COMING from a farming background in Ayrshire, before moving up to a farm near Drymen, Jane Harrower has been involved in agriculture, one way or another, for her whole life.

Leading on from her husband’s interest in poultry, Jane now runs a successful poultry business, selling hens, ducks and eggs, from the family home they share with their three daughters.

Now working at home full-time since the business took off, Jane took time out of her busy schedule to tell The SF about what her working life is like, and how no two days are the same.

Give us a bit of background on your farm and business.

I was brought up on a farm in Ayrshire before moving up here in 1997, so farming life is all I’ve ever known. I met my husband, Craig, through Young Farmers and we’ve been married for 20 years this year.

Our farm, Craigievern, is at Drymen, near Loch Lomond, and we run a business supplying poultry all year round. We are mainly a beef and sheep farm but have always had poultry, which has really taken off over the past few years.

It happened by accident, to be honest. Craig was always into poultry, got me involved, and things snowballed.

In 2008, I bought 500 day-olds and things really started to take off from there. That batch all sold well and things escalated. I did also work at a local accountant’s two days a week until last year. It got to the point I couldn’t fit it all in and I’m full-time at the farm now.

What type of stock do you supply?

At Craigievern we can supply hybrid laying birds, a selection of pure breeds, ducks and day-old birds all year round. We also have goslings and hatching eggs, but those are seasonal.

We also have pigs – some Tamworths, a Saddleback and Large White boar on the farm, and regularly have weaners available for sale.

We usually have three types of ducks available. We also have Khaki Campbell eggs and Indian Runner hatching eggs available as long as the ducks are laying.

Our incubator is usually running all year round, or as long as our pure birds keep laying.

At the moment, we have Welsummers , white Silkies, cuckoo Marans , white Marans, large Light Sussex, black Minorcas, cream Legbar cross Aracauna and buff Sussex – they’re bantam Light Sussex crossed by a Silkie cockerel.

It really depends on how our hatchings go as to what we have available. We also sell hatching eggs, but this is seasonal as pure breeds don’t lay as many eggs as hybrids.

How has working on the farm impacted your family life?

Craig and I have three daughters, Kelly (22), Helen (18), and Shona (15). Kelly and Helen are working hard in their own careers as a trainee dental nurse and a swim instructor, respectively, and Shona is still at school. None of them look like they will farm fulltime, but they’ve all been involved when growing up and are an invaluable help when needed, especially at busy times of year.

I think they would definitely say that they’ve gained a lot from being brought up around agriculture. It’s certainly instilled a good work ethic in them! They’re sometimes a bit reluctant, but I think that’s more to do with early mornings.

They’ve all been involved in Young Farmers, showing calves and things. It’s a great way to build a social life as much as anything.

People always say it’s a very tying job, which it most certainly is, but it also offers a lot of opportunities, and the people involved in the industry are second to none, in my opinion.

Are there many women in the poultry industry?

To be honest, I think it’s like all aspects of agriculture, there are a lot of women involved, but perhaps not as publicly as men. Women are certainly more than capable – my three daughters prove that.

I don’t like to say that women can do exactly the same as men, when it comes to the physical stuff there’s definitely things Craig can do that I struggle more with, but that swings both ways when it comes to other aspects of the business that I maybe find easier. Things are constantly changing and evolving, and I would say that we work well together, complement each other, and wouldn’t get on as well with the business if we didn’t have each other.

That sounds a bit cheesy – I’m definitely not saying we don’t have the odd disagreement!

Do you think there are women specific issues in agriculture?

Yes, but I wouldn’t make too much out of men versus women. Historically, men would be involved in the farm, and women would be at home too, but now so many women go out to work, and have their own career.

At the same time, though, a high percentage of these women come home and work on the farm after their ‘day job’, but they find themselves doing both for financial reasons. If they didn’t go away to work, they would have probably have had to diversify somehow at home.

You don’t see many women these days that are the stereotypical ‘housewife’ you had in previous generations. And that’s a good thing, it’s progress, and it’s making the most of what women can offer.

What other type of things to you do?

Craigievern Poultry can come along to agricultural shows and give a display of poultry, which always seems to go down a treat, especially with people from towns that don’t necessarily have an exposure to farm animals.

We take a selection of birds for our display and also some of our young stock too. The younger birds are always a hit with both young and old.

We’ve been to the Royal Highland Show, so that’s great exposure for what we’re doing on a grand stage. We’re heading back this year, so if you’re heading to the show in a few weeks, come down and see us. I really enjoy that side of things, I must admit.

We have also been known to do ‘pig racing’ at agricultural shows, which is always a hit.

We also have a holiday cottage on the farm, so that’s another thing we have to deal with, but it’s another income stream and you need to keep things ticking over.

Give us an example of some of the challenges you face with your business.

At Craigievern we have a variety of birds available all year round, so no two days are the same, which can be a challenge in itself. We have day-old birds arriving every two months, so we have various ages to suit every budget.

Every batch is different but we usually have a good mix of birds to choose from. We like to get our birds outside at around five-six weeks old, so they are healthier and accustomed to the Scottish weather. The weather is definitely another challenge!

Paperwork, in general, is always an issue. Every element of what we do has a lot of admin’ alongside it, but the paperwork for the farm is huge and in this modern day it just seems to be increasing, but that’s just the way things are. It’s the same for everyone, unfortunately.

I wouldn’t say our challenges are any different from other farms really, but between us we seem to get things done, one way or another.

Is there anything you think women in agriculture would benefit from?

That’s a tough one. Yes, but it’s difficult to pinpoint these things. I would say that, if agriculturally-based courses – like machinery use, or sheep shearing – were run for women only, I might be more inclined to go and do them.

I wouldn’t purposely not go to things if men were included as well, but not having men there in certain situations would undoubtedly take an element of pressure away.

How do you see things in the future?

I’m not sure. I’m really happy with how the business has been going. We’re growing and as well as the returning customer base that we have established over the years, we are constantly seeing a steady stream of new customers, which is great.

Social media is a great way of getting things out there, so we do business from that, but it’s just another thing to keep up to date.

I think the key thing is that I enjoy what I do. I’m not saying that on wet days things don’t grate on me, but I personally think I have the best job ever, so you can’t argue with that!