Successful dairy farming through team­work

Char­lotte West’s final year at Harper Adams Univer­sity was inter­rupted, due to covid. Forcing her back to Stocken Farm. Faced with the labour chal­lenges of a changing industry, she turned the family farm into a resilient busi­ness ready for the future.

On the family’s 410-ha dairy at Princes Risbor­ough, Char­lotte found herself drawn into the rhythm of milking, herd care and manage­ment deci­sions and grad­u­ally started shaping the farm’s future. Today, the Wests’ high-yielding Friesian Holsteins average just under 12,000 litres per cow and are milked three times a day. It’s a slick, growing enter­prise but Charlotte’s focus isn’t just on litres. It’s on people. “When I came home, I realised I could either just blend in as an employee or start changing things,” she says. “But it was impos­sible to just blend in and there were things that I wanted to do better.”

A diverse team of oper­a­tions managers with different strengths and weak­nesses

Char­lotte farms along­side her dad Richard, brother Robert, and mum Maxine who manages the books. Like many family busi­nesses, they relied on instinct and expe­ri­ence to keep things running smoothly. But as the dairy busi­ness expanded, they recog­nised the need to bring more struc­ture and clarity into how the team worked.

They turned to Real Success, an employ­ment consul­tancy special­ising in agri­cul­tural work­places, for further advice and support. “They asked ques­tions that most fami­lies tend to avoid, such as ‘What do you actu­ally want from the busi­ness?’” explains Char­lotte. The team then completed short person­ality profiles. “We’re all very different, which actu­ally works really well. Mum and Dad are quite similar, but Robert and I are complete oppo­sites, and for the busi­ness that’s a good thing.”

Charlotte’s profile came back as a Visionary Inves­ti­gator; someone who’s results-driven, detail-focused, and likes to under­stand the ‘why’ behind every process. Robert, mean­while, emerged as a Team Maker, meaning he’s quiet, steady, and peace­keeping, but reluc­tant to make deci­sions or confront conflict.

“Team Makers are the silent leavers of a busi­ness,” Char­lotte says. “They don’t say they’re unhappy they just hand in their notice. So, it made us realise how impor­tant open commu­ni­ca­tion really is.” That exer­cise didn’t just define roles; it strength­ened rela­tion­ships. Today, Char­lotte leads the dairy as herd manager, while Robert over­sees arable work.

Flex­ible working hours and duty rosters

That same people-first mindset now shapes how the Wests run their 17-person team. Staff range from full-timers to those who work just a few shifts a week – and flex­i­bility is built into every­thing. “Everyone does a different amount,” says Char­lotte. “But the idea is that we run it with more people so there’s always cover for holi­days, and no one’s stretched too thin.”

The milking team oper­ates on a three-times-a-day schedule, yet no one gets stuck in a rut. One herdsman rotates through morn­ings, nights, and lunchtimes week by week, a system that lets him plan his life around work in advance.

Crucially, Char­lotte makes sure the rota allows space for personal commit­ments like sports training or family events. “A lot of our younger team are members of the Young Farmers Club,” she says. “If it’s a Wednesday night meeting, I’ll do the rota so they can go. It’s impor­tant they have lives outside of work.”

It’s an approach learned partly from her dad, who, she notes, has never denied anyone a holiday request. That flex­i­bility helps keep morale high and makes it easier to recruit and retain staff in a tight labour market.

Regular training and further educa­tion as part of the job

Charlotte’s view on recruit­ment is simple; atti­tude over expe­ri­ence. “I’d rather train someone up than un-train bad habits, and I’ll never say no to someone because of lack of expe­ri­ence,” she says.

Regular training sessions, from chainsaw safety to animal health proto­cols, are part of the job. The farm vet visits several times a year to refresh the team on herd health topics, from recog­nising early signs of illness to using antibi­otics respon­sibly.

The result speaks for itself; calf mortality has dropped signif­i­cantly, and staff feel empow­ered to act confi­dently on herd issues. “It’s all about making sure people under­stand why they’re doing what they do,” says Char­lotte. “If they know the reason behind a protocol, they take owner­ship.”

This philos­ophy extends to career devel­op­ment, too. Staff reviews are conducted annu­ally by an inde­pen­dent consul­tant, and the whole team meets a few times a year to reflect on what’s going well and what could be improved.

Achieving and cele­brating shared goals

The culture of open dialogue has created a work­place where people want to make improve­ments. When the team noticed mastitis levels creeping up, they took collec­tive respon­si­bility – iden­ti­fying causes, adjusting routines, and driving infec­tion rates down from 80 cases per 100 cows to just eight.

“That was a huge achieve­ment,” Char­lotte says proudly. “When we hit targets like that, we cele­brate together.” Some­times that means a meal out or a day trip – and unusu­ally for most dairy farms, they will change milking times so everyone can join in.

“It’s unheard of on most farms, but we make it work,” she adds. “You can’t just say you value people; you’ve got to show it.” Bonuses and pay are tailored to expe­ri­ence and contri­bu­tion, and they aim to always pay above minimum wage.

Hygiene and protec­tive measures are part of everyday life

Phys­ical working condi­tions matter too. The Wests are in the process of upgrading their facil­i­ties, including a new staff room designed as a ‘boots-off’ space, which will be some­where clean, warm, and comfort­able for meals and breaks.

Two team members have lived on-site in static cara­vans for over a decade, while the herdsman has his own house nearby. Protec­tive clothing is provided as stan­dard, from branded aprons and tops to colour-coded high-vis coats: Orange for calf work, yellow for cows. Beyond safety, this system prevents cross-cont­a­m­i­na­tion between groups, showing Charlotte’s atten­tion to detail.

Farm clean­li­ness and biose­cu­rity aren’t after­thoughts; they’re everyday culture. “We treat this like a work­place, not just a farm,” says Char­lotte. “If you expect people to do their best, you have to give them the right envi­ron­ment.”

Tech­nology plays an impor­tant supporting role

While people are at the heart of the busi­ness, tech­nology plays a key supporting role. Invest­ment in modern kit and effi­cient work systems means jobs can be done faster and more safely, from milking routines to data tracking.

Charlotte’s expe­ri­ence on both inten­sive and exten­sive systems during her univer­sity place­ment with McDonald’s gave her a broad perspec­tive. “I saw what worked on an inten­sive dairy system in York­shire and an exten­sive one in Dorset, and brought those ideas home,” she says. “The right tech can make everyone’s life easier, but you’ve got to bring your team along with you.”

Char­lotte and Robert work closely to make sure equip­ment is used to its full poten­tial. Char­lotte noticed that a heat lamp intended to aid calf health could only be used over a single pen, limiting its use. Robert modi­fied it to be mobile, allowing staff to use it across multiple pens. “Now everyone uses it, and we can already see an improve­ment in calf health,” Char­lotte says.

The Wests have taken a tradi­tional family-run dairy and layered in modern manage­ment, clear commu­ni­ca­tion, defined roles, personal recog­ni­tion, and flex­ible working. All while main­taining the warmth that makes family farms special.

Charlotte’s vision now is to keep devel­oping both people and herd perfor­mance in tandem. “We’re a busi­ness, but we’re also a team,” she says. “If our people are thriving, the cows thrive, and so does the farm.” It’s a simple truth, but one that’s often over­looked in agri­cul­ture. For Char­lotte, getting it right isn’t just about effec­tive manage­ment, it’s about securing the long-term success and sustain­ability of her family farm for future gener­a­tions.