Farmer Duncan branches out (From Gazette & Herald)

Farmer Duncan branches out

DUNCAN Branch has been appointed as farm manager at Askham Bryan College.

Duncan, who has worked in the agriculture sector all his life, has responsibility for the college's Westfield Farm, including the recently installed dairy and beef units. The 174-hectare holding is managed under a mixed arable and livestock system. Arable cropping includes cereals, potatoes, maize and sugar beet, with grassland for the dairy herd, the 170 mule ewes and 200 store lambs.

The farm has 160 pure bred Holstein dairy cows and followers, plus 100 head of beef cattle - mainly Limousin/Charolais suckler-bred store cattle; also dairy-bred Holstein/Belgian Blue and Aberdeen Angus cross.

Askham Bryan offers Foundation Degrees in Agriculture or Land Management, Countryside Management and BSc (Hons) Sustainable Land Use.

Students at the college will benefit from Duncan's experience as he also has a part-time teaching role. Until October, the farm was managed by Mervyn Lewis, head of the college's Rural Business Research Unit.

Originally from Huddersfield, Duncan studied at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, and went on to manage farms in Scotland and Herefordshire.

More recently, he took on a 94-acre tenancy in West Sussex, building this up to 1,500 acres with 2,000 ewes and lambs, plus 60 suckler head of cattle, as well as running a large contracting business.

However, the onset of foot and mouth disease devastated the business.

For the last three years, he has been involved in teaching agricultural science at Brinsbury College, Chichester.

He said: "Askham Bryan College is obviously very committed to the future of agriculture and is investing heavily in the sector. It's an exciting time to be involved."

Updated: 14:35 Wednesday, January 19, 2005