KEEPING BUSY: Graeme Robson’s business is responsible for constructing at least a dozen medium sized farm buildings a year
KEEPING BUSY: Graeme Robson’s business is responsible for constructing at least a dozen medium sized farm buildings a year

Farmer’s son Graeme Robson has diversified into erecting agricultural buildings, enjoying some considerable success. Reporter Wendy Short went to meet him at the family holding near Eggleston


SURROUNDED by farms owned by the Raby Estate, Gawen House is one of the few owner-occupied holdings in the area, having been purchased by the Robson family in the mid-1970s.

Originally a dairy farm, the herd was sold in 2006 and replaced with 45 Continental and Aberdeen Angus cross suckler cows, which go to a Charolais bull. Their progeny is sold as stores at Barnard Castle Auction Mart, along with finished lambs from the Mule flock.

It is widely accepted that small farms with limited opportunities for expansion cannot always support the next generation and when Mr Robson left school his career took an unexpected turn.

“I didn’t want to go to university, but I had achieved good A-level results,” he says.

“At the time, Barclays Bank was recruiting and I joined the company’s mortgage department. I ended up spending three years at the bank, but it was only a means of earning money and I was always looking for a way to get back into farming.”

At 21, Mr Robson set up his own business as a farm worker and fabricator.

Unfortunately, the move coincided with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and he was forced to supplement his income with wagon driving until business picked up again.

“After the main foot-and-mouth crisis was over, many farmers were keen to rebuild and expand,” he explains.

“I started out by installing feed barriers, gates and troughs, using the farm workshop as a base, and I also built myself a bungalow on site. One of my first installations was on our own farm, where I put up a couple of new, general-purpose agricultural sheds.

“That was in 2004 and I have never been short of work since that date.”

Mr Robson, who runs the business with his wife Tracey, trades under the name G and T Robson and says his unique selling point is his “start to finish” service.

If required, a contract can start with a green field site and finish at the point when it is ready for the livestock or machinery to be installed.

Earthworks, fittings, plumbing and electrical work can be undertaken within the arrangement, with assistance from a group of trusted contractors. Many farmers, Mr Robson comments, are already working very long hours and do not always have the time to spend on managing their building project.

One full-time worker is currently employed by the business and a second is kept busy for the majority of the year, with Mr Robson also liaising closely with a team of three sub-contractors, as well as taking on extra help when required.

His working year closely follows the farming calendar, with very long hours during the summer months and a quiet period in January early February. This leads in to lambing time, when his help on the farm is greatly appreciated.

The business specialises in constructing medium-sized agricultural buildings and at least a dozen are put up each year. The majority are standard steel portal frames, often with Yorkshire boarding, if they are intended for livestock.

However, a recent contract involved the construction of a bridge over an area of moorland at Hawes, to provide access for HGVs being used to extract timber.

Mr Robson does not usually get involved in buildings at the planning stage.

“I generally bring in a specialist advisor when plans need to be submitted, because it can be a minefield.

“But I have learned that the process will usually be fairly straightforward, as long as everything is done by the book; trying to bend the rules will only create problems,” he says.

“Bat surveys are often required and sometimes adjustments have to be made, but I have always found the advisors to be fairly accommodating.

“However, a site where crested newts were found was a different story. The plans had already been passed when an ecological group raised a query about the newts and I had to bring in a specialist, who put together a non-disturbance plan. Eventually, the site had to be slightly relocated. The delay cost two months and took the build into the wrong time of the year, but everything worked out well in the end.”

An agricultural building is “never big enough,” according to Mr Robson.

“I would always advise a farmer to think of the future, when planning to put up a new building,” he stresses.

“Ideally, room should be left for expansion, or for a second building to be erected. It makes sense to choose a large plot where possible. In cases where a building has become outdated and needs to be replaced, it may be worth reviewing the entire farm layout, because the most sensible option might be to relocate it elsewhere.”

The introduction of the CE Marking declaration in 2013 has had a positive effect on the building industry, according to Mr Robson.

The Europe-wide scheme set new standards for the quality of construction materials, he says.

“The CE Marking standards have sorted the wheat from the chaff and I would say that these standards have definitely saved lives,” he states.

“It is not so long ago that both people and animals were injured when farm buildings collapsed due to heavy snowfalls.

“My business is assessed once a year, to confirm its CE Marking status. An inspector checks all of the paperwork and carries out a detailed examination of the workshop. He also makes sure that all of my materials are purchased from accredited suppliers.

“Agricultural buildings put up by approved construction firms are stronger than they used to be and more robust. It is also worth noting that some of the timber that is available today is fast-growing and the trees are cut at a younger age, so the wood may not have the necessary strength for certain situations.”

The day-to-day running of the family farm is managed by Mr Robson’s parents Brian and Lynn, while his wife works in the accounts department of a business in Shildon.

The couple have two children who help out with both the building business and on the farm in their spare time. Molly, 16, plans to follow a career in agricultural engineering and Henry, 11, is also keen on the subject. The family shares a passion for motor sports, with both children competing on the circuit.

“Agriculture is very close to my heart and in an ideal world, I would farm in my own right.

“But I am still involved at home and through my work, so I feel I have very little to complain about,” says Mr Robson.