Young Farmer Focus: Sophie Bell - 'This spring I plan to take on more heifers'

Sophie Bell, young farmer and quality control analyst, aged 24, Cavan Ireland.

Background: I remember always having a strong interest in animals from a really young age. This was a core part of my childhood and has really shaped the future for me.

I grew up on a small farm, in Co. Cavan, Ireland. Where we initially had a beef farm.

When I was growing up, I knew I wanted my education to revolve around animals in some way. As I grew up, I became more and more interested in agriculture, I had a really strong passion for the industry.

Education: When school had finished, I decided to go to Harper Adams University to study BSc Hons Agriculture with Animal Science.

I was grateful to have the opportunity to study there and it was a wonderful experience.

It gave me the opportunity to gain a lot more practical experience in the agricultural industry as well.

During my time at Harper Adams, I took up relief milking and some calf rearing, with both being a great opportunity to gain a lot more insight into the dairy industry.

Graduating in 2021 (the actual graduation was postponed until 2022, due to Covid-19) and I was awarded The President’s Prize, which was a wonderful highlight to the end of my time at Harper Adams.

I am currently studying a professional diploma in digital marketing. This is all online, so it suits my day-to-day really well.

Career: I have been working as a quality control analyst in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry for over a year now. This is a laboratory based role, which I have been enjoying.

I decided to go into contract rearing back in March 2022, where I rear heifers and put them in-calf for a local dairy farmer.

Initially I did not want to take on too many, but me and the owner of the heifers were really happy with the system and the results, so this Spring it is planned to take on a larger number of heifers.

This is great because it suits our small farm set-up and it can work around my full time job as I can do the jobs before or after work and at the weekend.

I started to document a small segment of my agricultural life online through social media, as I enjoy taking pictures of cattle and the countryside. Instagram is my main platform, but I have recently started to use TikTok and personally for me it has been a great way to build my own network.