Louise Main — Modern Apprentice in Agriculture

"When I was little my family owned a suckler and beef farm and always enjoyed helping with things like putting the cows in the byre, working with calves and seeing the expressions on their faces and how happy they looked. That’s what first got me interested in the industry.

I have two jobs on the farm now. One of them is as a young stock rearer and the other is as the relief and sometimes assistant dairyperson.

As a young stock rearer, I help rear the calves and give them the best start to life we possibly can. I also have to ensure the calves are all healthy, fed, and their vaccinations and routine procedures are up-to-date.

I move cows round for the dairyperson at night and clean and sawdust the cubicles. This is an important role as if it is done incorrectly it can result in the cows becoming unwell.

In the dairy, it is my role to ensure the herd of cows are milked properly, are healthy and happy and that the plant is clean, the cubicles are well maintained and there are no problems. If any are is calving, I need to monitor them and ensure they’re comfortable and managing okay.

On a Thursday I sometimes take the vet visit if I can, as I feel like this teaches me a lot about cow health, and lets me build my relationship with the vets.

In S5 I took part in a work experience programme called Dairy Academy. I also helped at the farm after school, weekends and holidays, which helped me get a full-time job employment within the industry when the farmer took me on. I did an HNC in Agriculture at SRUC Barony and I am now doing an SVQ. Throughout this time, I have remained with the same employer, and I have been trusted and given more responsibility and work due to my training and qualifications.

Work-based learning suits me better as I am getting a balance of theory, practical skills and knowledge.

The most satisfying thing about my job is the bond that I make with the animals and the sense of achievement and pride that I feel in my day-to-day work. This can be from when animals get sick and I manage to nurse them back to full health, or the feeling and love you get when you remember feeding a calf for the first time and her journey two years down the line when she enters the milking herd to be a fit, good looking heifer in milk who goes on to be a happy high yielding cow.

When you work with a group of animals day in day out, you start to learn who they are personality wise and they also get to understand you, and you work better together. I am always striving to do my bit to prove that dairy farmers do our best to look after our animals and to provide quality milk and dairy products to the nation.

I have grown up around a herd of cows for the last ten years, I know and who is related to who and I like the feeling when you have granny, mummy, auntie and a sister or two in the same herd and can point out the family resemblance between them.

Throughout my life I have always been told I cannot work on a farm or be a farm manager as I am a girl. I want to prove people wrong as I feel passionately that in today’s world gender shouldn’t define what you can and cannot do.

If you have a love for animals and the outdoors and want to help provide food for people, then I would say give farming a go! You learn so much in a short space of time, and it’s really rewarding when everything is going right. A lot of young people can be put off as it seems long hours and like you won’t have much of a life outside of your work, but this isn’t true. If you enjoy what you do, it becomes a part of your life and you wake up looking forward to doing it.”