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Last year farming champion and TV personality Kaleb Cooper launched his very own bursary to help youngsters from non-agricultural backgrounds get a step up in the industry.

In association with the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), two lucky students were picked and now get the chance to work alongside the Clarkson's Farm star on a placement, as well as receiving a £3,000 bursary.

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Caitlin Oxton and Caitlyn Bartlett are both from non-farming backgrounds. Caitlin is in her second year at RAU studying applied farm management, while Caitlyn is in her first year studying agriculture.

Both are keen to make their mark on the industry, and there is no doubt that with support from Kaleb and his array of contacts, they will do just that.

READ ALSO: #FarmingCAN - Kaleb Cooper - "The day I stop farming, god knows what I will be doing"

Having built up a good amount of experience over the years, Caitlin recalls that taking the first step was the hardest.

New entrant farmers

She says: "There are a few obstacles, as you are going in with no knowledge, whereas others know what they are doing. It is a bit of a catch-up.

"The first step is the hardest, when they are throwing everything at you. But it is all possible with the right people around you." 

Both are interested in agronomy, but they both say that getting experience in other areas, such as livestock, is essential, especially when to comes to learning vital skills, such as tractor driving.

Having come into the industry with no prior exposure though, what have they since learned?

Caitlyn says: "I was surprised - and reassured - to see how many women were in the industry when I first started out working in poultry. In the last couple of years, we have done a lot in terms of women in agriculture.

"It is not as hard to get into the industry as it was 20 years ago."

READ ALSO: Female butcher champions industry - "this is about changing the idea of what a butcher should be"

Kaleb is from a non-farming background and has somewhat made it his mission to speak up about the variety of careers within the sector.

He hopes to give others the chance to experience it.

Non-farming backgrounds

He says: "Farming is who I am. Encouraging the younger generation into agriculture has always been so important to me.

"I feel lucky that I knew my path from such an early age and want to help spread that passion and drive. Launching this bursary means so much, as it can support students who want to pursue an agricultural career or who might be struggling to get into farming.

"Having come from a non-farming background, I believe agriculture can be for anybody. I know there is so much potential for young people to have brilliant careers in agriculture.

"It should be open to all and especially those who have financial difficulties or are completely new to farming."

Caitlin has one more year left at RAU, and her placement with Kaleb starts this month. She will split it into two, working half of it alongside Kaleb and hoping to be able to use the other half to explore the agronomy sector, utilising Kaleb's contacts.

Over the next year, she is looking forward to graduating and has a job to go home to working on a dairy and arable farm before the new term starts. She is, however, taking all she can from this experience.

She says: "I thought there would be so many people who apply for [the bursary] and luckily I ended up getting it.

"I am starting to set myself up for [life] post-university. Having those contacts and Kaleb himself, it will help in the future. It is the exposure of it all.

"I just want to see what everything ends up being and see how what we are doing now develops. Things can change, but that is quite exciting."

Caitlyn has two years left, but she hopes to get out there and gain some hands-on in-field experience. She feels it is quite hard to get work experience in agronomy.

She says: "There are not many firms which will let you shadow them, so you do not want to get further down the line to realise this is not where you want to be.

"[This] is an amazing opportunity he has given us both, especially the placement. It will open doors and give me the chance to do something I would not be able to do in a different sector in the industry.

"After I have done [my placement], I am interested to see if my path changes. It will still be in farming, but perhaps I will prefer livestock."

Question time

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the industry?

Caitlin: "I think bottom line farming on its own cannot survive.

"I did an assignment where we had to create a farm plan and do all the financials - if we just had an arable enterprise we would not survive.

"Diversification, stewardship - you cannot survive solely on one thing so it is about seeing how you can work it to get the best outcome."

Caitlyn: "Public viewpoint. For some reason the industry gets bad publicity. If we got more support people would appreciate farmers a bit more - milk is a prime one. Why are we paying farmer pence when supermarkets are making massive profits. They are not the ones rearing the cattle."

How do we get people interested in agriculture?

Caitlyn: "If you want people to go into an industry, but they do not have the opportunity to gain experience, how are we going to get them in the door and interest them? You are always going to need an agronomist, fundamentally it is the basis of crop production, but if people will not offer you experience how are they going to get it?

Caitlin: "More needs to be done to introduce farming into schools - even a brief on where your food comes from could spark interest."