BEACONHILL F
aced with the choice of coming home to run the family dairy at 16 years old, Olly Reed has driven the herd forward through his determination and passion to succeed. After leaving school in 2006 Olly was given the ultimatum of taking on the dairy or the cows being sold. The 300-acre family farm which is owned by his parents Andrew and Wendy comprised an 80 cow flying herd until Olly returned home.
Olly explains: “My grandfather was keen on the cows, but my Dad has no interest in them and would rather be working with sheep. I was enthusiastic about the cows and this decision pushed me to take responsibilities and make some huge decisions at a young age.”
Encouraged by his Mum, Olly studied a National Diploma at Bicton College from 2006 to 2009. On his placement year he benefitted from the positivity and encouragement from Andy Cooke at Sutton Lucy Holsteins. “At Sutton Lucy they were so hungry to grow the business and I gained so much from both Andy and his staff. Everyone was so helpful towards me, taking the time to show me and explain to me the best way to do things. “Andy also paid for me to go on an AI course with the agreement that I would use this skill at home.” During 2008 Olly started to AI cows at home to retain females in the herd, while heifers were still purchased for three years until homebred heifers started calving in. With his enthusiasm to breed his own replacements Olly has a strong idea of his true type model. “I want to breed strong, robust cows that are medium sized, capacious and that will last the test of time.
41 VG COWS
6 EX
“When selecting bulls I look for an all round bull with good legs and feet – I don’t like cattle that are too straight in the leg or with teats that are too short. Although we are on a white water contract I still look for components as I don’t want to lose them long term.”
Being a keen member of Devon HYB his interest for cows and their breeding was nurtured and Olly’s admiration for other
PASSION FOR COWS DRIVES FUTURE AT
Few 16 year olds would dive headlong in to managing their own herd, but for Devon-based Olly Reed an early start was borne out of necessity
members has given him the drive to set realistic goals with a desire to achieve.
“At HYB competitions and shows across the country I have always looked up to successful young breeders like Michael
34 THE JOURNAL DECEMBER 2014
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