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Agriculture

Listen to student Kimberly talk about her experience on one of our Higher Education courses.

Date: 5th August 2014

Hear about the Agriculture and Land Management courses from students Rebecca and Tommy!

Date: 5th August 2014

To study agriculture at Askham Bryan College you don’t have to be from a farming background, in fact students come from a variety of backgrounds and locations. Not only do our Agriculture and Land Management courses give students the practical skills to care for livestock and crops, but they also look at agriculture as a bigger picture, exploring the environmental impact of farming and ways to improve farming techniques for the future.

We have invested heavily in our farm resources across our colleges in Yorkshire and Cumbria, and offer students the opportunity to put theory into practice and gain valuable experience on both arable and livestock farms, in upland and lowland terrains.

FACILITIES

Across both our colleges we farm over 650 hectares of land over four farms based in two diverse locations; within the Vale of York and in Cumbria. The farms include Westfield Farm, based at our Askham Bryan Campus and Home Farm based in nearby Askham Richard. Sewborwens Farm is located on the Newton Rigg Campus and just a short distance away is Lowbeckside Farm, our hill farm in Mungrisedale.

Our farms are an integral part of each college; they are well equipped with a wide selection of machinery and facilities for both commercial and educational purposes. Students studying at both colleges have access to all five farms enabling them to gain valuable work experience in different upland and lowland farming terrains and alternative farming systems in both high and low rainfall areas. The College has invested in a brand new £2.2 million Dairy Unit at Newton Rigg’s Sewborwens Farm, which officially opened in March 2014, this Unit gives students access to state-of-the-art facilities in addition to a robotic milking parlour facility at Askham Bryan College in York.

CAREER FOCUS

By studying in this department you will learn the relevant skills to work in the following roles:

• Stockperson and herdsperson
• Machine operators
• Hedge layers and drystone wallers
• Pest controllers and fence builders
• Farm and estate management
• Land agent
• Agricultural consultants
• Research and development roles
• Agricultural specialists within DEFRA; Health and Safety Executive and EBLEX

PARTNERSHIP LINKS

Askham Bryan College has strong links with a range of organisations and businesses, both in agriculture and with companies who supply products and services to the agricultural industry. As part of their studies our Level 3 students take part in our annual Stockmanship Competition, showing either a beef, dairy or sheep animal, this competition is judged by successful farmers who are widely respected within their field. Stockmanship allows the students to put skills learned in the classroom into practice in a real-life situation.