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Know How / Young farmers

Whether you’re an agricultural student, a new entrant, a young farmer hoping to get your first tenancy, or working on the family farm, you can find out what’s going on in the young farmers’ community here. Hear from other farmers about how they got their foot on the farming ladder, get advice on careers, hear from our former Young Farmer of the Year, Josh Dowbiggin in his column and find out about events for young farmers.

Young farmers

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YOUNG FARMERS

Josh Dowbiggin: Teamwork makes my Hereford sale dream work

Last week our third annual Designer Genes Hereford Sale took place in Shrewsbury, and it is safe to say we broke a few more breed records. Once home and rested,…

YOUNG FARMERS

Josh Dowbiggin: Why it’s OK to not have a career plan sorted

Last week I attended Ag Careers Live in Birmingham, where I was privileged enough to work on the mentor’s corner and meet numerous young people keen to pursue careers in…

YOUNG FARMERS

Clotted cream lets young farmer find role on family farm

Like many young farmers, Henry Cooke was faced with a difficult decision when he came home from university – how could he make the home farm a viable business for…

YOUNG FARMERS

5 minutes with Northamptonshire young farmer Nick Tarry

Welcome to “5 minutes with”, where we get to know one of Britain’s brightest and best young farmers. These brilliant young people are the future of the agriculture industry and…

YOUNG FARMERS

Ben Theaker: Farmers Apprentice – laughs, mates and muck

During this year’s scorcher of a summer I had the unbelievable opportunity to take part in a brutal boot camp. The week would test my skills, my nerve and most…

YOUNG FARMERS

Yorkshire FYFC no-confidence bid fails – what now?

The Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs will meet this evening (25 October) to discuss its next steps in its ongoing clash with the National Federation. The executive committee meeting…

FARMERS APPRENTICE

Revealed: The winner of Farmers Apprentice 2018

And the winner is... ... 22 year old Sam Coote from County Durham has been crowned the winner of Farmers Apprentice 2018, following 5 days of challenging tasks. Sam beat…

Young farmers community

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YOUNG FARMERS

"Party's over" – YFC members react to Convention being axed

Young farmers have reacted with anger and sadness at the decision to axe the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) Annual Convention for good. After 50 brilliant years, the…

YOUNG FARMERS

7 things not to miss at the 2018 NFYFC Annual Convention

There are only a few days left until thousands of Young Farmers rock up in Blackpool for the 2018 Annual Convention – three days of celebrating everything that makes YFC…

YOUNG FARMERS

Wasps' James Haskell on his love of rugby, music and JCBs

Rugby union star James Haskell has been announced as the Sunday night headline DJ at the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs Annual Convention in Blackpool on 6 May. The 75…

Events

Farmers Apprentice

Farmers Apprentice aims to help young people from all walks of life get a foot on to the farming ladder. See more on the ten young apprentices who have been selected to take part in a bootcamp.
Visit the Apprentice website

Careers

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Job profile: What's it like to be a calf specialist?

If you're great with people, enjoy getting stuck in to solving problems and have a good working knowledge of farming then a job working as a calf specialist could be…

Job profile: What it's like to be a grain trader

The range of job opportunities in agriculture is huge. Farmers Weekly talks to a grain trader people to get an insight into what they do. Name Daniel Sedgwick Job title Milling…

FARMERS APPRENTICE

Farmers Apprentice winner embarks on NZ adventure

Having won the coveted Farmers Apprentice competition and the £10,000 cash prize to invest in his farming future, Sam Coote has begun another adventure – heading to New Zealand. “I…

Careers advice

From getting your first job in agriculture to maintaining your work skills and developing your career, we provide advice and insights.
Visit our careers page

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…

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

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…

FARMLIFE

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…

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.…

FARMLIFE

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…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

A beginner's guide to careers in agriculture and farming

Some people find the idea of a career in agriculture hilarious. They think it is all mud, wellies and sticking your arm up the business end of a cow. But…

FARMLIFE

Why you should consider a land-based apprenticeship

The opportunity to earn while you learn will be an appealing prospect for many young people. So what’s involved in a land-based apprenticeship and could one be right for you?…

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,…

YOUNG FARMERS

10 pieces of advice for young people starting in agriculture

Experienced entrepreneurs had plenty of advice for the next generation at the NFYFC Annual Convention (4-6 May), offering insights into farming’s challenges – and how to overcome them.  We asked…

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”…

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…

Photos and video

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FARMLIFE FRAMED

7 farm cats from our photo competition gallery

There's still time to enter our photo competition to win £250 and get your photo into Farmers Weekly magazine's Christmas edition. There are eight categories: Machinery, Livestock, Landscapes, People, Wildlife,…

FARMLIFE

Man's best friend: 7 dogs from our photo competition

At Farmers Weekly we can't resist looking at the Pets category. Here are some of the photos that have been sent in so far of man's – and woman's –…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Farmlife Framed: Skies, kids and cultivations

Thanks for all the great photos you've been sending us for our Farmlife Framed series. From the serious and the scenic to the fun and the funny, your pictures are…

FARMLIFE FRAMED

Farmlife Framed: Farm dog favourites and autumn field work

Welcome to Farmers Weekly’s photo series – Farmlife Framed. We’re incredibly lucky to be sent a shedload of photographs by our fantastic readers, keen to share a snapshot of their lives. From…