ONE of the finest Holstein dairy herds in the country goes under the hammer next week.

George Barker was a pioneer of the breed when he founded his award-winning Folly Herd of Holsteins at Thornbrough Farm, Northallerton, in 1972.

Now 71, he has decided it is finally time to retire and on Tuesday the entire 250-strong pedigree herd will be auctioned on the farm by Norton & Brooksbank.

The herd is extremely productive, with 144 milkers averaging 10,176kg, at 3.87pc butterfat and 3.20pc protein, achieving a margin over purchased feed of £1,439.

Almost every animal which has completed a lactation has given more than 9,000kgs - 65 have given more than 11,000kgs, with more than 40 of those producing more than 12,000kgs.

It is a far cry from the Friesian herd Mr Barker had before 1972, in which cows struggled to produce 5,000 litres.

Mr Barker moved from a farm at Scruton to Thornborough Farm in 1960. In the same year he married his wife, Mollie, a sister at the local hospital.

They had 116 acres when they started, but later bought a neighbouring farm and increased the acreage to 240.

The couple have two sons: Neil, who has farmed with his father for a number of years, and Gareth, who works for Roche Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland.

"In 1971 there was an exhibition of Holsteins at the Great Yorkshire Show. A Canadian firm had brought some over and I liked what I saw," said Mr Barker. "There was no way I could afford to buy cattle imported from Canada, so I bought a bull calf from the late Geoff Hudson of Minskip.

"They produced a lot more milk but, for the first five years, I did not like to mention that I had Holsteins because they were looked down on."

But, despite early criticisms, the breed quickly caught on as more breeders realised its potential.

That original bull calf, Minerva Imperial , was the last animal to go on to the farm, as the Barkers have run a closed herd. Minerva was used on the original black and white herd, along with semen from MMB bulls Linmack and Oakridges Reflection.

Over the years, the Barkers have stuck to Canadian bloodlines, using the best Holstein proven sires including Astre, Juror, Lindy, Prelude, Raider, Rubens, Rudolph and Storm on the cows.

The calved heifers are mainly by Formation, Inquirer, Lee, Outside and Progress, with Convincer, Leader and Stormatic prominent among the sires of the young stock. A number are also in calf to Dixie-Lee Aaron.

The sale, described by the auctioneers as the finest in the North this autumn, includes 160 cows and calved heifers in the milking herd; ten served heifers due before new year; 40 maiden heifers and more than 60 heifer calves under 12 months. The majority of the cows have had three calves or fewer.

"Our philosophy has always been to breed big dairy cows to convert all our forage," said Neil Barker. "This farm can produce fantastic crops of maize and grass. It made sense to go for these cows."

They have also bred for feet, legs and udders and have always tried to use the best type bulls available.

Through careful planning and hard work the Barkers have doubled production since the early days but among major factors leading to Mr Barker's decision to retire are the state of the industry and the low milk price.

He has won the national forage award three times; the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's farm of the year on four occasions, and was named ADAS milk manager of the year in 1993.

Despite all those awards, the farm would have to achieve even greater heights to survive.

"We have doubled production but to get on we would have to double production again. We would have to produce more just to stand still," said Neil Barker, who is happy with the sale.

And, as the day approaches, George Barker looks back on his 45 years at Thornbrough with great pride and satisfaction and admits he is looking forward to retirement.

The farm is three miles outside Northallerton on the Thirsk road. The auction begins at 10.30 on Tuesday, with the milk quota, then the sale of animals.