Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

26-year-old Huntly farmer: ‘I love my job despite sleepless nights of calving season’

In the midst of a stressful calving seasons, Huntly farmer Nicola Wordie offered The Press and Journal an insight into how she manages to deal with her busiest time of the year.

Nicola Wordie at her farm.
Nicola Wordie at her farm. Image: Scott Baxter/DC Thomson

“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.

Nicola keeping her cows well-fed. Image: Scott Baxter/DC Thomson

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.

Nicola Wordie at her farm near Huntly. Image: Scott Baxter/DC Thomson

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.

It's feeding time on the farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25
It’s feeding time on the farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25

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.

Nicola has more than 240 cows on her farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25
Nicola has more than 240 cows on her farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25

“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.

Nicola's profits are decided for the year in February. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25
Nicola’s profits are decided for the year in February. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25

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.

Calving season can be a highly stressful time for farmers, says Nicola. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson
Calving season can be a highly stressful time for farmers, says Nicola. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson

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.”

Cows grazing on their food at Nicola Wordie's farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25
Cows grazing on their food at Nicola Wordie’s farm. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25

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 works on the family farm with her dad. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25
Nicola works on the family farm with her dad. Image: Scott Baxter / DC Thomson 19/02/25

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:

Conversation