Harper Adams University provides key to career in agriculture for non-farming background student

Posted 15 May 2017

Adam Jones doesn’t come from farming background, despite having a strong interest in the area and wishing to build a career in it.

He says that his BSc (Hons) Agriculture course and the Velcourt Scholarship (Dairy) that he has received this year, will help him forge a career in the agricultural industry with the ultimate goal of being a farm manager.

The 20 year old, from Wrexham, North Wales said: “I’ve had an interest in agriculture from an early age but as I come from a non-farming background, I realised it would be hard to get into the industry.

“While at school, I took up opportunities of work experience and part time jobs on local dairy and mixed farms in order to build up my knowledge of the industry.

“This allowed me to realise that I wanted to develop this into a career. In order to get a successful career in the agricultural industry I knew I’d have to further my skills, knowledge and understanding.

“This led to me applying to Harper Adams University and study agriculture at an academic level. I decided to study the BSc (Hons) Agriculture course in order to broaden my knowledge of the whole industry and learn about other sectors that I had no previous experience of.

“I’ve always been interested in the whole agricultural industry, but out of all the sectors I've had experience of, the dairy sector has always been a passion of mine.

“I’ve developed a great interest and enthusiasm for the sector and have dedicated most of my time to learning and gaining more knowledge about dairy farming.

“The skills required to be successful in the industry are wide ranging. It combines both livestock care and an understanding of grass, forage crops, technology and business processes to create a well-managed and profitable dairy enterprise. This has given me the desire to forge a career within the sector.

“The sector is innovative, adaptable and constantly changing. The future of the industry will be affected and driven by changes in price, technology and legislation.

“I’d enjoy this challenge and would like to be a part of it, in order to use my knowledge and skills to help the industry meet future problems and targets.”

On being awarded the scholarship, Adam said: “The scholarship means a great deal to me; it will allow me to spend a year with one of Europe's leading agricultural businesses and experience a different side of dairy farming that I’ve not experienced before.

“During my placement year, I’ll be placed on one of Velcourt's flagship farms. I’ll work alongside staff and the farm manager to gain valuable experience and learn about the 1,000 cow dairy herd split across two units.

“It will be an exciting opportunity and I believe it is the next step in having a successful career in dairy farm management. Having not come from a farming background, I hope the receipt of this scholarship will show others that you can have success in the agricultural industry without coming from a family farm

“I’d like to thank Velcourt, and specifically Nick Shorter and Mark Ward, for giving me this great opportunity to develop my knowledge of the dairy industry with such a prestigious company.”