Paul and Shula PhillipsHope Cottage Farm

An East Falkland farmer, Paul runs Hope Cottage farm with his wife Shula and daughter Bekka.

The Phillips family first came to the Falklands in 1862, with the first child born in 1876, and they have worked in farming since then. Former Shearing Contractor and qualified carpenter, Paul and his wife Shula bought the farm from his parents in 2009 continuing many of the farming changes made by his parents.

"The Falkland Islands Meat Company has introduced the biggest change in the modern farm, with opportunities of an income from meat to enhance our wool revenue. For many years reliant only on a wool income, Falklands farming went through very hard times with the collapse of wool prices in the late 1980's, and now with a dual income we should be able to sustain a fall in either enterprise without falling into times of poverty again.

We plant crops and grass to finish our stock for FIMCo to boost our meat income, as they pay on quality and weight; FIMCo also gives us the ability to increase production with the export of meat from the EU-approved abattoir. Farming has never been in a better position, and we firmly believe we have a great future to look forward to".