College shake-up to meet demand; It's all change at a college that has educated generations of farmers. As Kirkley Hall's cattle and sheep are sold, Karen Dent looks at the forthcoming reorganisation at the college and what it will mean for the region's farmers. Farming.

THE changing face of farming in the UK and demand for training to turn out people with the appropriate skills to take agriculture forward is behind a major shake-up at one of the North East's premier agricultural colleges.

Kirkley Hall in Ponteland, Northumberland, is investing millions of pounds in redeveloping the campus and refocusing the college on equipping the region's future farmers to capitalise on the growing demand for local produce, especially red meat production.

The college has consulted with leading farming figures to find out what the North East's livestock sector needs to make it more competitive in this important market. Better animal genetics, health and welfare and improved grassland management are at the top of the agenda.

The new focus will see much of the college's livestock replaced with animals especially bought for research and development purposes. The majority of its stock will be on offer at a farm sale held at Kirkley Hall on November 1. In January, two new herds of cattle based on Aberdeen Angus and Limousin genetics will be brought in to replace them.

Kirkley's own farms at the campus and at Carlcroft will also change.

Rather than being overseen by academics, the college is seeking to recruit a commercial farmer to manage them.

"To maximise both production and quality, farmers need to be adopting the very latest technologies and breeding techniques," said Mike Keeble, from the Red Meat Industry Forum and Northern executive member of the Tenant Farmers' Association.

He is the chairman of an eight-member industry panel set up to advise Northumberland College on what Kirkley Hall needs to do in order to keep up to date with changes in the industr y.

Mr Keeble started to look at the profitability of beef and sheep farming in the region after foot-and-mouth.

He said: "The Red Meat Industry Forum's job was to look at the importance of beef and sheep in the Northern Counties. The area, prior to foot-andmouth, was the biggest red meat producer in Europe.

"Our objective was to investigate the profits of the beef and sheep production after the Single Farm Payment. During the process I was called into Kirkley, where there had been a management change on the farm, to see if they could benefit from the work we were doing.

"When the principal approached me and said, 'What do we do now?', I said it was quite obvious there was a need for a higher degree of skills, training and R&D at management level."

Mr Keeble said the region desperately needs a replacement for the research facilities it lost in the 1980s, with the end of R&D at Redesdale near Otterburn and Sourhope, over the border in Scotland.

"Between the two, there was a tremendous amount of work looking at management trends in the uplands. That all ceased," he said.

"The college has agreed to invest in research and development with new stock and make big changes to its curriculum to meet the needs of the industry in the new market conditions."

The changes were first mooted by Northumberland college principal Rachel Ellis-Jones, who came into the job two years ago.

"It is part and parcel of being a fairly new principal," she said. "I felt that we needed to re-engage with the farming community.

"There a great tradition of the farming community getting involved (with Kirkley). This is really a way of getting the farming community back on board.

"We felt we needed a closer relationship with employers. Farmers were absolutely keen to get on board. Kirkley really has been a foundation for farming in Northumberland."

Northumberland College has around pounds 43m of public money to redevelop its Ashington campus and more than pounds 10m is being spent on the changes across the Kirkley Hall campus.

"It's part of a much wider redevelopment of our college. The farm is obviously a critical part of that," said Ms Ellis- Jones.

"It'll be a far more practical side of research, research that is meaningful to farmers. There is more to farming now than just rearing animals - although that has become quite technological.

"It's about conserving the uplands and habitats."

Mike Keeble says that what Ms Ellis-Jones is doing is very brave and he is confident the college - and the farming community - will benefit immensely from the shake-up.

"It's in the right place. There are no more colleges in England, Scotland or Wales which are concerned about upland agriculture, the environment and conservation," he said.

"In Northumberland and Durham, the agricultural input to industry is huge.

"The farms are going to get bigger and there will be more demand and need for more staff."

He pointed to the example of Greenmount College in Northern Ireland, which forms a blueprint that Kirkley Hall could well follow.

"It is completely ingrained in the farming community.

"Its job is to move them forward and lead."

And Mr Keeble admits he has a personal interest in seeing Kirkley succeed in its mission to modernise.

"My connection with Kirkley Hall goes back to the 60s when it was regarded as the university of upland agriculture.

"I felt it was time Kirkley returned to that.

"It's a very, very exciting time."

An outline planning application for the proposed changes at the Kirkley Hall campus are due to be submitted to Castle Morpeth Borough Council.

"It was quite obvious there was a need for a higher degree of skills, training and R&D

1,600 ANIMALS TO BE SOLD

KIRKLEY is selling off more than 1,000 crossbred sheep and more than 130 cattle from the estate and 500 store lambs from its Carlcroft hill farm to fund the restocking of sites with specialist cattle which will be used to spearhead its R&D programme. It is retaining its hefted blackface flock at Carlcroft to provider gimmer lambs for Kirkley Hall.

The farm sale, on November 1, is being handled by land agent Tom Oates from George F White in Alnwick, who said: "The idea at Kirkley is that you are selling all the livestock on one day.

"It also helps people with movement restrictions. They can leave the stock here and pick them up if they are going to a sale. It will be an ideal opportunity to clear out the stock and move the college forward ."

He hopes that Kirkley's special place in the region's agricultural community will attract a large crowd on the day.

"Kirkley means a lot to farming people. The farms have been linked with it for many years. A lot of people have been trained here," said Mr Oates. "I would like to think there would be a good turnout."

CAPTION(S):

CHANGES AFOOT Kirkley Hall principal Rachel Ellis-Jones with some of the cattle which are to be sold.; ADVISER Mike Keeble has been advising on Kirkley Hall shake-up.