Kent Tonight Special: The Future of Kent’s Farmers
A look into how independent farmers, local colleges, and Kent residents are taking steps towards keeping the Garden of England growing with the next generation of farmers.
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00:00Hello and welcome to this Kentonite special, The Future of Kent's Farmers.
00:26Kent is known as the Garden of England for a reason.
00:29With more than two and a half thousand agricultural holdings, the county is at the forefront
00:33of the farming industry here in the UK.
00:36But with an ageing workforce, some farmers are looking at new ways of inspiring a younger
00:40generation to enter the sector.
00:43Abi-Ona Boya reports.
00:45Lord, calm down please.
00:49Calm down now.
00:50This is Katie and Thomas.
00:51They were born and raised on Nonnington Farm, owned by their parents.
00:55When I asked them what their favourite farm job was, they said,
00:58Probably collecting the eggs of our chickens that we have.
01:02We collect them and then we sell them for two pounds.
01:05With that money, what we do is we get like their food.
01:10And this is their mum, Emma.
01:12An educator and a farmer, Emma is passionate about changing perceptions of farming to get
01:16more young people into the industry.
01:18Too many farmers have, in my opinion, wrongly got this impression of, get off my land, I
01:26don't want people on there, they don't know what they're talking about, and not taking
01:31the time to engage.
01:35Nonnington Farms have run a big education programme for the past 15 years, and now they're
01:40looking to expand.
01:41In this past year, we've got some funding through the Farming in the Protected Landscape
01:47scheme, which is run by DEFRA, and we have now got an education officer who is tasked
01:54with running 100 school visits.
01:57Then some of them are becoming so interested that they come back and work.
02:01Jack is one of several young people on the farm who got into agriculture despite not
02:05having a farming background.
02:07After initially considering a career in construction, Jack then realised his true calling was to
02:12become a farmer.
02:13He rents a plot of land from Nonnington to grow his own veg.
02:17Getting into farming was really unique to myself. There was, I think I know of one other
02:21person from inside the whole secondary school that went into agriculture. The secondary
02:26school probably had 2,000 students, so it's a really unique opportunity. I think it's
02:32not shown as the actual career you can get into, the industry you can grow into.
02:37Unlike Jack, 21-year-old Harry grew up on a farm with his family back home in Kenya.
02:43He pursued farming through a much more traditional route.
02:45Harry is a placement student at Nonnington who joined as part of his degree.
02:49So I currently go to Reading University, and I would say most of us have all come from
02:54a farming background. The ones that haven't are sort of trying to get into it, so they're
03:00going through dairy jobs. Other ones, like Jack, he's got a plot of land off someone
03:06that he's just growing vegetables on, but not proper farming. It's very difficult to
03:12get into having your own tractor and stuff like that.
03:16I think a huge amount of things could be done from council and from government level to
03:22get people into farming, and I think it starts when they're very, very small. I think farms
03:27should be integrated within the primary school system. It should be integrated into the curriculum
03:33that we all understand a bit about food. You can see that by creating these opportunities,
03:37by opening up the farm to everyone, we're able to work with people who are really showing
03:43interest when they never would have thought about it beforehand. And it's just sort of
03:48casting out a lot of flies, and some of them will bite and turn into farmers.
03:57To get a better understanding of if adding farming and agricultural lessons would be
04:01something of interest to the next generation, for those not being raised on farms, we went
04:06to Maidstone High Street, asking young people their thoughts on the career option, and if
04:11it is something they'd take part in if offered in their education. Here's what they had to say.
04:15So, at school, right, no one's ever said to me, oh, like, your A-levels would be great
04:20for being a farmer. Like, no one's ever said that to me. They'll be like, oh, that's good
04:23for law, that's good for politics. No one's ever said, oh, you shouldn't, you should be a farmer.
04:26So, like, having sort of, like, farming clubs or something, or, like, gardening clubs.
04:30In secondary schools, you don't get taught what farming is. It's more just something
04:35that people know about. Like, everyone knows about farming, but you wouldn't actually get
04:38taught how to do it or where to start. In our school, we have enrichment days, and
04:42in these enrichment days, we can have, like, special days about, like, going green and
04:46learning how to farm. More local produce, maybe, because the school
04:50food can be a little bit, you know, just kind of taste of, like, pesticides and everything.
04:55Nowadays, I don't think it's something a lot of people know about. It's, like, an actual
04:58path to follow. They need to know about farming. They need
05:02to know what the benefits of farming is, and it's very...
05:06Because you need farmers. Farming isn't really advertised as exciting
05:11to younger people. Stereotypes. And no one wants to do, like, the
05:16boring stuff. Everyone, like, thinks it's rubbish.
05:18Maybe add more electronic and, like, engineering stuff towards it.
05:23Not in the UK. I would have to do it abroad, so it's, like, hot weather.
05:26I'd definitely buy a plot of land and, like, build a farm with it, because it'd be, I think
05:29it's just the best way to end life as well. I'd consider it purely because, like, it seems
05:34like fun and it really helps the economy. Working with animals as well is just, like,
05:38a brilliant thing to be able to do. It's time-consuming, but I think it's nice
05:43to see the effort you put in, like, blossom into something beautiful.
