Anyone who thinks it’s too hard to start a business in the registered cattle game should spend some time with Molly Westwood.

The 34-year-old UK owner of the now globally recognised Panda Holsteins wasn’t raised on a registered farm and – when she left school aged 16 – she had no farm, no big-time cows under her belt, and she was painfully shy. To the point that she wouldn’t answer the home phone, and if a sales representative came to their commercial family dairy, she would find somewhere else to be. She was happy working with cows, but she gave a “hard pass” when it came to engaging with people.

One of five siblings, including her identical twin sister, Jess, the tightknit family was headed up by their parents, Andrew and Sharon. Molly was always acutely aware of how hard her parents worked – right down to Sharon teaching on the weekends to put food on the table. It inspired her to also work hard.

It’s no accident that on July 1, Panda Holsteins will market a select group of 70 lots [60 live lots] that will be chased hard by breeders at Panda’s Devon farm in southwest England – overlooking Exmoor and the Darmoor National Parks. It is the culmination of a decade of farming a small, registered herd that the bank didn’t believe in – and the industry didn’t understand…at first.

However, Molly does nothing without a plan and most likely a spreadsheet. Such is her enduring passion for world class cows, she overcame her incredible shyness and found her voice through her business with her beloved Holsteins – and more specifically her biggest passion – Red & White Holsteins.

This is a story of what “hard graft” can achieve…

Molly Westwood today knows the difference is in attending to the detail…every day. She is pictured with the daughter of her EX95-3E 7* Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red. Panda Ambrosia O’Kustard SELLS as a third calver on July 1. Photo supplied.

*Panda sets the tone for animal care as much as it does for pedigree power. Photo supplied.*

Even Molly Westwood’s parents doubted how their shy 16-year-old daughter would cope living so far away from home when she left for Morsan Farms, in Canada.

Molly had worked at the local pub to buy the plane fare that would take her closer to her dream – knowing it would first take her away from England. The year was 2007, and she spent her next four formative years working with the high profile North American operation.

What Molly didn’t wear on her sleeve back then was a quiet and determined sense of self-belief. Her decision to step so far outside her comfort zone would change her life, her connections, her expectations, and her end-game.

“I wanted to work with the best, and I knew if I needed to do something on my own that was the time to do it,” Molly said. “I also needed to grow up as a person and become myself. We weren’t a well-off family, and Mum and Dad worked hard, and they did an amazing job with us.

“But that’s why I realised from a young age that you have to work hard to get anywhere in life. And, if I didn’t do it then, I never would have.

“I could have gone to work for Joe Bloggs down the road, but I wanted to be known for something.” - Molly Westwood.

There was also some extreme self-awareness.

“I knew I loved the breeding side of farming at a really young age. I found it really interesting that we could make our commercial cows better by taking the time to really look at the sires we were using on them. I think that’s what I really grasped early.

“It’s about having an eye as well. I think you’ve either got it, or you haven’t. I still love looking at a young animal and being able to screen shot a photo of it, knowing it will probably be special, and then when it is special, looking back at that screen shot and realise that I do know what I’m doing. I do that still today.”

Morsan watered the seed

Morsan accelerated Molly’s progress to create something special in the UK even though she didn’t have that generational background in registered cattle.

Panda Pure Gold Red VG89-MAX traces back to an embryo purchase from Morsan. She was sold and subsequently flown to Italy. She is the dam of Panda Lamborghini Red VG86. A red Sidekick son from Lamborghini sells in the sale, along with a Sidekick from Lamborghini’s sister. Photo: Wolfhard Schulze.

“I always knew I wanted to work with cows I just did not know how I could start something from complete scratch. Morsan helped me to find myself in the world that I wanted to be in, and work out how I could fit into it and make it my life.”

When she returned home, she started to build that business which tracked in the opposite direction to world trends. Instead of milking thousands of cows to show just a few, she had a different plan, and the banks couldn’t fathom it.

*Panda’s barn is the heartbeat of the registered operation. Photo supplied.*

“It took me years to get a mortgage to build the barn because no-one understood how that business plan would work. It was basically a model based off the back of Morsan Farms. But completely the opposite way around,” Molly said.

