"Growing up on a farm gave me the love of agriculture but at school I never perceived it as a career. I probably took for granted how important agriculture was"
"At school I never had a big ambition to go into a certain career and despite doing well in the sciences I chose to do more humanities based subjects for my a-levels carving a pathway to university that I was unsure if I wanted."
"I wasn't sure university was right for me. Agriculture as a career - or even the opportunities within agriculture - were not avenues that were represented well at school.
"There was a large push for young people to go to university and get city jobs as lawyers or in marketing and those who were from farming backgrounds would usually get 'left behind' to stay and take over the family farm.
"Definitely back in sixth form rural was seen as boring and bad. This probably wasn't helped by the fact our school and surrounding area was extremely rural and many wanted to escape what seemed to be a 'mundane' life for an exciting city life.
"After university I was once again, lost, I had not thought about what I would actually do career wise after uni.
"I decided I would just spend some time travelling and hopefully decide what to do along the way. Using money I had saved working two jobs at uni I set off for Australia where I had family I could use as a base.
"After a bit of back packing and working in the city it was time to begin farm work for a second year visa.
"There are so many opportunities for those with very different backgrounds to contribute to agriculture"
Career options
"When I touched back down in England I didn't exactly know where to start, although I had a degree, a farming background and the experience gained in Australia I didn't have a science based foundation for me to establish myself as a potential employee within the agronomy sector.
"I began to enquire around and self-educate myself around the arable sector. I gained experience crop walking with agronomists, I embarked on a BASIS foundation course and even gained a job as a trainee agronomist for a while.
"I became fascinated with the idea of sustainability and the impact agriculture was having on the climate but also understood the plight of the farmers who are running a business and are contending with many risky variables such as weather.
"For this reason I quit working as a trainee and embarked on a masters in Agricultural Science and Production Systems at Harper Adams University.
"This allowed me to explore sustainable production systems and management opportunities that could be implemented on farm.
"While studying, I applied for a job at as a sustainable agriculture consultant. It was the best day ever when I got an offer.
Pride
"Although I did not choose the most orthodox route into an agricultural career, it taught me that if you really have a passion for something you can make it happen.
"I also believe that careers in agriculture are not promoted enough, there are so many opportunities for those with very different backgrounds to contribute to one of the oldest jobs around....agriculture! And it is a very satisfying one at that.
Watch the video: #ThisIsAgriculture
As part of National Careers Week #ThisIsAgriculture showcases agriculture at the cutting edge of modern technology and at the forefront of innovations in key areas, such as IT, forensics, engineering, automation and design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftyyRuqvZDI
