Further to the £2m spent on its commercial farm, Agriculture provision at Cannington has never looked stronger, with the College recently opening its new £3m Agriculture Innovation Centre.

With over 300 students now studying from a range of full time, Higher education and apprenticeship courses in Agriculture alone, this monthly column will be written by four of our L3 Diploma students.

Providing updates on what is happening on the award winning Rodway Farm , sharing their experiences of applying theory into practical settings and giving an insight into how the College is working with employers to showcase the very latest technological advances within the sector, the development of these students and their journey over the coming year is clearly very important to the future of the farming industry.

In this first column, each of the four students involved have provided an introduction to themselves, highlighting their backgrounds and previous experience.

Adrian Netherway

Hi my name is Adrian, I am a student at Bridgwater College undertaking my first year of a level 3 agricultural diploma. I have been brought up living on the farm since a young age, so have gained skills and knowledge of beef and arable farming but have limited knowledge of dairy farming. I have worked on two farms over the summer with livestock and contracting work.

My main reason for choosing Bridgwater College is because it is the best agricultural college in the south. I know that coming here would improve what I already know and would allow me to pick up and gain further understanding and knowledge of the industry, including managing dairy and sheep.

I feel that I have already taken on board new ways of doing things and have learnt a lot about livestock in the short period of time I have been here. I am more interested in arable and machinery but know that livestock is a key part in the farming industry.

Ben Roberts

My name is Ben, I am 16 years old and live in Mid Devon. I am currently studying at Bridgwater College and I am in the first year of my level 3 extended diploma in agriculture. I have always had a keen interested in agriculture, mainly livestock, for as long as I can remember. At home my family owns 12 acres of land where I have my small flock of sheep including Suffolk cross Mules and 3 pedigree Texels, which I am looking to begin pedigree breeding with.

I’m not from a farming back ground but I have always been involved in farming and have worked on lots of different livestock farms since being about 12 years old. I wanted to come to college to learn more about the industry as I only knew about livestock and very limited arable and mech.

Since I have been at college I have learnt lots about various types of agriculture and different methods of doing things. I enjoy coming to college and think that I made the right choice coming to Bridgwater.

Annabella Cornish

My name is Annabella, I’m 17 and I am currently studying agriculture at Bridgwater College. I live on a family dairy farm in Devon farming around 200 Holstein Frisian and Ayrshires. As well as working on the family farm I also work a few days a week at Exeter livestock market handling livestock for auction which I thoroughly enjoy.

I chose to study agriculture because it is an industry I have always been around and involved with. I have been a member of my local young farmers group for many years getting involved with sports, drama performances, showing of livestock and going out for a good social. I hope to finish this course with good grades and then further my education in 2016 doing my Certificate in Higher Education in Agricultural Management at Bridgwater College.

Once I have finished my education I aim to be working with an agricultural business being involved with the farming community. Having already had work experience within this area I am confident that this is what I want to work towards.

Michelle Parish

I’m Michelle, I am 17 years old and currently studying L3 Agriculture at Bridgwater College. I live in Devon on my family farm. We have a mixed farm with the main enterprises being our 160 cow dairy herd and broiler chickens. I am in the local young farmers and have participated in many competitions and love the social outings.

I chose to study agriculture due to my upbringing and having a big interest in the industry. I hope to finish this course with the highest grade I could achieve and go onto further education at Bridgwater, also going into their Higher Education in Agriculture Management. My aim in the future is to work in the business side of Agriculture and have had previous tasters with other companies through my work experience in the agriculture industry. I feel whilst being at the Bridgwater College, I have gained extensive experience with on-farm jobs and have improved my knowledge on Agriculture to help me with any future jobs.

This article is part of a monthly column written by Agriculture students at Bridgwater College. You can read the other articles in this series here: February, March, April, May, June