05:49So would schools be wise to add farming lessons to what they offer students? Well, Hadlow
05:54College has done just that to share with their students the experience and expectations of
05:59the job. Majid Mohammed has more.
06:02Not many people our age are working 10 hours a day on a farm. There's just not a lot of
06:09it around.
06:09With the vast majority of farmers being over the age of 45, a number of youngsters are
06:14trying to enter the industry. Caitlin and Clemmie are part of 50 students studying agriculture
06:20at Hadlow College in Tombridge, Kent. And they told us about some of the challenges
06:25of getting into farming.
06:26It was quite a struggle, if I'm honest with you. I mean, they require you to have a certain
06:29amount of licences, a certain amount of experiences. And if you don't come from a farming background
06:34or you don't go to a farming college, I feel like some people really struggle with that.
06:38And that's why I believe that most people aren't coming into the industry, because they
06:41require you to have so much experience. If you're just starting, then, yeah, it's really
06:45difficult to get into.
06:47In addition to livestock, the college runs a horticultural centre where students learn
06:52to cultivate plants. The college is providing a rare opportunity for 16- and 17-year-olds
06:58to both work and study at a commercial farm, with the aim of one day running their own
07:03business.
07:06Students work with dozens of cows, over 300 sheep, and take part in every stage of the
07:11life cycle for the animals. The farm is managed by Tanya Bucknell, who left her corporate
07:16job to work with animals. She runs the farm with the help of her trusted sheepdog, Nan.
07:22There are opportunities in farming for young people, and a great way to get into it is
07:27obviously a route in through education. What I see time and time again is students that
07:32are committed, students that work hard. When they get out onto farm, farmers see those
07:36students performing well on their farm, and then they want to employ them. Finding good
07:41people is as challenging for farmers as, oftentimes, it is for students to find that opportunity.
07:47But the two will always find each other.
07:49The government is trying to address the issue of the ageing farmers' population. In a statement,
07:54the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said they are supporting the sector
07:59to attract new talents into agriculture and strengthen the future of U.K. food and farming.
08:07Amongst the challenges of working in a farm, which include long hours, very early starts,
08:12and working most weekends, the students we spoke to told us they enjoyed their work and
08:17plan to pursue a career in the industry.
08:19It's just the experiences you get to build up, and the enjoyment you get from actually
08:24working with the animals. It's a reward that not many people get to feel.
08:28The amount of effort you put into the animals is just so rewarding. I mean, that's probably
08:33my favorite part, putting in all the effort and then seeing the outcome, and it's just
08:36how I thought it would be. It's just brilliant.
08:38Ultimately, the future of farming lies in the hands of the younger generation.
08:43Majid Mohamed, KMTV.
08:47And earlier, I spoke with James Simpson, a National Farmers Union member and managing
08:51director of Adrian Scripps Limited. I started by asking him how young farmers can be crucial
08:56to professional farming operations.
08:58Yeah, fundamentally, we want ideas coming into the business. We want bright young people
09:04who want to contribute to our business. We can provide very good opportunities around
09:08training and experience. And I think in a modern farming business, there's a real breadth
09:14of different tasks that people can undertake. You know, somebody can come to us, they can
09:19be an engineer, they can work in crop production, or they can work in our offices or our packing
09:25facility. So there's a huge range of opportunities for young people in agriculture. And it's
09:32very technical. It's not what people perhaps perceive it to be. It's not necessarily all
09:38mud on boots. For instance, some of our young employees are driving, you know, a quarter
09:46of a million pounds worth of equipment and managing and controlling it with touchscreens
09:51in their cab. Some are flying drones for us over our orchards to assess our crop. So there's
09:56a wide range of exciting opportunities for young people.
10:00And we heard earlier in the program, it's not uncommon for young farmers who have been
10:04brought up in farming environments to pursue careers in the sector. But there may be some
10:08out there who come from different backgrounds and may not have been exposed to farming.
10:12Is there any advice you might be able to pass on?
10:14If you grow up on a farm or you grow up associated with the local rural community, you have a
10:21better understanding of what goes on on a farm and what goes on in producing apples
10:26or producing livestock. But if you're coming from outside the sector, that level of understanding
10:31isn't there. And I think that's the initial challenge, is trying to explain clearly and
10:38coherently to young people exactly what's involved in modern farming and the excitement
10:43that there is in that job and that potential professional career. And I think that's the
10:49biggest issue, is just getting it across to people that actually horticulture, agriculture,
10:54fresh produce, producing food is an exciting, equally as exciting as many other opportunities
11:01for careers.
11:02Well, that's all the time we have for this Kentonite special here on KMTV. Don't forget,
11:08you can always keep up to date with the latest news across the county by logging on to KMTV.co.uk.
11:14You can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on
11:18X and TikTok. And if you have a story you think we should be covering, then get in touch.
11:23We also have a series of special programs, including Invictus Fort, Mating Kent, Kent
11:27Film Club, and the Kent Politics Show, which you can watch throughout the week or catch
11:31up with on our website. But for me, that's everything. Have a good evening. Goodbye.