Dead Rabbits
Member
- Location
- 'Merica
Never let schooling get in the way of your education.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I did not enjoy school and was not keen to go to further education for more pointless pen pushing. All I wanted to do was farm work, but my parents wanted me to go else where before coming home to farm. After A levels I went and worked for 6 months on a pig, sheep and arable farm in Northamptonshire followed by six months on a dairy, beef, sheep and arable farm in Shropshire.
Going to agricultural college was totally different for me compared with school, as it was a subject I was interested in and this made the pen pushing easier. The sandwich year also broke up the course which appealed too.
The following 3 years I did a HND in agriculture at Harper with a sandwich year in the middle year on a large sheep, beef and arable farm in Worcestershire. Same county as the home farm, but didn’t go home much as I was busy and really enjoyed the job. I was given plenty of opportunity on the farm and loved the area. I also met my wife later that year through the local YFC.
The final couple of terms at college were more specialised which kept my interest going, as after a year at work, college didn’t appeal so much again.
I went home to work as an employee, but also started my own sheep enterprise alongside. Life evolved after that and I took over full management of the farm 4 years later.
Looking back over 30 years later, going to college taught me to question everything. i could easily have just worked at home after school, but I feel the experiences on other farms and the skills learnt at college have made me a better farmer/ businessman.
My only advice . I travelled to Oz at 18 to work for 3 months. I regret it not being 2 years...... Get him to travel once we can again. With age and responsibility the chance to travel get less and less and the regret bigger and biggerJust to repeat, he doesn’t work at home, he’s on a local arable and dairy farm, cracking place with a good herd and modern kit. He’s getting the experience of different points of view and the discipline of having to be at work on time (always early) and get himself up and going at 5am on his weekends covering dairy duties.
He gets very varied work from calf feeding to combining, which he’s very lucky to be doing. Everyone at the farm is expected to do all tasks but he’s lucky to be 17 and ploughing all day on a new tractor while the regular chaps are in the yard. It’s a great place for him to work.
That’s probably part of the problem! Had he spent the last year sweeping the yard and training calves on to buckets he might be longing to get in to college.
Lots of businesses need certification for everything?You don’t need all that crap to have and run a business , you need business acumen which is in the main in you or not . If he must be educated get him doing business qualification.
more or less he is doing what tickles his fancy, where he is happy.
I was pushed to a comprehensive scholl and then after 5th year did a few nvq l2 and 3 in engineering and also livestock production. How i have ended up as a maintence techneican in a food factory i will never know but now am looking for a course to match it and sharpen up my skills on the electronic side. Funny thing is i thought about electronics but didnt like the idea of a full time course but liked making things.
Part I hate the most, doing the comprehensive school, forced to and hated it dont think i have any friends from it that i see often, maybe on a night out.
Id say let him sort himself out, everybody has to make their own mistakes and choices, its thier life and if you are interested in what you are doing that is all that u need to learn.
Totally agree with that.My only advice . I travelled to Oz at 18 to work for 3 months. I regret it not being 2 years...... Get him to travel once we can again. With age and responsibility the chance to travel get less and less and the regret bigger and bigger
That’s part of the mix too. He’s busting keen to get abroad working, which is great and we want him to do that. Trouble is, he wants it all now, which I know is the impatience of youth, and it must seem a long way off for him.
He’s thinking America/Canada then NZ/Aus and even thinking about applying for the British Antarctic Survey in a few years. Not quite sure what that entails but he’ll give it his best go, no doubt.
I can’t fault his enthusiasm.
absolutely , management of resources wether physical , financial animal or human is the key to running a business wether farm related or not and basically its the same skill whatever business,you still need the practical farm experience but its the other that will help anyone move onwards and upwards, brains and brawn in agriculture are both neededHe might not be keen now but some form of qualification will definitely be a benefit in the long run. Try and get him to do some form of management option too, rather than just practical, as that's becoming more vital by the day. Can't work outdoors if indoors isn't sorted.