5 minutes with Devon young farmer Nikki Holliday

Welcome to “5 minutes with” where we get to know one of Britain’s brightest and best young farmers.

These brilliant young people are the future of the agriculture industry and we want to bring their lives, businesses, ideas and achievements to the fore.

By celebrating our young farmers and promoting what they do, we hope to generate even more interest in farming from younger generations and help make sure they get all the support they need to thrive in the future.

See also: Job profile: What’s it like to be a land agent?

This time we’re getting to know 19-year-old Devon young farmer Nikki Holliday.

Where are you from?

I originate from Wiltshire, currently live in a flat in Somerset but am soon moving into my own barn conversion in Devon.

What sort of farm do you live/work on?

I work on a few farms, including dairy, poultry and sheep.

What do you get up to on the farm?

I milk the cows, help with the calf rearing, grade eggs and general sheep work. I love the milking and calf rearing and can’t wait for lambing to start again.

What do you get up to when you’re not farming?

I’m either watching This Farming Life on TV, drinking tea or at a Young Farmers do.

What’s in your lunchbox?

Usually 20 chicken nuggets.

What’s the best bit about farming?

I don’t think there is a best bit. Although my favourite times are lambing and letting the stock out to grass – I like seeing them skip about.

What’s the most frustrating bit about farming?

Not having the time to finish a job or not to the standards I would like it to be at.

Are you a member of a Young Farmers Club?

Yes, I’m a part of Whimple and Broadclyst Young Farmers Club. We do fundraising and put on Crealy Ball, which is always a popular one.

Where would you like to be in five years’ time?

I’d like to be farming full-time, particularly calf rearing and milking, and have my own flock of sheep on the side. If I had my own flock I’d do two separate lambing blocks with a Dorset flock and a Suffolk Mule flock.

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?

Harry Styles.

What makes you laugh?

Cute animal videos, especially dog ones.

What makes you angry?

When the sheep escape and you end up climbing through ditches and barbed wire to get them back.

What’s your proudest achievement to date?

Keeping stock to show at our YFC annual show and sale at Exeter Market.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Dad always says: “What will be will be.”

If I wasn’t scared, I would…

Get on and rent some land and buy some sheep, but it is a big investment.

When you’re in the tractor cab, what’s your top tune, podcast or audiobook?

I’ve always got one of my Spotify playlists on (my username is nikkilucy) or Radio 1.

If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would spend the money on?

Definitely a plot of land with a traditional farmhouse for me and a barn conversion for my parents.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing UK farming today?

The obvious one: Brexit. The challenge is not knowing how things are going to turn out or the situations we will be put in. We can only hope for the best – farming is tough enough as it is.

Tell us something about you that not many people know.

I can wiggle both of my ears.

Are you on Twitter and Instagram? Do you have a business page on Facebook?

My Instagram is @nikkilucy98.