“Rather than having thousands of milk cows, I decided to calve out 30 commercial recipients each year and sell them freshly calved to the top end of the commercial market and then work with the embryo calves.

“I’ve never wanted to milk hundreds of cows. I just love working with a small group and seeing how I can develop them. Seeing them grow from a day old to calving down as a two-year-old. And, the first six months of a calf’s life is what I enjoy the most because they change the most, and you can see if they are going to be big time or not.”

*The Northern lights over Panda. Photo supplied.*

Panda today

Today, Molly owns Panda Holsteins in partnership with her father, Andrew. She leases part of the farm from him, and the pair share in the genetics part of the business.

Molly’s identical twin sister, Jess, runs her own successful thoroughbred equine operation on the rest of the 50-acre property. She foals down 30 to 40 mares every year and the former jockey, turned trainer, turned breeder now produces foals, yearlings, two and three-year-olds for sale.

*Molly’s twin sister, Jess, runs her successful equine business on the same property. Photo supplied.*

This driven pair, aged 34, don’t waste a blade of grass on the farm. And, in doing so, they deliberately give Andrew an income off the holding.

The horses need room and that leaves Molly 1.5 fields for the cows. She built a barn for them in 2011, and in December 2024 her partner, Martin Pearson (who is a construction manager, developing building sites), put his shoulder to the wheel and they first added an extension to the main barn, and then they built another new 120-foot x 30-foot [37m x8m] barn.

Molly and her parter, Martin Pearson, and a couple of their canine kids, Dotty and Pippa (the Jack Russell) in front of the site for their new home that is currently under construction. Photo supplied.

They are now elbow-deep preparing for the Pathway of Panda sale to celebrate 10 years in the business. Panda has buyers salivating at the gate because this is a thoughtful global offering that has been carefully curated and marketed by an extraordinary exponent for the industry who truly loves her cows. And, it shows in everything decision she makes.

Molly – who also works as the Blondin Sires UK manager with seven sales representatives under her – doesn’t just want to be good. Her goals are specific…and big.

She wants to breed the UK’s first EX97 Red & White Holstein, and to own the world’s top small herd of Red & White Holsteins.

Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red EX95-3E 7* Autumn has produced more than 80,000kgs of milk, all nine of her daughters are classified VG/EX. She has bred four All-Britain nominees, two UK Dairy Expo Junior Champions, and three County Show Champions. In 2024 her daughter & granddaughter made UK history being the first RED Holstein pair to win the prestigious Royal Burk Trophies. SELLING is a pair of Autumn’s Amaretto Red daughters (fresh on their third lactations), her incredible Willows daughter (fresh on her second lactation), her Ambrose daughter, and many granddaughters/great granddaughters.

*Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red EX95-3E 7* with her Ambrose daughter, who SELLS on July 1. Photo: Evie Tomlinson.*

The hours she has spent scouring the globe for the best individuals from the best families beggar’s belief. Her catalogue stands as a testament to that homework – with the stories behind her buys – all shared among its pages.

Her passion has given her the courage to step up and stand out.

“When I started, I guess it was more a male orientated industry, but I love the fact that I’m the minority, and that’s what I also like about the Red & White Holsteins.

“They are the minority of the breed, and if you can compete against the majority and be at the top, why wouldn’t you?”

SELLING from S-S-I DOC HAVE NOT EX96 (EX97-MS, who sold for $1,925,000 in 2022), is the choice of these two granddaughters PANDA HORIZON RC* or PANDA HARMONY (Architect x VG86 Ranger x HAVE NOT EX96). They are unique red carriers with unique genomics with high type, production, and health traits combined. Photo: Evie Tomlinson.

Best laid business plans

Covid-19 and Brexit in 2020 [when the UK left the EU] changed Panda’s burgeoning business model, because at that time Molly had a strong European customer base that were routinely buying animals from her.

When the world shut down and then England lost a lot of its trading partners in close succession, Panda was forced to pivot. Her monthly business budget had included either selling two groups of embryos, or an animal and a recipient. Confining her to the UK meant it had to be urgently reviewed.

