Huge range of exciting career opportunities in farming highlighted in digital debate

A discussion on the Farming With Pride podcast explored how open farming is to diversity and inclusion.

Host Tony Smith asked guests Emily Brown, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) County Adviser for Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, and Mike Wilkins, a former NFU Student and Young Farmer Ambassador, questions about their experiences in farming.

They were also asked to give their thoughts about opportunities the industry presents for people from wide-ranging backgrounds, as many young people start to think about their futures during this week’s National Apprenticeships Week.

Miss Brown, who also works on her family’s mixed farm on the Bedfordshire/ Buckinghamshire border, said positive strides have been made.

She said: “We welcome anyone who wants to get involved and farming is such a diverse industry.

“There are so many different jobs, whether that’s in technology or accountancy or doing the physical farming itself, there are so many career paths that aren’t talked about enough.”

Mr Wilkins, who manages a mixed farm estate in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, said: “The current direction of travel in agriculture is so exciting.

“We are positioned better than any other industry to really be at the forefront of the climate emergency action that’s happening, in terms of reducing carbon emissions with things like sequestering carbon.

“We are better placed than anyone else to have a net benefit impact and to help other industries in offsetting what they are doing.

“To achieve these things, we need a younger generation of people coming through who have a massive passion for this.

“We need to draw in people from all different backgrounds that might not have any links to farming whatsoever and we need to show them how exciting and how progressive agriculture is as an industry.

“One way of doing that is by being diverse and by being open and accepting in the industry, both of people and their backgrounds and more broadly in terms of thought of what we’re doing and how we do it.”

The discussion also heard praise for charities such as YANA and FCN in their work to tackle rural isolation, along with RABI.

The NFU’sFarmers for Schools initiative was also highlighted as a great example of work to promote diversity in farming.

Miss Brown added: “I go out into schools and talk about British farming and some of the ideas the young children have are amazing, so it’s about trying to encourage that.

“It’s about grabbing hold of them when they are younger and saying this is a fantastic and welcoming industry that you can be a part of.”

· You can hear the podcast at Farming With Pride (youtube.com)