Women in Agriculture - Anna MacKinnon

Here she spoke with Kathryn Dick:

Background in agriculture and what your job entails?
I grew up on a hill sheep farm in Perthshire and from a young age, I was very much keen on farming and animals in general. I spent three years studying at SRUC in Edinburgh where I achieved a Bsc in Agriculture. Whilst studying in Edinburgh, I worked two lambings in the Borders with the Dun family at Gilston, Herriot. It was my first experience of working away from home and I loved every minute of it. 
Once I graduated I started self employed shepherding, picking up various shepherding duties mostly in the Perthshire area. One of my main work places was for the Alexander family, Mains of Mause and it was a great place to work with four different holdings making for a varied work load – I learnt a lot in the few years I spent working there. 
Back at home on Glen Quaich Estate, my dad and my brother were responsible at the time for the running of 1800 ewes – with 500 of these being cross ewes, and the remaining 1300 Blackies. The cross ewes spent the summer down at Snaigow Estate, between Blairgowrie and Dunkeld. Snaigow and Glen Quaich are both owned by the Cadogan Family, with Snaigow being primarily beef and arable. 
There was a lot of stress running between the two places, not only for the two of them, but the stock too! So the decision was made in early 2020 to increase the ewe numbers on the hill and run the cross ewes separately down at Snaigow. As a result of this, I was employed full time by the estate, based at Snaigow. Today I am responsible for the daily running of 600 ewes – a mixture of Texel crosses, Mules and crossing Blackface ewes and followers. I also take on the Blackface ewe hoggs and fattening lambs from Glen quaich down at Snaigow over the winter. 
I’m kept busy throughout the year. In the winter time there is usually around 50 acres of kale which we strip graze lambs on and there could be three or four different blocks running at one time, and with the short winter days it’s not too rare to see me out covered in gutters chasing my tail pulling out wires with the quad lights as guide!

Favourite agricultural show?
My favourite agricultural show to attend is Perth Show. It’s always a tremendous show of stock and due to its central location it’s always very well attended. Its a great show, it’s big enough for there to be plenty to see and do but it’s also small enough to still feel personal. 
We have shown Perth type blackies for a lot of years and Perth Show is a great chance for breeders up and down the country to showcase there stock all in one place. It’s always very sociable too and everyone takes along a picnic, and after the show we all sit together at the trailers and catch up on the season so far. It’s normally quite the spread, you can always guarantee lining you’re stomach before sneaking off to the beer tent for the rest of the afternoon! 

Best and worst advice you have received?
The best advice I have received is to believe in myself. You can have all the support from friends and friends, but if you still have that niggling voice in your head that says you can’t do it, you’re always going to feel up against it. You can waste so much time worrying about what other people think, not being able to do something, or making mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes either. Everyone makes them – some are just better at covering them up! When you get in a mind set of thinking “I won’t be able to do that” it can be very hard to get out of it. If I ever start to feel like I’m doubting myself, I take a minute to just appreciate how far I’ve come over to past 5 years. 
The worst advice I’ve been given hasn’t been from a specific person, but I think the phrase “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” can be a real obstacle for the younger generation of farmers. There’s nothing wrong with doing things how they’ve always been done if that’s what works, but it’s also important not to be afraid of change. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big or a small change, at least give it consideration. 

Job satisfaction?
People’s reactions when they’ve seen me working from a distance in the fields then realise I’m female...jokes aside, I do get a lot of job satisfaction. I think it’s great when you’re physically seeing changes in front of you from season to season. Much like you might see a crop growing into an end product, I love to see a lamb growing through the seasons from birth to finishing.

Favourite animal you’ve ever shown?       
My favourite animal I’ve shown so far would be a Perth type Blackface ewe lamb back in 2018. We called her “Ellie” after the daughter of a family friend, David Grieve, who used to work for my dad – she showed her on Perth show day and it just stuck. 
The ewe lamb was only small and most likely out of her depth at a show as big as Perth, but there was just something about her. She had a sharp eye, two cocky lugs and great colours on her too and there wasn’t much of her but what was there was good – and her brightness make her stand out in the ring!

