Plucky daughters step up after father dies in tractor tragedy

Eking out a living from the land on remote, windswept Shetland is tough for even the most experienced farmer.

But sisters Kirsty and Aimee Budge took on the challenge of running the family farm when their father was killed in a tractor accident.

Refusing to give up on the farm, which has been in the family for 150 years, the siblings took ove r the business, which is now thriving under their care.

Bigton Fa r m is so successful, it has been chosen as a monitor farm, an initiative which sees Kirsty,

Now the sisters run the farm alongside Kirsty’s parttime work as a teacher and Aimee’s studies for the final year of a degree in agriculture at SRUC Aberdeen Campus.

The 300- hectare farm is mostly pasture and grassland. The sisters have 240 Shetland-cross ewes and 70 calving cows, as well as producing barley to feed livestock.

Kirsty said: “It’s hard work, especially at calving and lambing time, when you don’t get much sleep.

“It was a big responsibility but we’ve pulled together and made a success of it.

“Dad left the farm in a really good position and we’re building on that. We’ve increased our cow and sheep numbers and bought more land.”

The sisters’ mum, Helen, 51, pitches in to help. The sisters are also helped by granddad, Jim, 70, and Kirsty’s boyfriend, Sean Graham, 20, who is also a farmer.

In January 2017, the farm was chosen as a monitor farm, a scheme aimed at increasing productivity and sustainability and encouraging best practice.

Aimee said: “Being young and female in a maledominated sector, we are constantly being questioned about our ability. But we have a lot of belief in ourselves. We know we can do it.

“Farming in Shetland has some big challenges.

“Tra n s p o r t costs a re higher. The weather is problematic, especially the winds. And we’re surrounded by sea so salt spray gets blown on to the fields and burns the grass.

“But the people here are so friendly and the farming community is incredibly supportive. And Shetland is such a beautiful place to live and work.

“We’ve learned over time and that’s what farming’s about. We’ve done it for our dad.”

Loved father Bryden lived and worked on the farm all his lifeAimee, left, and Kirsty with their sheep dogs on the beach near their Shetland farm

Kirsty steers some of the farms’ 240 sheep on the beach with the help of her dogs. The farm also has 70 cattle and grows barley for feed

Aimee on the farm