Widow to carry on farming in memory of her ‘wonderful’ late husband

A devastated farming widow has paid tribute to her “extraordinary” late husband and vowed to carry on the running of the mixed tenanted farm in Kent in his memory.

Edward Hulme, who had previously been selected as a finalist for this year’s Farmers Weekly Awards in the Beef Farmer of the Year category, died suddenly on 13 September, aged 43, after suffering a heart attack.

His widow, Louisa Hulme, said she was still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of her soulmate.

Mrs Hulme said her husband had suffered a mild heart attack last year, but had recovered well, and his death had left everyone in deep shock.

She thanked the farming community for their incredible support and said it was “completely overwhelming”.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Beef Farmer of the Year finalists

Around 400 friends and family members turned up to pay their last respects to Mr Hulme at his funeral, which was held at Bridge Church, Canterbury, on Friday 30 September. 

On the day of his funeral, Mr Hulme’s coffin was placed on top of a loader and he was taken on a final tour of the cattle shed and grounds he loved so dearly at Merton Farm, in Canterbury. 

Beef farming passion

Following the church service, friends and family members gathered at Merton Farm for a reception, where they shared their cherished memories of Mr Hulme and celebrated his life.

Instead of the usual hog roast, guests enjoyed an ox roast as a symbol of his passion for beef farming. 

Mr Hulme ran a herd of 400 spring-calving suckler cows on an extensive grazing system across 486ha on the home farm and the Kent coast.

He had switched from Charolais to mainly Aberdeen Angus cows, with most cattle supplied to Waitrose via Dovecote Park.

This integrates well with the family’s arable and fruit enterprises, supplying muck from winter housing to improve arable yields, and using waste from the packhouse in beef rations.  

Mr Hulme’s expertise and passion for beef farming was recognised by Farmers Weekly this year after he was shortlisted for Beef Farmer of the Year. 

Judges who visited him at Merton Farm praised his success at improving herd fertility, his commitment to high-welfare beef production, and his focus on meeting the demands of meat processors.

Members of his family attended the Farmers Weekly Awards evening at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Thursday (6 October), where Farmers Weekly editor Andrew Meredith paid a special tribute.

‘Larger than life’

Speaking before the event, Mrs Hulme said: “Edward was a wonderful husband who was insanely proud of his children.

“He was larger than life, passionate, opinionated, but he was happy to listen to others. He respected people massively who knew what they were talking about.

“He was trying to be as progressive as he could be as a beef farmer. When we started, we had Charolais- and Limousin-crosses. Then we signed up to Dovecote and moved on to Angus for slightly easier calving.

“Edward was always trying to look forward and expand the herd. He lived and breathed cattle.”

Mrs Hulme said she was keen to take over running the farm. “I want to keep Edward’s legacy going, to keep him here so that the children can be here in the future,” she added.

“It would give me a huge amount of pleasure to keep going what he’s built up over many years.”

Mr Hulme leaves behind his wife Louisa, and their three boys, Hector, 13, Rufus, 10, and Roly, five.