“Succession has always been a thorny issue.” BBC Countryfile’s Adam Henson on how farming is changing – and why it’s good news

I recently found myself in one of the most impressive venues I’ve ever seen. The Guildhall in Worcester is a truly breathtaking Georgian landmark, with its richly painted Italianate ceilings, chandeliers and walls lined with portraits of the good and the great. But I wasn’t there to admire the surroundings.

I’d been invited to talk about modern farming and the environment – how farmers are working with nature and the future of food production – at a conference all about sustainability. The audience was made up of head teachers and school leaders from the West Midlands, who were there to gather ideas for encouraging and inspiring their pupils.

I was delighted that the organisers wanted to include agriculture in the day’s agenda, and it made me wonder how many young people might end up following a career in farming as a result.

In the long tradition of family farming, where the business is handed down from one generation to the next, succession has always been a thorny issue. It used to be a cliché that middle-aged farmers would be reluctant to trust their grown-up children with the day-to-day management of the farm. And they only packed away their wellies and retired for good when they were well into their 70s or even 80s.

The modern reality is a little different, but the stereotype still endures. However, the industry has been transformed so much in the past couple of decades that, when you ask who the next generation of farmers will be, the answer won’t automatically be “the current farmer’s son or daughter”.

Britain’s agricultural colleges and universities aren’t just popular – they’re oversubscribed. Places such as the Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester have reputations that go back to the Victorian era, but long gone are the days when the students were all sons of the landed gentry, military officers and colonial officials.

Today, young men and women from all walks of life are learning how to rear livestock, grow crops and manage the land, just as their predecessors did. But now, thousands are also enrolled on courses as diverse as food security, equine science, wildlife conservation, water management, business and entrepreneurship, even sustainability in historic buildings.

The definition of a ‘farm’ job has never been broader. Take agricultural technology and innovation. The topic covers everything from drone mechanics, robotic harvesters and intelligent software for predicting pests and diseases all the way to gene editing.

Only a few tech and innovation students will ever get dirt under their fingernails, but their work will be vital in keeping Britain fed and at the forefront of global advances in food production. That’s crucial, because the world population is predicted to grow by another two billion before 2050.

AI has always been farming shorthand for artificial insemination (breeding cows, mostly, without the need for a bull). But, like in all walks of life, the other AI is already changing the farming industry. It is gathering data about soil conditions, crop health and weather systems at lightning speed to help reduce chemical spraying, conserve water and predict yields, among many other things.

In short, whatever the interest, there’s a job in British farming to satisfy it. Careers await bright vets, ecologists, tree surgeons, nutritionists, computer programmers, machine-learning engineers, even estate agents, press officers and podcasters. You could say that the business of growing is growing.

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