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Young farmers

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YOUNG FARMERS

Rebekah Housden: There is light at the end of the winter tunnel

As children open the doors on their advent calendars, farmers are counting down to something even more exciting than a visit from Santa – the shortest day. Dreaded and longed…

YOUNG FARMERS

Emily Lees: Useful Christmas gifts are farming luxuries

It’s December, which means the countdown to Christmas is on. For anyone over the age of 12, the Christmas period can bring mixed emotions. There is much to look forward…

YOUNG FARMERS

Daisy Wood: Conundrum of a farmer Christmas wishlist

What do you buy a farmer for Christmas? It is a question that baffles me, and I think many partners, children and well-meaning relatives at this time of year. The…

YOUNG FARMERS

Peter Gittins: Starlink and generative AI are game changers

The pace of technological change and the impact it’s already having on farming is incredible. Two innovations stand out to me as genuinely groundbreaking and useful: Starlink satellite broadband and…

YOUNG FARMERS

Alasdair Boden: It's sad to see the dairy sector shrink

Looking out across the valley, I can see half a dozen farmhouses. Fifty years ago they were all dairy farms, but now there’s just one. Three are holiday homes, another a fell farm and us, tinkering along.…

YOUNG FARMERS

Rebekah Housden: More thought and control helps breeding

The tups are onto their final crayon on one farm, after which they will be brought into a shed filled with straw and haylage. On the mornings that resemble a…

YOUNG FARMERS

Emily Lees: Farming isn't ideal career for an arachnophobic

When I first started work on a farm, a whole 2.4 years ago, I was naive about the realities of rural life. I am not talking of the long, wet…

Britain's Fittest Farmer

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COMMUNITY

BFF judge attempts 8,848m Everest rope climb

Britain’s Fittest Farmer judge and Farm Fitness founder Tom Kemp is taking on a Guinness World Record challenge to raise money for the Farming Community Network (FCN), by attempting the…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Britain's Fittest Farmer: Get stuck into regional qualifiers

Three host farms for the second stage of Farmers Weekly's Britain's Fittest Farmer competition have been revealed – and you might notice some familiar faces. Wiltshire farmer and long-standing arable…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Britain's Fittest Farmer finalists to compete at YFF19

Important announcement: The Young Farmers Festival is postponed until 2020, the new date will be announced soon. The Britain's Fittest Farmer live final will go ahead on 4 May as planned…

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Young farmers

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Careers

Surveying offers great career opportunities for women

Rural surveying is a great career – and one that women leaving agricultural college and university should consider. By Mary-Vere Parr. Sitting at her desk at commercial property agents Bruton…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

5 ways to use social media to get a farm job

Finding a job takes time and effort – and that applies just as much in farming as it does in other professions. But whether you are just starting out in…

LIVESTOCK

Why student vets are not going into the industry

Farmers and vets are being called on to be more inclusive and provide positive experiences during placements for student vets to increase the number of farm vets. It follows a…

Careers advice

From getting your first job in agriculture to maintaining your work skills and developing your career, we provide advice and insights.
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Advice and tips

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BUSINESS

Podcast: Fertile Minds on finding and managing finance

New entrants to farming who turn to the bank of mum and dad for funding should always agree the terms in writing. This was the advice from John Hartwright of…

COMMUNITY

Is an agricultural degree worth doing?

Over the past three years, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency have shown a gradual climb in the number of students enrolling to study land-based and agricultural degrees. In…

YOUNG FARMERS

Young sheep farmers share tips on year-round lamb marketing

Britain’s next generation of sheep farmers are taking the lead in promoting home-grown lamb as a healthy and sustainable choice for shoppers. These young industry representatives – aptly named “lambassadors”…

BUSINESS

Podcast: Fertile Minds on planning your diversification

Farmers should look beyond sources of agricultural funding when seeking finance for diversification, the fourth Fertile Minds Roadshow in York heard last week. Young farmers at the roadshow, heard from…

8 secrets to progressing up the ag careers ladder

Getting your first job in the agricultural sector is a real milestone, but what does it take to get the next one and the one after that? If you’ve got…

FERTILE MINDS

Podcast: Fertile Minds on retailers and business plans

The first of our Fertile Minds regional roadshows took place on 17 November at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The initiative, by Farmers Weekly in association with NFU Mutual, is…

Top tips for young farmer business success

Who better to pick up tips about farming than other young people who have “made it” in the industry? Packed into Europe’s largest underground building last week were more than…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Tips for agriculture students on securing financial help

So you’ve decided what you are going to study and where – next comes the question of how you are going to pay for it. While students can get loans…

TENANCIES AND RENTS

How to become a county council farm tenant

County council farms provide a great opportunity for people looking to reach the first rung in the farming ladder and many holdings are designed specifically with new entrants in mind.…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Managing expansion and business planning as a young farmer

Preparing years in advance, constantly updating business plans and keeping a handle on gradual expansion all help dairy farmer Sam Bailey move towards his long-term goals. Sam, 24, beat about…

PARTNERSHIPS

Share farming: How it works and why it could reshape farming

If a quarter of farmers in England aged over 65 entered into a share farming agreement we could have nearly 8,000 new entrants working the land, according to Christopher Price,…

Photos and video

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FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Christmas jumpers for all

With Christmas only days away, we celebrate the festive mood with a Christmas jumper Photo of the Week. The photo was sent in by Amy Wonnacott of New Park Farm,…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

FW Photo Competition 2025: Your top shots revealed

You packed our annual Photo Comp galleries with images detailing everyday life from the hard toil and heady rewards of food production to the beauty of the countryside. We’ve enjoyed…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Sheep shelter from the winter snow

This week’s photo of the week is from Hannah Harmer, who took this photo on a snowy morning in the Shropshire hills. It features Darcy the Texel cross Suffolk sheep…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Best foot forward through the fog

This week’s photo of the week was taken by Martine Arrowsmith at the family’s tenant farm in Poyws. It shows husband Neil shepherding their Texel lambs through the thick fog…