Tibthorpe farmer awarded Kirby Cup by Yorkshire Grassland Society
A Tibthorpe farmer has won the prestigious Kirby Memorial Cup for his grassland management.
Jonathan Shepherd with the Kirby Cup
A Tibthorpe farmer has won the prestigious Kirby Memorial Cup for his grassland management.
Jonathan Shepherd, who farms at Field House Farm, was awarded The Yorkshire Grassland Society Kirby Memorial Cup at a recent meeting of the society that promotes the profitable and sustainable use of grass and forage.
Mr Shepherd grows 150 acres of protein rich forage, Lucerne, that he feeds to his 1200 head of Yorkshire Wagyu cattle. He said: “It is a great honour to receive this cup that was first presented in 1956 in memory of Harry Kirby, a founder member of the Grassland Society.”
The Kirby Cup is awarded annually alternating between dairy farming, beef and sheep farming, and the personality who has contributed most to the society.
The British Grassland Society is a membership organisation that acts as a communication forum, through events and publications, for the profitable and sustainable use of grass and forage.
The Yorkshire Wagyu Company was established by Jonathan and fellow Wolds farmer, Jim Bloom and is home to one of the biggest herds of full and cross bred Wagyu beef in the UK.
Wagyu beef originates from Japan where it is renowned for its exceptional flavour and melt in your mouth tenderness and its high levels of ‘good’ monounsaturated fats that give the beef its characteristic marbling.
