Youngstock Manager – Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Youngstock Manager

Shift Pattern: 7:15 am - 5:15 pm, with a 30-minute break for breakfast and a 1.5 hour break for lunch. We are trying to offer the best work-life balance possible to our team.

Salary: £35,000 - £38,000 per annum, DOE

Location: Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Essential Criteria:

• Calving & Youngstock experience
• Experience or interest in Robotic farming

NOTE: You will be working directly for the farm, not through REAL Success.

An exciting position has become available for a Youngstock Manager to join our team in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Our Farm: We are a family-owned progressive mixed farming business on the Cambridgeshire border, milking 400 Holsteins through 8 A5 Lely robots. The herd is housed all year round, with their milk supplied on an Arla contract. The farm operates on an all-year-round calving system, with our records kept up to date using Cow Manager alongside Uniform Agri. The farm is just over 1000 acres including mixed grassland and an arable operation alongside the dairy unit. We are currently harvesting 500 acres of cereal crops including wheat, barley, and grass for the farm's forage use. You will make up a passionate full-time team of 5, plus some part-time staff and the farm owners.

Your Role: As a Youngstock Manager, you will be working closely with the Herd Manager to operate our Youngstock unit. Your main roles and responsibilities will be:

• Ensuring the overall development and care of all our calves.
• Actively calving, feeding, and de-horning, whilst also treating the calves with antibiotics when required.
• Vaccinating and weighing the calves.
• Keeping the highest standards of cleanliness & hygiene to support excellent calf health.
• Colostrum collection and management.
• Maintaining records and ensuring data is kept up to date.
• Keeping the farm overall tidy & safe to operate.
• Reporting any observations to the senior management team.
• Actively joining team meetings and discussion groups.
• Completing other farm tasks where needed.

This role would be assisting the current Herd Manager on a daily basis, achieving consistent high standards and supporting each other's responsibilities.

Qualifications & Licenses Required:

• A full UK Driving license.
• Proof of UK right to work.
• AI qualification is beneficial, but we are willing to upskill.

You:

• You will need to demonstrate experience in calf rearing and working with youngstock.
• We are looking for someone who ideally has previous knowledge and experience working on a robotic system. However, we are happy to train if the enthusiasm and interest are there.
• You will be a hard-working, enthusiastic person who has strong communication skills with others and is happy to adapt.
• We are looking for someone who is a self-starter who can work on their own initiative to ensure the success of the calving operation.
• Have the experience and skills to manage colostrum and overall animal welfare.
• You must share our passion and care for cows.

Extra Benefits:

• We are always investing in our staff development, offering progression, training, courses, and support.
• We regularly take the team to the local pub for some food to support the farm morale.

Location: Our farm is based in the village of Covington, which is a civil parish in Cambridgeshire. Covington lies approximately 10 miles west of Huntingdon, with schools, leisure, pubs, walks, and shops nearby.

If you think you can help us as a Youngstock Manager, we'd like to hear from you. Applications with a cover letter will receive priority.