New farming academy launched

A new academy aimed at boosting the careers of new and established farmers will be launched in East Yorkshire today.

The Wolds Fresh Start Academy will be based at Bishop Burton College, near Beverley, and hopes to encourage new entrants into farming and help established farmers diversify their businesses.

Between 20 and 25 applicants will complete 12 evening training sessions at the college in the next 15 months, covering topics including finance, tenancy issues, business planning and succession.

Academy co-ordinator Peter Caley said: "Coming from a farming family myself, I am very familiar with the many complex issues facing the younger generation of farmers.

"Farmers of the future will sometimes have to be group chief executive, marketing manager, environmentalist, grower, and stockman all at once – in other words, very adaptable and able to make key decisions on the spot.

"The Wolds Academy will help and encourage young farmers and new entrants into farming by providing them with the knowledge and business skills to make the industry more sustainable.

"We will be putting together an exciting series of sessions that will address some of the key business issues farmers face today. The Fresh Start programme is all about promoting the farming industry as modern and dynamic.

"A career in the farming industry can be full of interest and variety and high on job satisfaction, and the Wolds Academy is doing its bit to help the next generation of farmers fulfil their ambitions."