Now you might think working in agriculture or farming may not be all that, in fact you may have the impression it’s all about mucking out animals, working ridiculously long hours and constantly have an odour about you.
Well part of that may be true, however there are plenty of opportunities in agriculture that blows the above out of the water.
Have you ever thought when walking around the supermarket or when tucking into your cheeky Nando's just where does all this produce come from?
For many years farming has been considered as one of the less attract fields of work, until now. Farming has grown and adapted over the years to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly and to top it all off there are more opportunities for farming apprenticeships then ever before. You could try your hand at farm management which incorporates many business activities of the day to day running of a farm, such as purchasing from suppliers or selling produce to supermarkets.
Running a successful farm is not easy as there is a lot of commercial elements that go into the running of farms. For instance there is a cost to run a farm, whether it’s purchasing breeding animals, buying feed or even fertilisers to apply to crops and arable land for grazing. Taking this into account the ultimate goal for farms are to be profitable whilst also sustainable at the same time, meaning farms need to make money to survive.
I bet you didn’t know there is a lot of science behind farming? If all farming was as simple as simply applying a fertiliser and letting your crop grow or letting your animals graze so they produce the right amount of milk or produce the best tender rumps.
There are many companies supporting the efforts of farmers from fertiliser manufacturers such as Timac Agro to distributers like Mole Valley all playing a key role in the sustainability of farming in the UK. Which means lots of opportunities for apprentices to learn what goes into producing the food we put on our tables daily.
Farming has become very different and adapted it’s efforts to support sustainability in the UK to produce enough produce to feed the ever growing population and now that the UK has finally Brexited from the EU it is even more important to do so. Many new companies have entered the arena offering services like Agronomy or Auditing and environmental solutions. You can now don the white coat in a lab to help with the farming community by coming up with formulas to grow the best crops or animal Nutrition products.
Technology also plays a very key part in modern day farming with solutions such as hydroponic farming (growing vegetables without the use of soils), irrigation and also GPS to remotely control tractors or combines on the fields.
Many colleges have partnered with farms or suppliers to the farming community to help with the efforts of training apprentices into the sector with new innovative ideas and knowledge to help with the sustainability, why you could even do a degree apprenticeship in agriculture at the Harper Adams University in Surveying of Food Engineering.
There are countless apprenticeship opportunities for you to develop and grow a career in farming, without necessarily having to drive a tractor.
Colleges offering Apprenticeships in Agriculture include:
Hartbury
Bedford College
Reaseheath College