On the pod this week, news reporter Chris Brayford visited students and staff at Barnsley College’s Wigfield Farm campus to discuss the importance of agricultural courses in educational settings.

@WigfieldFarm // @barnsleycollege

Should more schools be providing agricultural courses? Should agriculture be featured on the syllabus and curriculum from the moment a child starts school until they leave to kickstart their careers? Can agriculture offer a viable career path for young people to enter the industry and fulfil a dream to a farmer?

We spoke to students at Barnsley College including Jayden Taylor, Emily Hanson, Dana Bradley-Allen and Jasmine Powell about why they have chosen to study agriculture at Barnsley College, the skills they have picked up along the way, alongside their hopes to be the next generation of young farmers. They told us an agricultural course has provided them with confidence to learn and experience new things, alongside strengthening their ability to work as a team and live out a dream to work with livestock and people. Chris also caught up with Barnsley College’s agriculture and animal care teacher, Emily Smith, and Macauley Parkin, the agriculture course leader, about their enthusiasm and passion to help nurture students’ skills in the sector and how they have made courses more accommodating and exciting for students to see the value of agricultural careers. Agriculture provides us all with so many benefits, so is it time to recognise its value in an educational setting even more?

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