Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Book excerpt: A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER For five generations, the Pemberton family have farmed at Birks Farm in the picturesque town of Lytham on Lancashire's Fylde Coast, working at the heart of the area since the 1830s and supplying dairy produce to the local community ever since. In 2016, Tom Pemberton uploaded a one-minute video to YouTube about how to use the farm shop's new raw milk vending machine. He thought a handful of people would watch it. It turns out many more did. And so he began uploading regular videos, every Tuesday, Friday and the occasional Sunday to show what he gets up to on the farm. Things don't always go to plan, especially when you're the farmer's son, but every day's a learning day and Tom approaches work as he does life in general: stay positive and don't take yourself too seriously. Make Hay While the Sun Shines takes us behind the farm gate and follows a year on the farm: from calving to maintaining machinery, from mucking out to planning and building a brand-new cow shed. Tom gives us a unique insight into everyday life on a busy dairy farm with all its highs, lows and hard graft. Full of heart, amusing anecdotes and unforgettable characters like Tom's dad, Andy - aka the Ginger Warrior - this is Tom's story of determination, adventure and how to keep a smile on your face even when you're knee-deep in cow poo. Sunday Times bestseller in May 2022