As immediate past chairman of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers, Sally Wilson is used to acting as an ambassador for young people.
Her task at the Oxford Farming Conference was not to give the general view, however, but to explain how she had channelled her own enthusiasm for farming into building up the family dairy business at Clackmae, near Earlston, in the Scottish Borders.
“Opportunity is simply taking the chance to progress, and you can be anything you want to be,” she told the delegates.
Now 30, she had spent two years studying law before realising it was not for her. Her first love was farming, and there were opportunities beckoning on the 1,000-acre family unit with its 300 Hosltein cows and 1,600 ewes.
“If you want to hear about sheep you will be disappointed,” she said.
“The cows are my first love. When I came home I realised that we were better at intensive dairying than working extensively. The steading is at one end of the farm, too, making grazing more difficult, so for both these reasons the cows are inside 365 days a year.
“We have made a huge expenditure on technology and improving the herd. It is a closed herd, so we need to breed very good heifers. Bull calves are all finished on the farm, but sexed semen would play a greater part in future.”
A milk pasteuriser was recently installed at Clackmae so disease-free colostrum could be used.
Other farms are now customers for this clean product.
“The best thing I have ever done for my cows, however, has been to install robotic milkers,” Sally said.
“It also provided the steepest learning curve of my life,” she added.
Starting in 2009 Sally supervised the installation of three Lely Astronaut robots: one new and two second-hand.
“They milk half the herd, and of course people ask me why we haven’t gone to 100%. Well, it would have been a waste of a good parlour. It is 17 years old and still in good condition, but by 2020 we will move entirely to robots.”
Again grabbing opportunities as they become available, Sally realised the experience she had gained in changing to robotic milking could be useful to others, and now offers a consultancy service.
Key performance indicators are an important management tool, with the Clackmae cows constantly recorded and benchmarked against industry standards.
Sally has a passion for educating young people about farming, and has a keen involvement in the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET). “We should take the opportunity to educate young people.
“Farming needs skilled, motivated people as a first resort, not a last resort,” she concluded.