Feature Future of farming
It’s all happening at the Melplash Show
An education project promoting agriculture and horticulture to young people took its message to Dorset’s annual Melplash Show this summer.
The Melplash Agricultural Society, which has been organising the Show since 1847, launched the Discover Farming education programme in 2015. It has gone from strength to strength ever since.
The Society feels that it is vitally important for the ‘next generation’ to understand the roles that farming and
agriculture play in the national and local economy and the environment, and aims to inspire young people to take up careers in farming and other rural industries.
At the show the Discover Farming area was packed with families trying out various hands-on activities such as milking, butter making and weaving. There were also opportunities to find out about how different soil types affect what can be grown and the benefits of different crop management.
Discover Farming also demonstrated the high-tech end of farming like the use of drones in land management, research and development into improving sustainable farming practices as well the engineering skills needed to ensure farm machinery in good working order.
The team realised that an increased emphasis on technological developments would be a positive way to attract young people who are starting to think about future careers and sign up for college courses or workplace apprenticeships.
One person volunteering on the day was Zoe Winlow. Zoe runs a nearby sheep farm and was showing a steady stream of young people how to use a virtual reality headset that brought to life a tour of a dairy farm.
Zoe said, “Discover Farming is a really good opportunity for people to see what farm work is like, and explore a career in the industry.”
“What we have here is aimed mainly at trying to encourage people without a farming background to find out more. Maybe about agricultural apprentices and the skills needed to become a farm worker.”
28 uniteLANDWORKER Autumn 2024
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