Video: 90 & Counting: Livestock farmer Becka Stables, Cumbria

Fourth-generation farmer, 28-year-old Becka Stables, tells Farmers Weekly about her farming family and her career journey so far.

My family and I farm 580 acres at Lowbank End and Newhall Farm in Appleby, just outside of Cumbria. My great-grandparents came to the farm in 1937.

Granddad bought Lowbank End in 1980, and we bought Newhall Farm in 1974. The two farms run side by side.

We milk 90 to 100 Friesians and buy in eight- to 10-month-old Limousin heifers, which we fatten up and finish, then supply to our local butchery.

We grow 130 acres of barley to feed and bed all our cattle. We also have our own machinery for the silage and harvest so we don’t need to rely on contractors when the weather’s catchy.

Watch the full video interview below.

On farming heroes…

My dad’s been the biggest influence – he’s really good at what he does, he’s passionate about it. Then there’s my granddad who is a big part of why the farm is how it is today.

Back in the good old days, as he would say, it wasn’t easy. And my uncle’s spent a lot of time showing me the milking side of things and how to look after the animals.

So I’ve had some pretty good role models. The three of them actually won Northern Farmer of the Year in 2003. That’s something I’m quite proud to say they achieved.

On women in agriculture…

From quite a young age I knew that I wanted to be a farmer. I just loved everything about it. There have been challenges, and farming’s not an easy job to pick up – you’ve just got to learn by your mistakes.

Growing up, I don’t remember seeing many women in agriculture, but now you see a lot across the board – in factories, driving wagons – and that’s a good thing to see.

A lot of my female friends are into farming as well.

On yields…

Going back three or four years, we had a really good year – our sheds were full of barley, our barns were full with straw. There’s a good sense of pride when it comes off.

The past two years have been quite tough, though. We’ve had some really wet weather and it’s ended up washing a lot of our fields out – a few crops failed and a few didn’t do so well.

Having two wet years on the trot has a really bad knock-on effect.

On mental health…

It’s hard because is there ever really a quiet time on the farm? But you must have things to look forward to with friends and family.

When I’ve gone through difficulties in the past, the farm is something that’s been a constant for me, and a normal part of life.

I quite enjoy the tractor side of things in general – ploughing, being out on the

combine and, when I can get there before my dad, silaging.

On public perception…

Most of us are really, really passionate about what we do, and very particular about what we do as well.

If farming was taught in schools, it would help the public understand what we do, why we do it, and the standard we have to do it to – then maybe they would appreciate it a little bit more.