Christopher Stephenson - Bradley Burn Farm

Director of Tyne Grain and farmer of a mixed farm on the edge of the Durham Dales, Christopher went on a LandSkills North East funded study tour of Germany to learn more about making his business more competutive.

Learning from others

Christopher visited Germany to see how their grain storage and handling compares to Tyne Grain’s own store in Jarrow. He was also interested in learning about Germany’s plant breeding and Biotech crop trials.

 

This trip was designed to help members of the Tyne Grain cooperative develop more competitive business practices and to explore future trading opportunities. During the three day trip, the farmers met with both German farmers and executives from local co-operatives through The Raiffeisen Association. The farmers learnt about the technologies employed and how grain is traded on the European markets as well as how the Germans organise, strucure and invest in their co-operatives.

The visit also included a trip to the Biotech Farm in Sachsen-Anhalt where the group learnt about modern plant breeding with a focus on Biotech crops and new developments in energy and fuel crops.  This was to broaden members’ knowledge of technological advancements in plant breeding across Europe and provide a valuable insight into how they can produce the products their storage business needs to market grain more profitably.

Christopher's farm currently consists of 50 hectares of wheat, 35 hectares of oilseed rape, 25 hectares of barley and 15 hectares of seed potatoes. He also finishes around 150 beef cattle. With is wife they also operate a large farm shop The Bradley Burn Farm Shop, selling where possible their own produce.  

The highlight of his visit was at the Biotech Farm, which has a demonstration station to display Biotech crops (bred using GM technology) to the public. He found the German public's attitude to genetic modification is as strong as it is in the UK.  The objective of the farm is to educate the public about the benefits of the crops grown there. Breeding programmes using maize, sugar-beet and blight-resistant potatoes demonstrated promise for a more productive future, but the strong message from the station was that a GM future has to be demand-led.

On the trip Christopher found both the differences and similarities in the collective grain storage processes illuminating – especially the importance of rail transport and transport costs in moving grain to port.

This three day trip was extremely enlightening says Christopher:  “Comparison with similar enterprises as our own in a different climate and culture is very important. I would not have been able to undertake this trip had it not been for Lantra’s LandSkills North East support.”