Budding farmer pockets £10,000 after triumphing at boot camp
George Brown, winner of the farmers boot camp - Credit: Archant
A BUDDING farmer has pocketed £10,000 after triumphing in a gruelling boot camp.
George Brown was crowned the winner of the Farmer’s Apprentice competition, organised by Farmer’s Weekly magazine and held at Reaseheath Agricultural College in Cheshire.
As reported in the Crow in October, George and nine other finalists competed in a week-long boot camp, held before Christmas, which saw them carry out a number of different farming tasks.
Judges selected the 22-year-old, of High Street, Barley, as the winner, describing him as “informed, ballsy and ambitious with a natural leadership style”.
George said: “It was totally out of the blue. The other contestants were all really good. Some were very different to me, but I thought a few of them would walk all over me, so I was amazed to come out on top.
“Winning doesn’t fundamentally change what I want to do, but it brings what I can afford to do forward by about a year.”
George is now spending time in New Zeland, where he is gaining experience working on a farm. He plans to use his prize money to buy 30 heifer calves, and would like to become the manager of a dairy farm when he returns to the UK.
Most Read
- 1 Former company boss fined after illegal waste dumped at quarry
- 2 Bank of England warns people have 100 days to use old £20 and £50 notes
- 3 Teen attacked couple with glasses at Royston pub
- 4 Artists open up in record numbers for Cambridge Open Studios 2022
- 5 Pictures of Duxford Summer Air Show 2022 at IWM Duxford
- 6 Wanted burglar caught in Grafton Centre with 'hoard of stolen goods'
- 7 Stansted Airport and Cambridge trains disrupted after tree falls on tracks
- 8 IN PICTURES: Wills and Kate visit Cambridgeshire's first County Day
- 9 A505 long delays between Royston and M11 motorway at Duxford
- 10 Bringing sunshine to our NHS - charity launches match funding to double money
The University of Cambridge graduate is in no doubt he has made the right career choice, despite seeing many of his friends land potentially lucrative jobs in finance.
He said: “There is no way that going off to work in the City is a better choice of career than agriculture.
“I think the quality of life working in the countryside is great and there are heaps of opportunities to run your own business, be your own boss and earn a good salary.”
