Cockle Park Farm
Cockle Park farm is a 262 hectares mixed farm situated about 18 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and is owned by the University.
Services Offered
The principal objectives of the farm are to provide:
- A research facility especially in the area of livestock production
- Demonstration facilities for teaching purposes
- A viable farming business
The farm's revenue is broadly comprised as follows:
- Milk sales - 50%
- Crop sales - 17%
- Livestock sales - 33%
Farming is based on dairy, beef, sheep and arable enterprises. The Pig Unit has been developed independently from the rest of the farm and is managed accordingly.
Cockle Park Farm is also the home of the Palace Leas Meadow Hay Plots, the world's oldest continuous cutting and grazing experiment. The large unreplicated plots are variously manured each year and the hay cut. Livestock then grazes the aftermath regrowth. The plots are in continuing use for research and are available for use by researchers from outside the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
Further information:
- Contact: Dr Philip Cain, Director
- Email: p.j.cain@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)191 222 6921
- Website: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/afrd/business/cockle
- See also: Nafferton Farm
