now be trusted to do jobs. With them being our children they know how important it is to do the job right. Richard says “If we don’t look after the sheep now, then they won’t look after us later”. If we want to have stock to sell we need to get the stock now. “We only have one chance” Richard always says. Working with the kids is great. George used to struggle at school and lacked confidence, but his confidence and respect for the machinery is fantastic.
He has always loved wheels from being very little playing with his cars and trains; he was still a crawler and used to make indicating noises as he crawled out of the bathroom, and he even turned his head from left to right. He would also make the clicking noise when I was driving and many times he would be indicating before me, he even passed this skill onto the girls as they have done the same over the years. The kids really came into their own 6 years ago when Richards Dad was taken very ill in hospital, he spent many weeks in intensive care sedated. It was Good Friday and sheep and lambs were everywhere. So Richard, myself and the children all camped up in the corner of the yard so that Richard and I could share the night shift. This worked really well and lucky for us the weather was on our side that year, so much so Richard ended up with sun stroke. One year, we lost Mary on the farm. Everyone dropped everything to try and find her (some faster than others). I was shouting out to her, when In the distance I heard, ”I’m here!” then over the brow of the hill she came down Blackpool field straddling her bike as she hadn’t quite got the hang of riding it yet, but could balance on the cross bar. I was readlly concerned and said, “where have you been?” She looked at me and replied, “I’ve been looking for bags like daddy.” She had been riding around the field on her bike looking for sheep with water bags at their
back ends, as she knew that was a sure sign that the lambs were coming. By the end of that Easter holiday she could peddle her bike properly and has been riding ever since. The children have always had toys up at the farm as we thought important for them to play and be kids as well as helping doing jobs. They go off and have a daft half hour and then they’re back ready for more jobs. We bought a sit on ride tractor off my cousin after her son had grown out of it. The tractor has done some jobs over the years from carting logs, snow, muck, soil. Mary has even been known to go and pick dead lambs up with it. Grandad once set her off with it and she slung the lamb in the back of the trailer with its head dangling down as she peddled back to the building. The tractor is still going strong all be it a few scratches on it, not bad to say it must be at least 17-year-old. It even has a flashing light on it as George can do the beep, beep sound for it reversing as well. Over the last few years my back has been really bad with a prolapsed disc and I have had to drop from the heavier duties, the children have really come into their own, taking on heavy duties and me having the lighter duty’s around the buildings. Do we get any time off? Not really. Richard probably thinks my time off is when I am at work. What do they say? ‘Don’t work with children or animals’ and I work with both! But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Richard and I did used to go on holiday when we first got together as Richards birthday is in December so we tried to make it for then for a few days. When the children were very young we used to hire a friend’s caravan at Flambourough. Richards dad, John, was a lot younger and fitter so we were able to go for 5 days, but Richard had worked
himself to the bone to get stuff done. In the end, because it was the first time he had stopped since lambing time, Richard ended up been poorly and missed half the holiday. It’s a good job I could drive and I knew the area really well. We put an end to that it was to stressful. We would also find things had gone wrong whilst we were away and Richard would say ‘if I’d been at home this wouldn’t have happened.’ Any farmer knows what it like. When Mary was 2 we bought our caravan, we used to take it to my friend’s caravan park at Old Town, it worked really well because Richard would be able to go back home and tend to the farm. I like gardening if I get chance, I like craft things and making things. I would class a rest as sitting on my chair with a pot of coffee watching my hens pottering about. On Saturdays (when not lambing) the children and I go to my mum and dads, I like to give my dad a hand if there is any jobs that need doing. I do organize the sheep section for my local show so and again any spare time I put into paperwork for that. To be honest we see quiet times in the calendar as time off, but this is mainly taken up with doing jobs that you can’t do when it’s so busy. We do like to go to Agricultural shows but even this doesn’t happen that much these days, unless Richard is judging The Derbyshire Gritstones. He once judged at The Yorkshire Show when the children were young, that was a good day out. Can you see a pattern, time off is still farming orientated?
SEVENTY-SEVEN
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank John Greenwood, Richard and Liz Greenwood, and their children George, Eleanor and Mary for allowing me to document their family and farm life. Lambing season is an extremely busy time and I appreciate the hospitality they all showed whilst having me at the farm.
SEVENTY-EIGHT