Farming needs new blood

Jess Bower, from Brixham has always kept horses but didn’t ever think she would have the chance to break into farming.

Now a full time agricultural student at Bicton and a steward at last week’s Devon County Show, Jess came to the College having had no prior experience of farming.

“Working outdoors with the animals and being in the tractors ploughing the fields is what I always wanted to do,” she says. “But I thought that because I had no experience in farming that I wouldn’t be able to do the agriculture course and that I would look stupid not knowing anything about farming.”

Talking about her first steps towards farming, Jess said: “Initially I was too scared to do the agriculture course as I thought I wouldn’t fit in and so I applied to the Equine Academy. However other students encouraged me to apply because they knew I always wanted to do it. So I just went for it, and I’m glad I did because it’s brilliant and fun!”

Home Farm is the base for Agricultural students at Bicton College. Farm manager, James Drury said; “Like Jess I came from a non-farming background. In fact I wanted to be a pilot when I was younger but farming drew me in! I think that it is vital that we, in the agricultural community, can demonstrate to young people that farming can be, and is, a hugely rewarding career. Our aim at the College is to make agricultural training accessible to all and we support an enormous amount of work in the community to get our message across.”

Jess has high ambitions to use her qualifications to carry on working on farms doing anything from tractor work and livestock management. She is looking to follow in the footsteps of ex-student and Chair of Devon Young Farmers, Chris Berry and gain some work experience in New Zealand.

Jess is also keen to encourage other young people, like her, from outside the industry to consider farming as a career. “I don’t think that farming does enough to promote itself as the provider of our population’s food. The gap between what people see in the supermarket, and the producers is every widening and our industry has a duty to address the balance – putting positive messages about farming back firmly in the public eye.”