Alice Allan beef and sheep farmer
…part time insurance broker.
Alice Allan is a 21-year-old part-time beef and sheep farmer on her family’s farm in South Ayrshire, Scotland. She also works for Farmers and Mercantile Insurance Brokers (FMIB) and serves as the assistant secretary for Ayr and District Young Farmers Club and the show secretary for Straiton Farmers Society.
Day-to-day on the farm: With lambing and calving now in full swing, an extra pair of hands never goes a miss.
As there is not enough work to keep myself and my two older siblings on the farm full-time, we all branched into other areas of the industry – I now work as an insurance advisor for FMIB. But between the three of us, we all still make time to work on the farm.
At lambing time, I take control of feeding the pet lambs, before commuting to my job in Prestwick. After a day in the office, I will help attend to any ewes and lambs needing assistance, before going back to look after my pet lambs.
We usually calf all year round and most of our herd run with Limousin bulls. I register all new calves born on the farm and keep the calving books and records up-to-date for my dad, as technology is not his forte.
Being a young woman in the farming industry comes with its challenges but the opportunities the industry has to offer, such as Young Farmers, is something I definitely wouldn’t want to miss out on.
Young Farmers: Young Farmers has been a huge part of my life since I was 14. It is more than just a social club – it’s a learning club.
I am now actively involved in helping young members, sharing knowledge and experiences.
From speechmaking and dairy cattle dressing, I have tried so many things, and enjoyed success in competitions, including handicrafts, beef cattle dressing and stock judgings.
This year, I hope to be part of our club’s successful girls’ tug-of-war team.
Showing: My favourite aspect of farming life is the show cattle; my sister and I take great pleasure in turning out cattle for summer and winter shows.
We have had a string of successes, taking ‘champion of champions’ at local shows, including overall Charolais-sired champion at The Agri-Expo in Carlisle and the Royal Northern Spring Show at Thainstone.
Last year, I was the only Scottish person to compete for the Winter Stock Festival’s Young Stock Person of the Year, where I scooped second prize.
These are some of my proudest show-life moments.
This year, we have another Charolais cross bullock, called Got2BGold, whose first outing will be the Ayrshire Young Farmers Rally.
Since I was 17, I have been the show secretary for Straiton Show, a small Scottish livestock show close to home.
It is a lot of responsibility but I have no regrets. The committee are a great help and it gives me great delight to see the show growing in stock numbers and public attendance every year.