“I had been exporting 80% of our ET calves to Europe at that time. And, suddenly it was all but impossible,” Molly said. “So, during covid I had the time to sit down and really think about how to get around that, and that’s when I decided that I had to milk 30 cows – hopefully 30 of the best cows in the world – that all have a unique selling point. I didn’t want double ups or two full sisters looking exactly the same, doing exactly the same thing. They all had to offer something different.”

Panda is now the smallest milk supplier to Crediton Dairies in Devon. They milk 26-head using a second-hand hand robot they bought late in 2023 and started using in February 2024. They can milk a maximum of 30, and they will continue to milk post-sale. It also allows Molly to milk the show cows three times or more a day, while keeping the system manageable for her on her own (with the occasional help from Andrew and Martin).

*A robot has make milking easier for one person, and allowed the show cows to milk themselves three or more times a day. Photo supplied.*

This story could focus on all the families that will be marketed, but those stories are detailed and backgrounded in Panda’s catalogue. What shines through in the catalogue – and what is underscored here – is Molly’s extreme passion.

“The bank still thinks I’m crazy, but I have proven the business model. I love the marketing side of it. You can add value by how you market cows. You can also lose money marketing them incorrectly.”

Appreciating everything

She acknowledges that starting it from ground zero has been valuable for her.

“I think if I was given the opportunity to take over the farm from my family, I definitely wouldn’t have done what I’m doing today because starting from scratch you have to make every penny to reinvest every penny.

*Molly takes nothing for granted. Photo supplied.*

“And, you appreciate every single tool you’ve bought – whether it’s a fork or a second-hand tractor. You don’t just drive it around like a hooligan because you know how much it costs to maintain.

“It’s really made me realise – even still today – that if someone drives the tractor too fast, I get a bit annoyed because I know it cost a lot of money. Starting from scratch gave me the drive, and I knew if I wanted to get to a certain point, I had to keep working really hard.”

For Molly, there are no do-overs and while she’s quiet, only a fool would underestimate her.

“There’s no point aiming for the mid-range. Aim for the top. That’s all I’ll ever aim for.” - Molly Westwood.

“If I go to a show, I go to win. I don’t go to come second.”

Heart as well…

When money enters the deal, lines can blur. Everyone knows it, and animals are sometimes pawns on the financial chessboard within these conversations.

Molly has singlehandedly done a lot for the industry promoting her exemplary care of her animals through Facebook.

It’s a message that helps more than Panda. It helps everyone.

*Keeping animals clean and happy is Molly’s happy place. Left is Panda Lamborghini Red when she was a baby, and right is Autumn’s daughter Panda Leedham O’Koala, who SELLS July 1. Photo supplied.*

She also believes in planning a cow’s career and not overworking them or letting greed take over. With her brand now established, it would be so easy to cash in on the wave she’s riding and flush her cows relentlessly.

She candidly acknowledges that if Panda had 100 embryos to market today, she could place them with buyers pretty easily.

Yet, she doesn’t.

“I think that is the key. I’ve got a heart, and I don’t want any of the cows overflushed or overworked,” she said. “If I see an animal with a huge future, I don’t want to wreck her by flushing her every year. For example, Autumn [Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red EX95-3E 7* with more than 80,000kgs and a Superior Production Award], the reality is we’ve only ever flushed her once because I knew she was going to make a great older cow.

“There will be some cows that we won’t work with, or we will work with just the once or something along those lines, depending on the animal, the pedigree, and their age and stage. They all have their own plans.”

Regardless of financial pressure, Molly is patient, she plays the long-game with care, and her animals repay that respect with performance.

“If you look after them, they will look after you,” - Molly Westwood.

*Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red EX95-3E 7* has more than 80,000kgs and a Superior Production Award. Panda has only ever flushed her once for a reason. Photo: Wolfhard Schulze.*

Fighting for good - accident on-farm

Recently she also chronicled her fight to save one of her favourites, Panda Lamborghini Red VG86, who was down for more than five weeks after a farm accident. Lamborghini was 60 days pregnant when it happened.

Panda Lamborghini Red VG86, showed immense promise before a farm accident. She is pictured at the 2024 National UK Dairy Day – as a two-year-old – where she won the class and best udder. It made her the fourth consecutive generation to win at the National UK Dairy Day. Photo: Evie Tomlinson.

