Carving a career path in farming has not been without its challenges for Liz Tree, 23, who grew up Croydon, South London. In fact, she is sure plenty of her teachers thought she was mad.
But after being set on the idea since she was in her early teens she was determined to find a way to make it happen.
Ms Tree says: I grew up in a very urban area in South London with no family connection to farming.
Working in farming, or any rural sector, was certainly never presented to any of us at school and I am sure plenty of my teachers thought I was mad. Luckily my parents have been very supportive and can see how a career in agriculture can be extremely broad and rewarding with so many different sectors to be explored.
It was a chance encounter on holiday in the Brecon Beacons when she was 13 which first piqued her interest in farming, having never considered a career in the field before.
Rural jobs are not presented to urban children, she says.
I remember wandering down to the local farm and asked to help out during lambing time where I was set on with basic duties, such as bedding down and tending to ewes and lambs, and eventually built up my experience.
After this I found a farmer as close to Croydon as I could. He taught me the basics, such how to drive a tractor, and suggested I looked at doing a degree at Harper Adams as he had studied there himself.
Ms Tree decided to do just that and has just completed a BSc in agriculture at the university, while taking any opportunities to gain experience in different sectors.
During this time she took part in a round-table session facilitated by The Princes Countryside Fund, in partnership with Aldi, focused on minimising and overcoming barriers facing young people and new entrants in the industry, later going onto speak at Groundswell on the findings of the research.
But while Liz is clear on how tough carving a path in the industry has been at times, she also stresses there are people out there who have been willing to help and encourage her.
She says: It was extremely difficult to break into the industry with very little knowledge and contacts and even more difficult to be taken seriously in doing so.
There are some amazing farmers out there who are willing to spend a significant amount of their time encouraging people into the industry.
Spurring her on, she says, has been her own first-hand experiences of the disconnect between the public and food production and she is about to begin her own research looking into quantifying the benefits of agricultural experiences on city children and beyond.
Her research will focus on the offer of Farms for City Children, a charity with five decades of experience supporting young people from urban environments to engage with food, farming and the natural world. The Worshipful Company of Butchers have funded the course fees for this MRes as part of their philanthropic activities, to support the work of Farms for City Children.
Farms for City Children is a charity enabling children from disadvantaged communities to experience working together on farms in the heart of the British countryside. For many children involved, this may be the first time they have set foot on a farm or even their first time leaving an urban area.
Ultimately, Liz feels more could be done to show off the successful careers people can have in farming.
There are certainly plenty of opportunities in agriculture for anyone from any background, particularly in the current market, and there are so many benefits exhibited from having a diverse workforce.
