Young Farmers and Careers

Rebecca Vining, 18, is from Bath, Somerset and works on an autumn-block calving farm.

Beth Menzies, 21, grew up on her family hill farm in Argyll, studied agriculture at Scotland’s Rural College and works as a shepherd in the Scottish Borders.

Employing students is not just of benefit to the student, securing valuable experience to launch a career after graduation. Clemmie Gleeson speaks to an estate manager and farm owner who believe students bring welcome gains to their enterprises, and to the students who benefited from their commitment.

Young farmers have been ‘nothing short of brilliant’ throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, National Federation of Young Farmers’ Club (NFYFC) chairman, Dewi Parry has said.

Geth Johnson, 26, is an agricultural engineering lecturer at Gelli Aur campus, Coleg Sir Gar, Carmarthenshire.

Rhianna Melton, 16 , lives on a pig farm with 140 acres of cereals in Hemingstone, Suffolk.

Eilidh Duncan, 22, was brought up on her family farm in Dullatur and recently moved to the hills of Fintry, Stirlingshire, to live with her farming partner. She works as a full time livestock procurement officer covering North and Central Scotland for Farm Stock (Scotland).

Molly Griffin,16, is from Chippenham, Wiltshire, and lives with her parents and younger sister. She has started studying Level 3 agriculture at the Lackham Campus of Wiltshire College.

Helping to motivate, inspire and guide staff to achieve their best can help a farm business thrive. In the first of a two-part feature, Clemmie Gleeson speaks to two farmers who, although from different sectors and backgrounds, let their staff know what they do matters and is appreciated.

Lee Robb, 29, works at Ladyyard Farm, Mauchline, Ayrshire. He is a Crossroads YFC member, past Ayrshire District chairman and a current Ayrshire representative for agri and rural affairs.