“At the end of the day, you have to love this job to do it,” Nicola Wordie smiles up at me as she scatters handfuls of feed for her cattle.
It’s a very windy morning at her farm just outside Huntly.
Gazing across the surrounding countryside, Nicola describes the commitment needed to do her job.
“You wouldn’t do this for the money… You can’t do it for the money,” the 26-year-old livestock farmer tells me.
And it’s this time of year which is make or break for a farm like Nicola’s, as calving season ramps up the pressure.
For the third-generation farmer, February often brings with it sleepless nights as she fights to turn a profit against the industry’s razor-tight margins.
Amidst the chaos that calving season can bring, I visited her farm at Mains of Cairnborrow to get a feel for what it’s like:
- The toll farming can take on your mental health
- How Nicola had to rush to the aid of one cow at 3am
- And why she showcases “the good and bad” of farming to her huge internet following
What does Nicola do on her Huntly farm?
After making the drive through picturesque Aberdeenshire, I’m greeted by Nicola in her trademark “Farmher” work gear – and she takes me down to the bustling cattle shed.
As the beasts squeeze their huge heads through the grates to inspect what this guy in a shirt and tie is doing on their farm, the young farmer tells me all about life at Mains of Cairnborrow.
Nicola tells me her grandfather bought the property back in the 1950s, and the family have been tending to cattle there ever since.
She was raised on the farm, and opted to follow in her family’s footsteps while her siblings went into other careers.
The farm makes its money by breeding cows and selling them on to be fattened up and, ultimately, put on our dinner plates.
Which makes calving season a crucial month for the family at Mains of Cairnborrow…
Why is calving season an ‘anxious time’ for farmers
As she works her way across the line of more than 240 cattle, Nicola explains the pressure on the farm to deliver healthy calves during February.
The third-generation farmer admits: “It’s definitely an anxious time as a farmer because at the end of the day this is where we make our money.
“This is what our harvest is basically.
“For the calves in particular, we’re working a year behind. The ones being born just now, we don’t see the money for them until next year.
“You’ve got to put the time and effort in get the calves on the ground healthy and growing, so that we hopefully have a good product to sell.”
And it’s far from an easy job overseeing the births of hundreds of calves…
Midnight mayhem is all part of the job
As we traverse our way through the sludge up to the next cattle shed, we’re greeted with a chorus of moos from a group of what must be 100-odd cows.
“Calving season has been going well so far although I don’t want to jinx it,” Nicola laughs.
“There’s probably going to be a bite in the tail at some point, it’s still the same challenges every year.”
For the Huntly farmer, February means disturbed sleep as she makes sure her cattle are in good health through the night.
She tells me: “I check the camera every two hours through the night for both the cows and the sheep, and I’ll do that from the start of February right until we finish at the end of April.
“I got called the other morning at 3am to say that there were big back feet coming out, a tail-first calf which is never good.
“But thankfully I got the ropes on the calf, and it came out no bother.
“That was a good success story but, unfortunately, they’re not always that good.”
‘If things are going wrong it can really get you down’
But despite her cheery demeanour throughout my tour around the farm, calving season can be one of the toughest times of the year for farmers across the country.
Nicola admits: “The most challenging part of the season is probably the isolation factor.
“If things are going wrong, it can really get you down and it can be quite a mental battle.
“It is tough to get out of it sometimes, it’s probably just that sort of tiredness and loneliness.
“You’re sort of more on edge because you’re stressed and you need to make sure that every life is alive.
“You’re trying your best to make sure that they all come out healthy and happy because at the end of the day, that’s where our money is made.”
Huntly farmer shows the world what it’s like
But Nicola isn’t just your ordinary livestock farmer.
She has been banging the drum for farmers on her social media pages for more than a year now – with more than 19,000 Instagram followers and 8,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Her videos show the “true life” of working and living on a farm, with the good and the bad on show to raise awareness of the toughest challenges facing the industry.
“That’s why I started my social media, to try and bridge the gap between consumer and producer and just share what actually happens on a farm, good and bad,” the 26-year-old says.
“I share it all because, like I say, it’s not all good stories unfortunately.
“I do feel it’s really important to try and allow people access into the farm and see what we’re doing and how we’re doing things.”
She continued: “We are always looking after calves and the welfare of our animals. They always come first. No matter what, they come first.
“So, if I can do a wee bit to try and share what goes on at a true working farm, then hopefully it’s a good thing.”
‘You’re a vet some days and a mechanic the next’
Despite it being the height of calving season, there’s not too much to do today for Nicola’s herd.
During this time of the month, it’s all about waiting for the cows to go into labour, at which point it’s all hands on deck.
Nicola explains: “We’ve had some days where there’s 10-12 calves a day, whereas you get days where there’s nothing.
“Sometimes your day is taken up sorting out new calves and sometimes you’re just waiting to see if anything is going to happen.
“You feel like you’re a vet some days and you’re a mechanic other days. You definitely have to turn your hand to a lot of things in farming.”
You can check out Nicola’s YouTube channel here.
Read more stories from Huntly:
- ‘I’ve never regretted buying my Huntly farm – but rainiest ever lambing season almost did it for me’
- New Duncan Taylor whisky shop at former Huntly bank hoped to ‘attract international visitors’ to town centre
- Owner of new Huntly beauty clinic on ‘dream’ of opening up in ‘small but mighty’ town – with mum as receptionist
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