Farm of the Week: College provides taste of real-world production

However, while the 1,040 acre farm at Askham Bryan College near York produces all of the above it boasts a far more important product – the next generation of farmers.

With a student body of more than 4,500 people and a turnover of 14.6m the college is a vital and prestigious contributor to the region's, and the country's, agricultural industries.

As well as the buildings and classrooms the college is also home to a farm which is as professional, varied and commercial as any farm in Yorkshire.

It houses a herd of 250 Holstein/Friesian dairy cows; there are also 220 ewes and 80 head of beef cattle.

Oilseed rape, barley and wheat are also produced, among others. In short – virtually any area in which you can farm in the UK is represented on Askham Bryan's farm.

The result of the above statistics is that Askham Bryan College is currently the UK's largest college of further education providing land-based learning.

In the past four years the college committed to 4m-worth of investment into the farm, recently installing cubicles for its dairy herd and increasing its size by 100 cows. Similarly, for its arable operations it has invested in a big drill and sprayer, dispensing with the contractors it had used previously.

The result is that students get a first-hand experience of what it is like to operate as a farmer, 365 days a year.

Indeed, even in the recent snow the students were out working on the farm alongside their teachers and the staff which manage it.

Liz Philip, principal of the college for the past two and half years, said: "The farm is the resource which we use to service all of the learning.

"Farming, from my perspective, has to be run as a local operation and has to reflect the local produce.

"Agriculture has to be commercial and that is what we are teaching. We try to look at as broad a range of areas as we can. It is not a model farm. It is very expensive to run a dairy herd if it is not returning a margin."

As such the students get involved in the internal workings of a major commercial farming enterprise very quickly.

Milk goes to Arla, barley goes to Muntons near Bridlington while sheep go to the likes of APB. The college is home to a National Beef Training Centre and on the farm EBLEX has a base too.

In addition to the actual farming, research is carried out on the effects of flooding on grazing livestock and ways to establish the most profitable system for dairy bull calves.

Also, willow crops are grown on the site with the end product going into energy production.

With such a professional operation being run from the farm it falls to the students to drop into line with this.

John Wray, head of agriculture at the college, said: "We start milking here at 4.30am and they will be involved in the lambing too.

"Speaking from an employer's perspective there is quite a lot of potential to go out there and earn a quite a bit of money. Farmers are often looking for people who are prepared to work long hours and a lot of the students are quite prepared to work those long hours because they have been doing it here."

Mrs Philip added: "The recession has meant that more young people are choosing to come into education, for a variety of reasons.

"We get phenomenal support from local farmers and the local industry as well."

Michael Patch, the college's farm manager, added that he was impressed with how keen the college's students were to get involved in the practical work, particularly the early rises.

Students also get involved with the practical elements of the profession, working on tractors and harvesters and being taught from the start how to operate the machinery safely and effectively.

The result is a set of graduates and students who have gone on to work all over the world after they leave the college.

"Our students go all over the world," said Mrs Philip.

"Some go to work in Australia and New Zealand, others end up working just three miles down the road. It is remarkable."

Farming in 2010 obviously presents a great deal of challenges and issues to be faced by those involved. However to see the enthusiasm and vigour with which the student body gets involved in the day-to-day mechanics of farming is deeply encouraging.

As Mrs Philip said: "There is a very good future for young people in it. If we do not make that commitment then who will? The support we give and the way we work gives the student a real idea of what the job is. It is very important to educate people how to feed the nation."