Free sustainable farming course now open for applications

Tesco is partnering with the Harper Adams University School of Sustainable Food and Farming to help farmers learn how they can implement sustainable agriculture practices and protect biodiversity.

The Future Farmer Programme was so successful last year that it is being rolled out a second time in September with places for 75 farmers.

The opening of the application window comes as the first cohort of farmers prepares to complete the nine-month programme of activities.

These included visits to sites run by the food processor ABP Food, and to the Sansaw estate, near Shrewsbury, where sustainable land management was the topic for discussion.

Course leader Simon Thelwell, who is director of the School of Sustainable Food and Farming, said those farmers had found the course “incredibly valuable” and that it had brought them into contact with industry experts.

“Visits like this are a key part of the mix of in-person and online learning which has been at the heart of the Future Farmer programme – with the online sessions designed to help fit around farmers’ busy lives, and the in-person elements both allowing them to talk with experts directly but also to build networks with each other,” he said.

The supermarket chain is supporting the programme to help equip farmers with knowledge of how to meet some of the environmental challenges that lie ahead for UK agriculture.

The programme is for farmers aged 40 and under and training costs are fully funded, although delegates need to cover travelling costs to and from events.

More information and an application form can be found on the website.