Encouragement alone is not enough for young farmers
The emphasis on young people in farming has been noticeable of late.
With lambing, it’s an ideal opportunity to get very young children connecting with the animals and introduce them in some small way to farming I was also very encouraged to see BBC Countryfile launching its Young Farmer of the Year Award.
But it’s got me thinking about the reality of forging a career working the land and indeed my own experience of wanting to pursue a career in farming. Getting youngsters interested in farming simply isn’t enough.
Like many people my age, there is a significant difficulty in being able to take farming as a career. Numerous obstacles stand in the way for not only those who have family farms, but also new entrants.
Individual farm demographics can be a major obstacle and was the main reason why I was not able to go into farming. Grandparents, parents and children can all be found wanting a piece of the cake, however, the plate just isn’t big enough. Being the youngest, I have had to seek other avenues of work.
Another issue is the older generation's inability to change. Too many farmers’ sons and daughters are encouraged to go away to university and college to gain experience and learn of different farming ways and techniques only to return home and not see those new skills put into practice because the old method still works, and why change? There are changes that can be made which will further enhance the profitability of their farm businesses.
The main difficulty for new entrants is the availability of finding farmland and the associated costs. Farmland has been expensive in recent years and although it seems to be taking a slight dip in terms of pound-per-acres, it is still too expensive to allow young farmers to buy or even rent ground of their own.
An additional challenge has been the temptation to farmers of the ‘strategic land’ companies willing to take parcels on land on the peripheries of villages through planning for houses. Whatever your views on this and the need for housing, again it slowly erodes the supply of land.
Unfortunately, there’s no quick or easy fix to any of these challenges, but we must keep them front and centre of our minds if we want to continue to have a thriving farming community. It’s great to encourage interest in farming but we must also provide realistic opportunities for young farmers too.
Richard Watkins is a trainee auctioneer and Chartered Surveyor at McCartneys in Ludlow
