Young Farmer Focus - Poppy Whyman-Naveh: "I never see farmers get the attention they deserve"

I have always been involved with farming as my dad used to be a dairy farmer and I have grown up on a smallholding since I was young.

We have around 80 sheep, lots of chickens, and nine horses and ponies, and I love being outside and caring for all the different animals.

Growing up in Norfolk has meant I have always felt very 'farmy'.

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Alongside being homeschooled and working towards my GCSEs, my love of farming has enabled me to work at a local farm directly with the animals as well as my family's farm shop.  

I love working at the farm shop, Shadowthorpe Farm Shop, in Creake Abbey, Norfolk, as it is great to sell local produce to local customers.

We sell local meat, fish, milk and cheese, and it is great to supply Norfolk produce while meeting lots of people in the farming community. 

The farm I work at is a public farm and it is great to see children who have not grown up on farms experience the animals.

We have sheep, pigs, cows and chickens.

The best time of year is during lambing when we do public lamb feeding.

That is one of my favourite parts about the farm, bottle feeding newborn lambs. 

After my GCSEs, I want to go to agricultural college. I am also going to stay very 'farmy' and continue to work on the farm.

Hard work is something that farming teaches you from when you are young.

Every day I see farmers working really hard and I never see farmers getting the attention they deserve.

I really think that farmers deserve more attention; I think we [farmers] are just expected to produce food for people to eat and get on with it without any real thanks. 

People do expect quite a lot, don't they? 

Looking to the future, I would definitely love to live on a dairy farm with lots of land so I can have some sheep as well.

I love talking to my dad about when he used to work with cows, and I am really interested in calf rearing. 

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