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Young farmers

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YOUNG FARMERS

Daisy Wood: Farmers must remain centre stage at Groundswell

While some are gearing up to queue for overpriced falafel at a festival, farmers are readying themselves for the busiest time of the year. But it doesn’t have to be…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Stress, support and survival: One young farmer's journey

A young farmer who took on major responsibility for his family’s livestock business as a teenager has spoken openly about the pressures that pushed him to breaking point. Joe Barker…

YOUNG FARMERS

Peter Gittins: Too much doublespeak from rural policymakers

“Doublespeak” is a term rooted in George Orwell’s warnings about political language: words that sound reasonable and reassuring, but conceal, distort or soften what is really happening. It feels increasingly…

YOUNG FARMERS

Alasdair Boden: Deer, not sheep, cause ecological carnage

Sheep have a misplaced reputation for grazing the Lake District fells bare. But it turns out they’re not the biggest culprits.  I recently heard it’s estimated there are now more deer than sheep in the Lake District fells. Is this a problem?…

YOUNG FARMERS

Rebekah Housden: Is highlighting farming issues off-putting?

It’s a sunny morning on the round trip to feed the ewes, and Jeremy Vine’s debate show is on the radio. The topic? The effects of the current world problems…

YOUNG FARMERS

Young farmers to showcase island life through community mural

Young farmers on the Isle of Wight are set to capture the island’s farming landscape in a new community mural, offering a creative platform to reflect everyday rural life. The…

YOUNG FARMERS

Starter farm scheme opens door for new entrants in Cumbria

Applications will open this spring for a new farm tenancy in Cumbria as part of a wider push to help young people into agriculture. Whins Farm, near Kendal, is being…

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

FERTILE MINDS

Fertile Minds 2016: Insights and innovation

Great insights and inspiration abounded when young farmers gathered in Cumbria for the Fertile Minds conference, run by Farmers Weekly in association with NFU Mutual. The delegates heard from  a…

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…

8 tips for starting your own agribusiness

Hannah Moule, 34, launched rural surveying firm Moule & Co in 2010 from her parents’ kitchen table with a laptop, a car and a handful of local clients. In five…

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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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…

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…

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…

TRACTORS

Taking your tractor test – all you need to know

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) tractor test gives budding farmers the chance to drive machines on the road at the age of 16, but it shouldn't be taken lightly. The…

What's next? Options for farmers' children leaving school

A new year brings new beginnings - and for school leavers, this means considering what will happen after exams are finally over. What’s the best choice - home to the…

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

Tips for young farmers on making media appearances

Ben Chilman has received a raft of requests to appear on TV and radio since he won the coveted Farmers Weekly Ag Student Award last autumn. The most recent was…

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,…

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…

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…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

How to find help to fund agricultural career development

Agriculture may be the fastest growing subject at UK universities, but studying is expensive, with most universities charging tuition fees of £9,000/year – and then there are living expenses to…

BUSINESS

4 young farmers on setting up successful joint dairy ventures

Young farmers are successfully using joint ventures in the dairy sector as a way of developing their careers while increasing their net worth. Tony Evans, partner with consultant The Andersons…

Photos and video

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FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Like father, like daughter

This week's photo was sent in by Eleanor Cole in Norfolk. It features her Border collies – father Angus and daughter Moss – who look very bonded in this shot.…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Spring lambs for a spring bank holiday

This week's photo of the week seems to embody what a spring bank holiday is all about – sunshine and new life. The photo was taken by Mary Brough of…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Spring drilling progresses well in Kinloss

Fine April weather has allowed spring drilling to make good progress in Kinloss, Moray, at Newton of Struthers. In the photo, taken by Claire Rhind, farmer and contractor Grant Rhind…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Photo of the Week: Yoda the farm cat oversees lambing

Yoda the farm cat – so called because her ears stuck out flat when she was a kitten – loves nothing more than keeping an eye on things at lambing…