Meet The Team

Howard Cross

Howard worked in the UK pig production industry for 10 years after leaving the University of Nottingham in 1980. He then followed a career in accountancy and business consultancy, and was appointed by Yorkshire Farmers in March 1994 firstly as Finance Director and then Managing Director in 1996.

Chris Barlow

Chris attended Caythorpe College of Agriculture and joined PIC shortly after where he held various positions within owned-farm production, contract production, sales and logistics and AI management. He has considerable experience within the field of pig production genetics, and was responsible for the development of the "one stop shop" approach adopted by Yorkshire Farmers, which is a vital link in the production chain from farm to processor. Chris was appointed Commercial Director in 2008.

Robert Smith

Robert is from a farming family background, and attended Bishop Burton College before joining Dalgety Livestock where he stayed for 13 years before joining Yorkshire Farmers in April 2000. Robert has a wealth of experience in both practical farming and livestock marketing issues. Robert specialises in weaner and slaughter pig marketing within the business. He was appointed Commercial Director in 2008.

Lizzie Bentley

Lizzie Bentley (Bsc Hons Agricultural Resource Management) is our Technical Services Director. She and her husband farm sheep and apples in the Yorkshire Wolds. She has worked in the livestock sector since 2007, starting at Malton Livestock Auctioneers and as a contract shepherd and relief milker, before taking a job in the Farm Office of Bishop Burton College. She started working for Yorkshire Farmers in 2013 and, since then, has developed the Technical Services branch of the business. She joined the board of directors in December 2019.

Becky Daniels
Marie Ennis
Louise Weatherill

Administration Staff

The administration function at Yorkshire Farmers sits well with our philosophy of stability and continuity within our business as far as our employees are concerned.

Our office ladies have worked at the company for a number of years. Marie joined the business in 1986, so that is 34 years and counting. Louise began working at Yorkshire Farmers in 1993, shortly followed by Becky in 1997.

All of our administrative staff are fully trained and hugely experienced in all aspects of our business administrative processes. This includes processing pig payments, paying farmers for stock, processing and paying feed and other suppliers of inputs to our business and general accounting and administrative functions.

Peter Batty

Peter Batty, of R J Wilson and Son, is the Chairman of the Yorkshire Farmers board of directors. He runs both pig and arable enterprises at Darrington near Pontefract.

Liam Barlow

Liam Barlow has worked in the pig industry since 2009, building up significant experience and knowledge of pig farming. He initially started on a breeding unit for T.A Stephenson, whilst completing an apprenticeship in Agriculture at Bishop Burton College, before working for JSR Farms Ltd. Liam was employed by Yorkshire Farmers in 2015 as a fieldsman; part of the team responsible for day-to-day running of the B&B farms.

Connor Cowling

Connor Cowling started working for Yorkshire Farmers in February 2021. He was working on an arable farm and pig unit when Yorkshire Farmers approached him regarding employment with the business. He has been a part of the agricultural industry throughout his career, with particular focus on pigs. Connor is a full-time fieldsman; part of the team responsible for the day-to-day running of the B&B farms.

Holly Metcalfe

Holly Metcalfe started working for Yorkshire Farmers in 2018, after graduating from Hartpury University Centre with a 1st in BSc (Hons) Agriculture. She was offered the role of Production Administrator, after completing an 8 week summer work placement with the business in 2017. Prior to starting her degree at Hartpury, she studied at Bishop Burton College. She has a keen interest in logistical planning and weaner placements on farms. She is also responsible for feed ordering and supports the general management of many of the B&B farms.

Dan Ramsden

Daniel Ramsden (BSc (Hons) Agriculture and Land Management) is our Field Support Officer and began working for Yorkshire Farmers in September 2019. Dan has a wide range of practical experience in the farming sector and, prior to starting at Yorkshire Farmers, was a farm auditor for SAI Global Ltd covering Red Tractor and all major supermarket schemes. Dan aims to handle the farm assurance requirements for Yorkshire Farmers and promote the technical services department to third party farms.

In memoriam - Graham Cross

Graham moved to Yorkshire some 20 years ago from his native Norfolk and has worked in the livestock industry for many years, gaining considerable experience in the liveweight and deadweight marketing of pigs cattle and sheep. Graham joined Yorkshire Farmers as a Business Manager in June 2001 and was involved in the development of the cattle and sheep marketing program as well as assisting in the marketing of slaughter pigs. Sadly, Graham died in September 2020 and is very greatly missed.

List of directors

Peter Batty Chairman
Howard Cross Managing Director
Chris Barlow Commercial Director
Robert Smith Commercial Director
Lizzie Bentley Technical Director
Don Sanderson Farmer Director
Henry Cressey Farmer Director
Paul King Farmer Director
Tim Bradshaw Farmer Director
Philip Warters Farmer Director
Martin Bell Farmer Director