One of Britain's only blind farmers is helping to inspire the next generation of food producers living with visual impairment.
Mike Duxbury is the co-founder of Inclusive Farm, which had its first site in Bedford and has opened a second farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The farm was created to show people with disabilities a route into agriculture and give them the confidence to pursue a worthwhile and fulfilling career.
Mike studied at Moreton Morrell College in the late 1980s, which is part of the Warwickshire College Group (WCG), and was then known as Warwickshire College of Agriculture.
He was the first ever blind student, eventually becoming a pig specialist and winning the National Pig Development Student of the Year in 1989.
To this day, Mike remains one of the only blind farmers in the country, but he is now passing on his experiences to a current student at the college.
John Sharlot, a 21-year-old from Southam, Warwickshire, has been studying at the college for three years and has a visual impairment.
He has been invited to Mike’s farm to build his experience, confidence and develop his skills.
“I would do anything for Moreton Morrell College, they gave me an opportunity that very few would," Mike said.
"They opened their minds to differences. I was a student like everyone else and not treated any differently.
“Moreton Morrell has passed on what they did for me to John. This is a college that said in the 1990s that all people should be treated equally and it’s what they are still doing now."
A big part of having John come to work at the farm has been in building confidence, being able to be with people from similar circumstances and those that are succeeding in their field.
Mike added: “He spent a couple of days with us, reinforcing what he had learnt in college and showing how that can be put into practice on our farm.
“You have seen John’s confidence grow during his visits to our farm in Bedfordshire, and we’re looking forward to welcoming him to our Scotland site to continue that development.”
John recently completed a Level 2 Agriculture qualification at Moreton Morrell College. Farming is in the blood, with his family running Gallops Farm, a mixed enterprise.
They adapted the course so I could access it and was allowed to complete some parts of the course, for example tractor driving at my home farm," he said.
“The college introduced me to Mike, who had been in a similar position to me, and he invited me to spend some time on the farm in Bedfordshire.
"I definitely came away from the experience with more confidence in my skills. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go up to the farm in Scotland next.
"My long-term ambition is to be a farmer and run a small unit independently which specialises in calves and cattle.”
