In the latest episode of Agventures with Herdwatch, the team made a trip to The Peak District to visit Kelvin Fletcher, otherwise known as Andy from Emmerdale.
Kelvin played the role of Andy the farmer for 20 years, and only a few years after leaving Emmerdale, Kelvin decided it was time to give farming a go – outside of acting.
Some may be surprised to learn that Kelvin himself does not come from a farming background, he would even class himself as a ‘townie’.
For the Fletchers, it all began in 2020, a year we all remember for its unprecedented challenges and uncertainty.
Kelvin and his wife, Liz, were set to make a big move to California, but with the pandemic kicking off, that quickly changed.
Instead, the intuition of Andy kicked in, and they decided it would be best to move to a farm and live a more rural lifestyle.
With that, Kelvin and his family moved out to a beautiful 120ac farm in The Peak District.
Originally, Kelvin had no intention of actually taking up farming, which was understandable having not come from a farming background, and according to Kelvin himself, he “knew nothing about agriculture”.
But, it didn’t take long before the idea of farming drew him in.
The Fletchers are renting out about half of their farm to a local farmer, and this led to an opportunity for Kelvin to help out with tasks, and ask a lot of questions, before beginning his own farming journey.
Kelvin started off with just 10 sheep on the farm. In time, this number went as high as 100 breeding ewes.
Now, the Fletcher farm has a mix of animals, with 50 breeding ewes, horses, chickens, pigs, goats, and even some alpacas.
Having a low input farming system allows Kelvin and his wife to continue their careers as actors.
At the moment, he is not worried about the level of output and yields on the farm, with the focus more on a new lifestyle, and a lot of learning.
Going forward, Kelvin is interested in adding some cattle to his collection and exploring the beef route.
The Fletchers have been using Herdwatch for almost two years. Kelvin has found that it is easy to use and very user friendly.
“It’s really good, really simple, easy to use,” Kevin said.
Herdwatch app
When it comes to all the paperwork associated with farming such as medicine purchases, treating sheep, and recording breeding, Herdwatch has helped Kelvin simplify and organise his farming practices over the last 2 years.
“In the past, I’ve had little notes here and there, dotted around, and when I need to know that information – it’s not really ideal, so the app’s great because there and then you can find out pretty much everything about your whole flock,” he said.
If you want to join Kelvin and the 21,000 other happy farmers using Herdwatch to simplify their farm management, simply download the FREE app today by clicking here.
