It’s not all mud, tweed and early mornings – that’s the message on the cover of the new NFU magazine for young people aimed to encourage new entrants into the agriculture sector.
#studentfarmer ‘Schools Edition’ is currently being trialled in over 140 schools and promotes varied and exciting careers in agriculture to 13-16 year olds making decisions on their studies.
The NFU has seen award-winning success with the original #studentfarmer launched in 2012 and distribute thousands of free copies to agricultural colleges and universities. NFU President Meurig Raymond said with the new ‘spin-off’ the NFU hopes to inspire younger students who may not have considered a career in the industry.
Mr Raymond continued: “We believe the future of agriculture depends on excellent young farmers driving forward innovation. Playing a part in putting food on the world’s plates is an incredible thing - we need to promote this. That’s why we’ve furthered our efforts with #studentfarmer to encourage younger people to look to our diverse industry for an exciting and rewarding career.”
Editor of #studentfarmer Emily Cole said: “The aim of the Schools Edition’s is simple: we want to make sure the next generation has the facts about the farming industry before they make decisions influencing the career they pursue.
“From the perspective of a person on the outside looking in, the industry has a lot of false stereotypes. We wanted the reality to shine through. Farming has a really exciting future ahead of it, and we want young people to consider being part of it.
“The result is an easy-to-read magazine packed with stimulating content. It looks nice, feels nice and has a Border Collie pup in a flat cap on the cover – what more could a student want?”
#studentfarmer was established in 2012 and is published three times a year. The publication has won and been nominated for many prestigious awards.
