THERE’S not a great deal of good news comes out of the milk sector these days, but there was this week when two Tynedale dairy farms took top honours at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The Baynes family of Slaley’s Marleycote Walls earned a whole host of red rosettes in the ring at Harrogate.

They picked up a total of 14 awards on the first day of judging with nine of their top class Dairy Shorthorn and Ayrshire cattle.

Marleycote Songstress, a 30-months-old Dairy Shorthorn did particularly well, coming first in the heifer in-milk class and being announced junior champion.

Marleycote Fleur was judged the best in the junior cow section and the Baynes’ were runners-up in the group of three in the Shorthorn class.

Second place in the in-calf heifer section was Marleycote Chatter.

Their Ayrshire cows, Marleycote Sea Lily, Apricot and Julia performed well too, with Sea Lily taking first in the junior cow category and third in the production/inspection class.

Julia won the production/inspection class and Apricot took first in the heifer in-milk section. Apricot was also junior champion Ayrshire.

The Marleycote team also beat off competition from Yorkshire and Lancashire farms to take first in the exhibitor bred group of three animals and they also came first in the progeny group for two daughters from the same sire with Marleycote Ray who was first in the in-calf heifer section and Marleycote Fawn who was runner-up to her sister.

On the second day in the interbreed competition Marleycotes owned three of the five animals in the group of five Ayrshires (Lily, Apricot and Ray), to compete against the other dairy breeds, and came second.

Richard Baynes said he was absolutely thrilled to do so well.

He said: “As this was our 25th year showing at the Great Yorkshire Show, it was great to do so well as the Ayrshire and Dairy Shorthorn classes are some of the strongest in the country, so doing well here is a great advert for our cows.”

East Heddon dairyman Paul Harrison, of Breckney Hill Farm, also came home with a red rosette for his Tallen Roma which took first prize for Holstein senior cow. Paul also took a third with his Dairy Shorthorn cow, Breckney Ruth.

Meanwhile, in the beef section, Hereford breeders, Tom and Di Harrison, continued their astounding run of success with their mighty beast Monstermunch, which earned them a red rosette in the Hereford bull category. Their Hereford cow Moralee Kylie, which took breed champion at the Northumberland County, also took second in her class.

In the sheep section, Team Townfoot flew the colours for Tynedale with Robert Raine, from East Woodburn, pocketing a total of six rosettes with his four Blackface.

“We got a first with a tup lamb who was also reserve male champion and another first with a Blackface ewe. She’s a two crop ewe and she was also reserve breed champion.

“She was actually a champion at the Yorkshire Show two years ago when she was a gimmer,” said Robert.

Robert also got a second with a Blackface gimmer and third with a Blackface ewe lamb. Now Robert and his wife, Jackie, who did terrifically well with her Cornhill Texel tup at last year’s local shows, are gearing up for Tynedale’s summer show season.

“We’ve got some nice sheep – Jackie’s had some nice lambs by the Cornhill tup, who’s retired now, but you don’t really know how they’ll do until you get there.”

We wish them and all entrants in this year’s show season, the very best of luck.