“My father thought farming wasn’t for girls”

Minette Batters, 50, is the current President of the national Farmers’ union and the first woman to hold the post. A tenant farmer in Wiltshire, she began farming in 1998 with just 20 suckler cows. She now has 300 beef cattle, a small flock of pedigree sheep, an arable rotation and a wedding venue. Minette co-founded the campaigning initiatives Ladies in Beef and Great British Beef Week. Minette says “I grew up on the family farm and was in love with it, but my father was very resistant about me taking over. he thought farming wasn’t for girls, but the more I was told I couldn’t do something, the more I wanted it. My brother did not want to farm so I was determined to get the tenancy back. I first got involved with the NFU because I saw it as the only way to drive change, not just with government but with the food industry too.” w&h