Young Farmers and Careers

Tom Bruce, 27, lives in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Brought up on the family farm, he studied a masters in engineering and is now back working the land.

An ’ecosystem of disadvantage’ is severely affecting young peoples’ decisions to live and work rurally, or to relocate, a report from the Rural Youth Project (RYP) has found.

Flavian Obiero, 29, is a pig unit manager at Plumpton College in East Sussex.

Matt Styles is 25 and lives and works on a 1600 acre arable farm in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Along with his wife Floss, he runs a flock of 70 sheep.

FARMERS Guardian has launched an industry-wide survey to understand more about the skills gap in agriculture, what training opportunities are available and recruitment challenges within the sector.

Lucy Hinch, 20, from Rutland, comes from an arable farm along with 216,000 free range layers. She is currently studying an agricultural degree at Harper Adams University.

Innovative individuals and farm businesses recognised across the UK

Harriet Lyon, 19, from North Yorkshire is about to embark on her second year at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Here she shares her latest blog with us on what life as an agricultural student is like, in a somewhat different year to what was expected.

Edward Dungait, 27, from Morpeth, Northumberland, is an arable farmer and owns 263 hectares (650 acres) of land under Farm Business Tenancy and the Agricultural Holdings Act in partnership with his parents. He is also the current National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs vice-chairman of council.