What happened…

There can be no doubt that the trust Lamborghini had in Molly was a big part of their ability to save the Lambda x VG89-MAX Crushabull x Fools Gold daughter.

“I had finished chores about 7.30pm,” Molly said. “And, when I went down for late night feeds at 10pmish she’d somehow been pushed into a cubicle sideways and she was stuck in the loop. She was trying to get up, but her leg was underneath the loop, and her front legs were straight out the front of her.

“She was in a really bad position. Martin and I spent about 3.5 hours getting her out. We managed to impact-pull the bolts from the loop, so we could pull it apart. Once she was free, we realised she couldn’t get up, so we scooped her up in the bucket and put her on the main calving bed.

“I had to go to the UK Expo the next day and with the sale in the mix I didn’t have much choice. We went to bed at 2am and I got up at 3am. Martin was supposed to be coming with me. I didn’t want to go, but it’s the biggest show in the country, it was 10 days after our sale announcement, and I knew I needed to show my face.

“We also had a few calves owned by other people that needed to head on to their other homes after the show so I left Martin behind so he could speak with the vet first thing in the morning and correspond with me. It was an extremely tough decision.”

While Molly couldn’t physically be there the first time the vet and Martin lifted Lamborghini, she was watching on the barn cameras and talking to her through its audio.

“I could see her responding to my voice – pricking her ears – and it broke my heart watching it.” - Molly Westwood.

“As soon as we could leave that show, we did. We missed the All-Britain dinner even though we had animals in there, because I wanted to get home to her. And, that was the start of trying to figure out how to get her better.”

The vets weren’t hopeful, nor that encouraging. There was substantial damage to her hip, and they weren’t sure just how bad that was. Molly was undeterred. She added equine specialists to the mix – including a laser therapy specialist: Angela Cook. Her neighbours, the Murch family, responded to her Facebook request to source a second-hand sling, and after a pressure wash it was brought into play.

“Without that second-hand sling from one of our friends down the road there is no way we would have managed. We couldn’t have lifted her as often as we did with a hip hoist, given she had a serious hip injury.

“When the accident happened, it was also really cold and then the weather heated up really fast, and we had all the fans on her, because laying on a deep pack they get so warm.

“It was literally touch and go every week. Angela [laser therapist] and having the sling made the biggest difference.

“She has different lasers. Some work on nerves, some have healing pulsing, deep tissue healing, or anti-inflammatory benefits. We’re still not sure if the hip was broken. It’s a hard area to x-ray on a cow.

“There were a lot of doubts though that time. Everyone questions themselves because you never know what you’re going to find the next day. We just took it day-by-day and hour-by-hour.” - Molly Westwood.

Cut and paste the link to see Lamboghini’s story on Panda Holsteins fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pandaholsteins/videos/1118960210035351

Trust was the turning point

The extreme confidence Molly encourages in her cows couldn’t be underestimated when the going got tough.

“If she had of struggled, there’s no way we could have saved her. She had to wait and keep still until we could free her. I’m sure she knew if she panicked it could have gone the opposite way.

“Honestly, that is the main reason my red Lambda is still here really,” Molly said. “She then had to trust us lifting her four or five times a day, and you could see in her eyes that she did. I don’t think anyone else could have done that for her. I don’t think she would have trusted anyone else outside of me.”

Incredibly, Lamborghini held her pregnancy. They did do IVF in April just in case the worst happened and got three A-grade embryos.

The turning point for Molly when she started to dare to hope was the first time Lamborghini stood alone.

Lamborghini continues to make progress and while her show plans are history, Molly is simply happy to see the Lamborghini’s trusting face looking at her expectantly every time she walks into the barn.

Sale important

The Pathway of Panda’s sale represents a milestone for Molly. She always said she’d do this after a decade in the business. She also would love to pay part of the remaining five years of her mortgage early, watch Martin finish building their new home, and hopefully start their own family.

This sale is the first time she has paid someone to clip her animals.

Up until now, she’s done everything on her own with family and friends. Co-consigners and partners are included in the sale.

“If I could say that I had built this business and it had paid for itself over 10 years, I’d be pretty proud.” - Molly Westwood.

