BEEF, WILTSHIRE: Emma is not from a farming background but embarked on her agricultural journey at the age of 13 when she started volunteering at an educational sheep farm in Devon and developed her love of animals. Now, with her husband, she rears around 60 pedigree native-breed cattle on 110 acres (46 hectares) of rented grazing in Wiltshire from two separate landlords.

Somehow she also finds time to advise on rearing pedigree cattle for showing, run a cattle foot-trimming business, and publish a farming magazine for children. And raise three children.

Her cattle, bred for beef, are a mix of Herefords, Beef Shorthorns and Red Ruby Devons. Emma loves taking them to shows, which she sees as an opportunity to interact with the public and promote the breeds. Her proudest achievement was seeing her Shorthorn bull MacDonald crowned overall champion (out of 150 animals) at the Great Yorkshire Show during the show’s bicentenary year in 2022.

The farm is not certified organic but Emma uses cattle manure, rather than synthetic fertilisers, to fertilise her crops. Her cattle, all tough native breeds, graze outdoors on pasture, converting poor quality grass into top quality meat. Their fresh grass diet is supplemented by home-grown silage and hay in winter. Only growing calves are given cereal feed, to promote bone growth and, if they’re to be shown, to give their coat an extra shine.

Emma’s has been an action-packed career. While working at the open access farm park in her teens, she learned about lamb feeding and also started volunteering on local farms to learn about dairy and sheep management and pedigree beef stockmanship. Aged 16, she attended agricultural college to study Animal Care, Agriculture and Countryside Management. While studying she caught the ‘show bug’, and showed an Aberdeen Angus cow and calf (borrowed from her tutor) at her first show.

Emma went on to work as a herdsperson, managing a herd of dairy cattle. Later, as a single mum to a five-year-old son, she studied a BSc in Rural Business Management at Duchy College. There she developed an interest in youth education, and began exploring how to encourage students to pursue a career in farming, even if – like her - they weren’t from a farming background. She stayed on as a work-based-learning tutor, teaching students about beef and sheep rearing.

After taking a masters in Children’s Publishing at Bath Spa University, Emma came up with the idea for a children’s farming magazine called The YoungStock, which she now edits. Launched in March 2021 it sold over 12,000 copies in the first year. The magazine in turn spawned an educational colouring book, with written information explaining the drawings.

Emma also found the time to establish a youth division of the Hereford Cattle Society, which now has over a hundred members. A proud moment was taking four young members to compete in the World Hereford Conference in New Zealand. In 2023 Emma became a Farmers for Schools Ambassador for the National Farmers Union. “After one talk I did a child said he would now consider a career in farming as the presentation had been inspirational and made the industry sound fun. Feedback like that makes it all worthwhile.”

Although she’s been rearing animals for a few decades, Emma still gets a thrill seeing new arrivals. “We spend so much time selecting bulls and caring for the cows over nine long months, so when the little ball of goo drops to the floor, I still get excited!”

At the same time, she’s fully aware of the challenges facing a female farmer with no farming background. One challenge is the price of land, she says. “Getting onto the ladder either renting or buying is no mean feat. Land is hugely expensive. Then there’s the price of feed, of fuel, and the fluctuating price you receive for what you sell. It’s quite an unstable job to be in. As a first-generation farmer, I find the challenge of looking for a farm or land relentless.”