I took over farm at 17 in memory of Dad TELLY SHOW HIGHLIGHTS BRAVE TEEN

JO’S OUTSTANDING IN HER FIELD

There are also 12 pedigree Beef Shorthorn cows, young stock of the same breed and Angus Cross dairybred calves reared on milk powder.

On top of all that Jo tends crops of wheat and oats as she works seven days a week, 365 days a year come rain or shine.

Her mother Sally, 53, looks after the paperwork and helps out during lambing season. And there is help when she needs it from brother Fred, 17, and half-brother Steve.

Jo routinely puts in a 12-hour working day, which can go up to a gruelling 20 hours in the lambing season.

She said: “There’s no such thing as a lie in – I’m up around 6am to feed the stock and check on them. Whilst most people my age are going out, a night out for me leaves me with a three-day hangover, so I don’t go much.”

Recounting how she came to take charge of the farm just over two years ago she said: “Dad was taking some ewes to market and he collapsed and died.

“His truck and trailer were left in the car park so as soon as we left the hospital, I went straight to the market to pick them up and brought them home. That’s when I thought, ‘There’s a lot of sheep to look after here.’

“The next day I got up really early as I couldn’t sleep.

“I went round all the sheep and made sure everything was OK and it just went on from there.”

At the time, Jo was about to go to

Australia and New Zealand for her gap year and had planned to work on a sheep station Down Under.

She said: “It was always my dream to travel first then come back and work on the farm. But when Dad died I didn’t think twice. I needed to stay.

“I was very lucky that Dad had taught me everything, we did everything together and shortly before he died he brought me into the decision making at the farm so we were already a team.”

Describing her typical day Jo said one of her first tasks is suckling the lambs. She