Farmers Weekly Awards 2021: Ag Student of the Year
Jessica Langton © MAG/Colin Miller Jessica Langton, Langley Mill, Derbyshire
Despite the uncertain future UK agriculture faces, it is comforting to know there are talented, hardworking and passionate young farmers who are ready to be the standard-bearers for the industry’s revolution.
Leading the way is Jess Langton, a farming tour de force who is just starting the final year of her animal science degree at the University of Nottingham, but is already achieving so much.
She is determined to help the dairy sector meet sustainability targets and has shown an impressive understanding of the challenges modern farmers face each day.
See also: Read the latest Awards news
Jess helps run the family dairy farm in Derbyshire, sits on the NFU Dairy board, works for Genus ABS and is now helping the Farming Community Network (FCN) tackle poor mental health in farming.
Her enthusiasm, strong technical knowledge and willingness to take on responsibility mark Jess as a future farm leader, and she is certainly one to watch.
Student notes
- Studying at University of Nottingham
- Course Animal Science
- Study year Third
- Fun fact Jess has recently signed up to Farmer Time, the initiative that links a farmer with a school. Jess uses a video call to tell the children all about her family’s farm and how food is produced
Farming engagement
The young farmer says she wants to be an ambassador for women in agriculture and help anyone who is struggling with the pressures of the industry.
Jess was devastated by the death of her granddad, Russell, just before her 19th birthday. She describes him as a father figure.
“My dad left when I was two, so he filled that role for a long time. It was a big thing for me and it broke me down completely.”
This inspired her work with FCN, where she hopes to eventually deliver mental health support training to young farmers.
“I also recently signed up to be a part of Farmer Time. This will enable me to educate schoolchildren about the agricultural industry through short 10-minute sessions.
“It is important consumers support us and have a positive perception of us,” Jess says.
She has a strong interest in bovine genetics and has been working to change the breeding strategy on the family farm to boost constituents.
She also plays a key role as a plant scientist on a Nottingham project looking at reducing methane emissions by feeding ruminants seaweed. University tutors marvel at Jess’s ability to juggle all her commitments.
Her strong work ethic is fuelled by a desire to continue learning and to plug any gaps in her knowledge. When she started her university course in 2019, Jess was quick to realise she needed to boost her business know-how, in order to complement the genetic and physiology modules on her degree.
She earned a place on the coveted Witty scholarship at the University of Nottingham, which taught her all about leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The RABDF Entrepreneurs in Dairying programme gave Jess training on people management, finance and tax, which has been invaluable in helping her run the family farm, where she took on a huge amount of responsibility after the death of her granddad.
“It was really difficult going from just being the granddaughter that gets up to milk the cows to having to learn all the business side of things. But I was really lucky that First Milk sponsored me to go on the programme.”
Jess has her sights set on a PhD, specialising in bovine genetics or sustainable agriculture. “I have grown so much as an individual through the agricultural industry. It is filled with incredible people and amazing opportunities.”
Winning ways
- Commitment to do something about poor mental health in farming, by joining the Farming Community Network, working on their rural helpline and eventually delivering mental health support training to young farmers
- Exceptional time management to successfully juggle university, farmwork and part-time work for Genus ABS, on top of ambassador work and other commitments to farm groups
- Determination to be ambassador for women in agriculture
A word from our independent judge
“Jess lit up the room with her enthusiasm for British agriculture and left us feeling truly inspired and wanting to hear more. Her involvement in so many charities, enterprises and agricultural boards, and her desire to fill any knowledge and experience gaps through pure hard work and perseverance made her stand out.”
Alex Dunn, farm manager at Sandwell Valley Country Park
The finalists were:
- Chloe Gimson, Horham, Suffolk
- John Halton, Rathmolyon, County Meath
The Farmers Weekly 2021 Ag Student of the Year is sponsored by NSF International
Farmers Weekly’s farming awards celebrates the very best of British agriculture by recognising hard-working and innovative farmers across the UK.
Find out more about the Awards, the categories and sponsorship opportunities on our Awards website.