Trifter

STUART and Daphne Anderson run Farness Farm on the margins of Quarry Nature Reserve at Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield in Co Durham.  The arrival of a pair of rare bee eaters in 2002 created a course of events which changed the way this farm was run forever.

Over 22,000 people came to observe the birds.  The Andersons started working with the RSPB, Natural England and DEFRA to evaluate which direction the farm, which has been in the family for three generations, should take in the future.

An RSPB team, which stayed in a cottage on the farm, provided a 24 hour watch on the bird’s nest.  They pointed out that the holding was teeming with bird life and showed all the different types.  There is an amazing 138 species on this 200 acre farm.

There are six metre wide grass margins around the fields to encourage the insects that feed the birds.  It also has two ponds and a five acre lake with islands and mud scrapes that provide an additional attraction to the bird life.  It now has the largest population of corn buntings in the province.

Farness farm has 16 North American Bison and 200 red deer. To supply lean, low cholesterol meat that has been organically reared to the farm shop.

They had to obtain a special licence to keep the bison and the high tensile steel needed for the 8 feet high fencing could only be sourced from Texas.

The latest projects are breeding North elk and rheas from South America, again to provide low cholesterol meat.

Farness farm is two miles north east of Junction 60 on the A1M and can be reached by leaving the A177 at Bishop Middleham.

More up to date details can be obtained from 0191 377 1428.