Most influential person or people in your career? 
Throughout my career so far, my dad and my brother have been hugely inspiring to me. They work there tails off day in day out. I’m very fortunate to have grown up witnessing the type of work ethic they both share. My dads father, also a shepherd, passed away when he was only a child and he has basically been shepherding ever since. One of the things that I admire about them both is their connection with their working dogs. They are not just work tools or dogs to them, they are family. 
In more recent years, another person who has undoubtedly helped me get where I am is my good friend Brian Simpson. When I started up working self employed, Brian was also working self employed at Mains of Mause – alongside having his own shearing run. He got me work there and from then really took me under his wing. He was always extremely patient with me, and he like my brother and dad, isn’t shy of hard work! 
He was happy for me when I got the job at Snaigow, even if it meant him finding a new sidekick! Brian does our shearing and I can always rely on him being at the other end of the phone if I ever need him.

If you could have gone into any other career what would it have been and why? 
Probably something to do with cooking. My mum is a chef so we grew up very foodie children and that’s stuck with us into adulthood. She worked so hard when we were growing up and I was often in charge of teas for me and the boys from a young age when she was working, so my passion from cooking just stemmed from there really. 
I'd often tag along to her work on holidays or weekends, taking in the chaos of a professional kitchen in awe of her and probably make a nuisance of myself in the process! I also love the connection between farming and food – we have so many amazing ingredients in this country thanks to our farmers. 

Biggest hurdle?
The biggest hurdle I feel I’ve had to overcome is getting used to being so tied. Being self employed meant for the most part I arrived in the morning and left in the evening and that was that. Being here full time means that I’m responsible for the well-being of the stock, regardless of what time of day or day of the week. I also have three dogs to think about so I can’t just spontaneously jump in the car and go away for a day or two, without planning ahead. 
It's taken a bit of adjusting to but that’s possibly something positive about COVID – it’s been a far quieter year since I took on the job here so its allowed me to settle in and figure out a routine. I think it is so important to be able to switch off though, which is something I think I’ll always struggle slightly with so long as I’m looking after stock. Thankfully my very patient boyfriend and majority of my close friends are all in the agriculture industry, so they more than understand there’s is ALWAYS something with sheep! 

Favourite breed of cattle or sheep and why? 
In the sheep it would be the Scottish Mule. There are very few downsides to a mule in my opinion. They are milky, they hold there form well through the year, great mums, and they can produce plenty of cracking lambs. We crossed all the Mules with Beltex tups last year and I’m really delighted with how the lambs are looking at the moment. 
I kept 45 Mule cross Beltex ewe lambs last year to introduce into the flock and they’re looking like smart gimmers at the moment – I’m looking forward to seeing how they breed in the future. 

In your opinion, what are the main problems in the agricultural industry?
I have a couple; having to compete with the lower price and production standards of imported foods such as meat and vegetables, labour shortages, health and safety, mental health and lack of education in the general public.

Piece of advice would you give to any female wanting to make a career within the industry?
Advice I would give to any females thinking about getting into the industry would be actions speak louder than words. By all means, stick up for yourself if you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly...but it’s amazing how people’s perceptions of you change when you show you’re willing to work hard, show passion and get on with the job at hand. All of a sudden it doesn’t really matter that your female. The sheep I look after don’t care that I’m a woman so why should my neighbour or potential employer.
You can’t let comments about gender put you off, if you’re determined (see also, stubborn) you’ll soon get over it. I have also found that anything that may been said to me hasn’t been said from a place of malice. I can’t get angry at a delivery driver for saying “are you sure you’ll manage to lift that?” – I'm small, but Im stronger than I look, chances are he was probably just being thoughtful.  

Favourite alcoholic beverage?
A cold Corona or Gin and slimline tonic with a slice of lime and lots of ice!