“That’s really why I wanted the catalogue to be a story about why we’ve invested in these families, what they have done for us, and what they could do for others.

“It’s giving people the opportunity to take a piece of Panda home. There’s a few other reasons as well. Because we do want to look at making a small family of our own. I know that I’m a one-man band and I’ve got to cut numbers to make things easier. It’s all been planned and timed for quite a long time.

“It’s also been planned to have fresh bloodlines, fresh animals, and a good mixture of all ages and stages to offer. I will be well reduced in numbers afterwards, but I will still have a foundation to work with.”

In fresh Genomic news, Panda Hulu Hip Hop (pictured) is believed to be the only female in the world to have over +3000 GTPI, with more than 2 points for PTAT, MS & F&L and over+1 DPR. Hip Hop - a granddaughter of the 1.95 Million Dollar cow: S-S-I Doc Have Not EX96 - **sells** in the Pathway of Panda Sale on July 1.

Panda animals shift well

Molly has always struggled to get great hay at her farm, and she says it works for their programme and for their buyers. While some refer to her animals as coming out of the “Panda Palace”, Molly is confident in their ability to shift.

“Everyone knows Panda animals are doers, and they eat well. I’d love to feed amazing hay all the time, but the reality is that I can’t always do that. The good thing about that is that I always know they will leave our place and go and do well for someone, which is always the nice thing.”

Part of loving them and working with them every day means selling them is never easy. Molly can part with the pedigrees. It’s the personalities that make this tough.

“There will be some in that sale that I don’t want to sell, and it’s mainly because of their temperament, if I’m completely honest.” - Molly Westwood.

“There’s some that are real lovers, and they love what they do. And, there is some others…one heifer is like an alarm. From 4am she starts calling for feed, and she will start calling again early in the afternoon until you feed her. I’ll be happy to say goodbye to her,” Molly laughs.

“But seriously, the sale is shaping up really well, and I’m very excited. This is a great representation of what I like to breed.”

Why the name “Panda”?

*The “why” behind the name is exactly as it sounds. Photo supplied.*

For those that are wondering where “Panda” came from. Well, here it is:

“We were all sat around the kitchen table coming up with a prefix. We couldn’t use our family name, and Mum noted that we were farming at Tree House Farm and that Holsteins are marked a bit like pandas.

“It was also a short, bubbly name and we’re short, bubbly people.

“The name has been really good to us.”

Work-life balance

On sale day, Molly will have the support of Andrew and her four siblings. Her older brother, James, owns his own business, J-Fix and Arc ATVs, her older sister, Amy (and husband Marc Hamlet) have a tenant commercial sheep and beef system and show pedigree Dexters, and her young sister, Billy, works with the NHS [National Health Service].

The one missing face that will be on all their minds is their mother, Sharon. She died in April 2024, aged 59, from Motor Neurones Disease.

*Molly with her parents, Andrew and Sharon, and a Dice daughter from Panda Autumn O’Kalibra Red EX95-3E 7*, Panda Dazzling O'Kalibra Red VG87-2YR. Photo supplied.*

“I would not be here today, if it wasn’t for Mum. When I was growing up, Dad was full time on the farm, and she was the one that drove us to whatever we wanted to do. I’m so grateful,” Molly said.

*Molly (left) and her twin sister, Jess, with their mother, Sharon. Photo supplied.*

“Dad is a partner in the business, and if we ever had a problem or cross words it would be mum that would straightaway say, ‘Sort it out’, and she always had the right answer.

“Losing Mum has left a massive hole for us all. It’s put everything into context as well.” - Molly Westwood.

“I got the opportunity to show mum the plans of my house before we lost her. She always told me to make time for Martin and my family, and to work on my work-life balance.

“I actually understand that more now that she’s gone than I did before. I think just because if I don’t make the time for it now, it will never be there. I don’t want to regret anything.

“I love my cows, but I love my family, and without it we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Dianna Malcolm will be at the Pathway of Panda sale, following Evie Tomlinson and Ifan Wilson’s wedding…if you have a story around the area in the UK you think should be covered (outside of Molly’s sale which is happening), hit us up. She looks forward to catching with everyone.

PANDA PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT