Farmer and entrepreneur Kaleb Cooper from the Prime Video series ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ was the special guest at the ‘Intro to Ag Fair’ at the Aviva Stadium.
The inaugural event, which took place in Dublin yesterday (April 13) was organised by Agri Aware and the Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB).
At the event, projects submitted by students from across the country were examined by a team of judges before a national winner of the Intro to Ag programme was announced.
Agriland caught up with the TV show sensation at the event to hear what his key messages are to young people hoping to get involved in the agricultural industry.
Kaleb said that his love of farming started “at a very early age”.
He said that “every single farmer out there” is a role models for him “because they work day in, day out to produce food for our table”.
Agriland asked Kaleb who he would go to for advice when things get tough in his contracting or farming career.
He said: “You can go to anybody for advice but I’m very much a hands-on learner, so therefore you got to actually have a go and if it fails, it’s not failing, it’s a learning curve.
“I’ve never failed in my life. Of course I’ve started businesses and of course they have failed. But I don’t treat it as a failure. I treat it as a learning curve.”
Top 3 tips for young farmers
He said that his top tip for aspiring young farmers is to, first of all, “go and get stuck in”.
He said that if people would like to get involved in agriculture, they should “have a go” at it.
“Open your mind and actually experience all aspects of different types of farming, whether that be chickens, pigs, sheep, cows or engineering or GPS specialists.
“There’s so many different aspects of jobs out there for them; and the third one is, to enjoy it,” he said.
Commenting on the role of education for young farmers, Kaleb said that farming should be used to teach in schools.
He explained: “Maths can be very boring sometimes as a subject. If you actually add farming into it, it’s much more enjoyable.
“You can learn percentages; all the kids [in the competition] today have done a pie chart on percentages of what stats they’ve actually gathered and therefore actually, what’s happened is they’ve done maths on the back of farming and probably enjoyed it more.”
Intro to Ag
The Intro to Ag Transition Year (TY) programme is designed to encourage students to take up agricultural science for the senior cycle, while also introducing them to Further Education and Training (FET) pathways, and career opportunities within the agri-sector.
The event showcased learnings from the programme, while also demonstrating to stakeholders in the agri-food sector the work Agri Aware and LOETB are actively implementing in the area of second-level education.
Kaleb was joined by beef and tillage farmer and YouTube sensation Philip Stewart, otherwise known as ‘Farmer Phil’, while Katie Gleeson, also known as ‘Katie in the Country’, was chairing the panel.