OUR TEAM
Every business depends on the quality of its staff, and things are no different here. Most of our team have been here for many years, and their understanding of the animals, and commitment to their welfare and well-being, is second-to-none.
First up is Rodger Laughton – at 76 years of age, he’s spent a lifetime farming with livestock. He misses nothing, and is always the first to let us know if there is something wrong!!
Then there’s his son, Andrew Laughton, who runs the operation on a day-to-day basis. Andrew is 53 years old and has also spent his whole life farming with livestock. He has worked with AHDB and Nottingham University on KPI research, and with AHDB and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) looking into welfare on larger farms.
He hosts visits from the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) helping them with their study into different beef finishing systems, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) to alleviate any concerns they may have about the system, industry regulators and customers. We also welcome Riseholme students and farmer visits.
Andrew also works out the rations, health plans, finances, deals with the retailers and so on… you’ll often find him up at silly o’clock loading cattle – that’s why he looks a bit dozy sometimes and/or takes a while to ring you back.
“This is a great business and one that is changing and developing daily. I love welcoming people to the farm, showing them how we look after and care for the cattle, and constantly looking at new ways to harness changing technology to make the job easier and more cost-efficient.”
Andrew
Bill
Ed
Steve
Next up is Bill our stockman, a real country man. He takes the well-being and health of every beast very seriously indeed. He’s also taking more and more responsibility in selecting the right cattle for sale at the right time. He’s been with us for the past four plus years.
“I really enjoy working with the cattle, even the routine tasks such as worming, sorting fat cattle ready for selling to our customers, and also enjoy helping out with the baling at harvest time. This is a good place to work here as everyone works as a team and gets the jobs done.”
Now Ed’s the man who can fit in anywhere with anyone on any job with a great ‘can do’ attitude. Ed drives the stacker trailer in harvest, and somehow gets the bales all stacked up after the balers (with a bit of help from Telly!) Nothing is ever a problem to Ed – unless he leaves his sweets in the tractor, as they always seem to disappear…
“Top three things with the job is that it’s great to work outdoors, great bunch of people to work with and great variety of different jobs. We’re not just a number here, we all get involved, and it’s great to see healthy cattle come in and top quality beef going out.”
Steve, or Telly as we call him, is in charge of the bedding and of loading the straw lorries. He’s also a great help when it comes to stacking the bales in the big stacks. That’s not an easy job. Not a man to be messed with, or you’ll soon get to know about it… only joking, he’s a pussycat really (really?)
“I’ve been here a total of around 15 years now and really love my job and the responsibility that comes with it. It’s knowing the cattle are fed well and bedded well, and that they leave here in the best condition that keeps me happy. I do the best job I can and love seeing them built up to their potential. I’ve always loved driving machinery, and this is honestly just a brilliant place to work.”
Jordan joined us from school. He’s learning fast, and has been taking responsibility for feeding the cattle – one of the most important jobs on the farm. He shows his dedication by feeding himself very well too!
“I’ve been here for three years, and love working outdoors. We’re all trained on the daily tasks of the day-to-day running of the business, and I really enjoy feeding the cattle. Every day is different and I enjoy the challenges of the job. Andrew has such an incredible knowledge of the business and understands if some ‘fine tuning’ is needed to make sure we are doing the best job possible. This makes it possible to manage the number of cattle we do successfully.”
Brin looks after our Manby Site. A more dedicated caring committed stockman would be difficult to find. He also drives the digger, and loads all the manure on to neighbouring farmers’ trailers. There isn’t much that gets Brin stumped.
“I love the responsibility that comes with my job, and seeing the cattle doing so well. They are so content, and quiet, and have so much space to loaf around in. Even when it’s wet and cold they are happy, and I love being part of the team here.”
Joe
Joe has been working for us for around three years now. We call him Rodney, but he isn’t really a plonker… Joe is learning fast, and becoming a very useful member of the team. In fact, he’s going to drive the baler this year – not a job you would give to just anybody.
“I love working outdoors and with the cattle, it’s great to have the variety of jobs I have on a day-to-day basis. This is a great place to work, there’s lots of banter and laughs, but lots of hard work too.”
Then we have Jamie who drives the lorry, and collects the food stuffs, and slots in to other work on the farm as needed. We decided he would have to be Del boy because of his ‘Landan’ accent. Cush, cush, cushty.
“I’m often off the farm collecting the co-products we feed to the cattle, checking the quality is right, and ensuring all is as it should be. It’s a big responsibility, as getting the feeding right is key to making the business work, and I’m happy to take on more responsibility as the business continues to grow.”
Jamie
Finally, but by no means least, we have Judith, we can never forget Judith. They say a job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done, and when it comes to cattle farming there was never a truer word. Judith manages the accounts, keeps the BCMS in order (there’s never a passport out of place) and somehow keeps Andrew in some sort of line (or tries…) and most importantly pays the wages. Judith is invaluable to the smooth running of the operation – her jobs are endless (and include excellent tea and coffee making skills)
“I’ve worked for Laughtons for five years now and love the variety of work. We’re really good at keeping a tremendous amount of information on all the cattle, which is then analysed carefully and helps to make the management decisions. We’re successful because we’re willing to adapt and change to meet the needs of our customers.”