What are the two main things that you need to be a dairy farmer? According to dairy farmer Charles, you need an alarm clock and a love of animals.
Charles wakes up at 4.30 am every morning, and by the time the morning’s work is done, Charles has four hours before it’s time to start the evening milking.
Those hours are filled with different tasks depending on the time of year, but can include fixing fences, bailing straw or trimming cows’ toenails! That’s why Charles loves his job – every day is different.
About Charles and his farm
Charles is a mixed dairy, beef, and arable farmer, working in partnership with his father and two brothers in Warwickshire. They milk 350 Holstein cows, using both conventional and robotic systems. They grow wheat, barley, oilseed rape, oats, potatoes, and maize over 1300 acres, as well as having diversified into industrial units.
Charles is married to Linda, a primary school teacher, and they have two children, Chloe and Henry. He has a real passion for education and helping people gain a better understanding of the food they eat and how it is produced.
Watch more of Charles’ farm videos.
Follow Charles on Twitter.
About Just Farmers
Charles was trained in media and video-production by Just Farmers – a project run by BBC Broadcaster and Journalist Anna Jones, and TV self-shooting producer/director, Alex Price.
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