Being muddy on farm beats work in an office
AYOUNG farmer who chose to not follow the herd and go to university says she loves being “covered in mud” instead of being stuck in an office.
Erin Murgatroyd, 22, turned to farming as soon as she finished her A-levels and now looks after 400 cows on her farm in Blackawton, Devon.
She said she had felt pressure from her teachers to go to university but wanted to go into farming out of “spite” – and doesn’t regret her decision.
Now she earns £32,000 a year by spending her days mucking out and milking cows.
Erin is one of the growing number of Gen-Zers embarking on careers in heritage industries, according to figures published by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, the government’s skills training agency.
Erin, a herd manager at a dairy farm, said: “While I was in school I got good grades and they wanted me to do basically anything else.
“As soon as I mentioned farming they shut it down completely and it made me put my back up.
“So I probably did it more out of spite.
“I felt like I outgrew it and just wasn’t interested in going to university.
“I would have gone if I was dead set on being a doctor or architect – so I didn’t.”
Erin said if her teachers had been more encouraging of an agricultural degree then she would have considered it more.
She said: “I love farming as it’s so practical. Being in the outdoors there are so many skills I have been able to learn.
“I love taking care of the cows and take pride in producing good quality milk.
“I love having favourite cows and the organised chaos.”
Erin started working at beef farm Handham View farm, Woodleigh, Devon aged 18 where she would handle calf feeding and rearing and check stock – earning £8 an hour.
After working tirelessly for five years she now earns £32k a year by looking after 400 cows – feeding, milking, scraping pens on a dairy farm. She works 12 days on and two days off.
Erin said: “I’m on a salary now of £32,000 – which is a lot better for me and really good for age.”
Erin and her boyfriend, Trevor Wilson, 27, a builder, are looking into building a house and say they would not be in that position if she had racked up debt from going to university.
She said: “I feel like I am further along in my practical farming knowledge at my age than if I was at university.
“As I would have missed out on those years of actual work and I would still make the same decision to not go to university.”
Erin is the only woman in her family to go into farming but her great uncle farmed all his life and the family grew up near a farm.
Erin wants to encourage other women and girls to consider farming.
She said: “It is more male dominated. We have a young farmers’ federation and the girls in it are basically estate agents.
“I am the only one that’s farming as a full-time job. There’s nothing I can’t do in my job that boys can.
“The old farmers – they’re astounded and shocked by me rocking up completely dirty.
“Females are notoriously better at dairy farming than men because you’ve got be really attentive.”
Erin said she sometimes feels like missed out on certain experiences like having a gap year or to travel.
She said: “I like doing what I do, so you sacrifice that.
“You sacrifice that to be able to it. Farming isn’t a job you can just go into.
“It is a hard lifestyle for people and a change in tide of working hours and farmers.
“If I want to swap jobs in 10 years’ time I may need to go back to education to get the necessary qualifications which isn’t a worry for me.”