From a small dairy farm in West Wales, it might seem unlikely that Cari Thomas has collected the 2021 Presidents Medal from Holstein UK for her contributions to the Holstein breed in Cornwall. So, what has led her to this point? Ruth Wills finds out.
On a wet and windy day in North Cornwall, Cari Thomas is on the road visiting customers as a part of her job at Cogent.
It is a long way from West Wales, so how did she end up in the winding lanes of the Cornish countryside?
It all happened by accident really, she says, laughing.
She was studying Rural Enterprise and Land Management at Harper Adams when she met her now boyfriend, Steven, a dairy farmer from Cornwall. She then completed a placement year with a dairy auctioneer, which led to a dissertation looking at how, if Wales implemented the same system as England with respect to TB valuations, that would affect the pedigree Holstein herds in the former country.
The outcomes were really interesting, the value and genetic progress of the breed would be impacted, she says.
This love of Holsteins did not leave her, even when she moved down to Cornwall, with prospects of being a land agent. She began working for Cogent in February 2021.
I thought, actually being a land agent isnt for me I talk about cows all the time, I might as well get paid for it, says Cari.
Its so progressive, they have their Ecofeed an index that measures feed conversion - which is just going to reshape the industry. They say the best way to predict the future is to create it theyre a great company to work for.
She is passionate about making the dairy industry more sustainable through genetics, along with a focus on calves and colostrum management.
She says: I help farmers breed cows that are optimal for their milk contract and through genomic testing they can really streamline their herd by breeding from the best females and getting the best replacements.
Having a good breeding strategy will help cut the costs of heifer rearing. Its making sure farmers are making informed choices using the right females and bulls.
Theres no point in putting all this time into getting the genetics right and then leaving the calf to fend for itself.
Gender
Although she has had the odd gender-related comment concerning her career choice, she believes the industry has made real headway in the gender shift in recent years.
We have vocal young females like Abi Reader and Gemma Smale-Rowland; theyre really pushing what theyre doing.
I think were tackling it for our generation and future generations were heading the right way.
Theres a huge presence on Instagram and views that farming is a male industry are being challenged, she says.
I also think its becoming more inclusive, but it would be nice to get to a point where we arent recognising women for being a great female farmer just a great farmer. Gender doesnt come into it and were all seen as equal.
When Cari moved to Cornwall she became the Holstein Club secretary. She has helped to push the Holstein Club forwards.
I just really got into it and for my sins, Im still the secretary now, she says.
We used to have an evening show but because of TB and labour we were getting fewer and fewer exhibitors it was just sort of dying a death. So, we had a rethink and a club connection had been to Australia to judge something called the on farm challenge.
Rather than come to the show, we bring the judge to them. And to make it more inclusive we allow people to wash and clip their cows if they want to, but we dont allow them to top line them which is when people set the hairs along the cows back to create the illusion of straightness. Its quite technical and not everyone knows how to do it.
Showcasing
Judges come from around the country and videos are taken of the prospective cows.
At the end of the week we have a presentation evening and we watch the top five videos. The concept has gone down so well this year (2022) we had 124 entries.
Cari and Steve have been working on their own small herd too.
We now have 10 cows and calves; its just a bit of fun but we wanted something in our own name.
There is a stereotype of Holsteins that theyre really high maintenance and hard to manage but I love the versatility of the breed. I think they work so hard as a dairy breed, they milk really well and breeders have really taken on board genomics, so the progress in that area is great.
Caris passion for dairy and Holsteins is clear to see. It is almost no surprise she was awarded the 2021 Presidents Medal from Holstein UK, for her outstanding contribution to the Holstein breed, the Cornish Holstein Club and the Holstein Young Breeders.
But for Cari, it came as a shock.
This was the second time I was nominated. I was in the final two years ago, then Steve won in 2020. So when I was nominated in 2021, I thought is there any point?. I was looking through past winners and I couldnt see a county who had received it twice in a row in the last 20 years.
She had to write a two-page essay and go through an interview process.
After the interview, they announced the final three and I was really pleased to be in the final, but I looked at the other two and thought this is going to be tough.
The winner is usually announced at the Semex conference in Glasgow, but unfortunately it was cancelled because of concerns over the new coronavirus variant Omicron.
So they announced it on Facebook instead. I was presented with the medal at the Dairy Expo in Carlisle.
Something which set her apart, from her fellow finalists, was that she was not born into the pedigree Holstein world and she is mindful of how daunting it can be.
For many people, their grandparents were in Holstein Young Breeders and their parents were theyve been in it since they were nine. If you start when youre 21 or 22 they have ten years more experience on you, so Ive tried to be as encouraging as possible to people who are interested in having a go.
Cari is passionate about getting more young people into agriculture in general.
I think we do a disservice to ourselves as an industry, we dont shout about it enough. Farming has a stereotype of an old man in a flat cap, shouting get off my land but its not like that, its such a progressive industry.
There are roles within the industry for everyone and I think its important to highlight the diversity of farming and the roles within it. Social media is great for demonstrating that its much more than driving a tractor and milking cows something like calculating a cow ration, that is quite a scientific, mathematical thing.
We need to go into non-agricultural universities and schools if they dont know what we do, why would they consider coming into the industry?
The future for Cari will be heavily focused on Holsteins too and although she is now out of Holstein Young Breeders age, she will continue to be involved.
I would like to continue to work on our herd. Id like to breed more of a show type animal ideally, I would like to breed a class winner for a national show, says Cari.
I still want to be involved as a leader and encourage club members we have some really keen young people in Cornwall that are coming through the ranks.
