Lincolnshire farmer Hannah Cuthbert said she is keen to show young people they do not need a farming background to succeed in the sector
Growing up in the Lincolnshire Wolds, I learned about farming through family friends and my local Young Farmers club.
While farming is often seen as a generational occupation, I am keen to show you do not need farming parents to succeed.
Farming is changing and young people like us are part of this.
Education and farming never really crossed my mind until I had to apply for university.
Whilst I loved the countryside and knew a career in agriculture would likely be on the horizon, the call to a busy city and a degree in Politics was constantly at the forefront of my mind.
Breaking away from the traditional route of many young people in farming, I have been able to see first-hand the general public's outlook on food production and use this to educate and inspire those around me.
Despite what people may say, a degree in politics has a huge relationship with agriculture.
Policy change, international change and decisions in Westminster all shape the industry, and having a sound understanding of this is really important.
Throughout my time at university, I centred my studies around agriculture and other political areas of interest.
I was fortunate to undertake a placement year at Brown&Co, where I led a government project providing free farm consultations to businesses across England.
This allowed ample opportunity to see how policy change, notably Basic Payment Scheme reductions, affected all kinds of farmers across the country.
This was a huge stepping stone into my career in agriculture.
After completing my placement year, I worked a harvest in a grain lab, an internship at Fisher German, work experience at Savills, part-time work at a dairy farm and assisting in a lambing season - all before finishing my final year!
After graduation, I worked another summer at a farm near Liverpool and I am now heading to Australia in October to complete a second harvest.
My extensive experience over the last two years resulted from not ‘coming from a farming family'. Putting my name out there and asking for experience proved invaluable and set me up for a long-term career in the industry.
I absolutely love working in agriculture and it's given me opportunities to explore different sectors and meet so many people.
As I continue to grow in confidence and skills, I have occasionally felt the internal pressure of not having farming roots.
Farmers are so willing to teach and take you on, so for anyone reading this thinking they cannot enter this industry because their parents were not farmers, I am proof that you can.
