At just 22 years old, Will Grovestock is already NFU North Hertfordshire Vice-chair and is preparing to launch his own business.
Will is also Hertfordshire YFC (Young Farmers’ Club) Vice-chair, Chair of the senior branch of St Albans Young Farmers and a Hertfordshire County Show senior steward.
He was awarded the Syndney Fawcett Trophy at the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs Annual Meeting in April.
This was in recognition of his speech supporting proposals to increase YFC membership fees, where he spoke passionately about the value of the organisation and the need for it to have a sustainable future.
‘I love being a farmer’
The first-generation farmer who grew up in Kimpton, near St Albans, said: “I love being a farmer.
“Farming must be one of the hardest jobs out there. You don’t know what challenges you will face each day, but I like to be on my toes, ready to react to whatever is thrown at me.
“The responsibilities I’ve been given as a farmer have helped me to grow, become more confident and to become a better person.
“The team spirit and the camaraderie with your colleagues is the best thing about farming. It’s like having a second family at work.”
Encouraging young people
With the average age of a farmer in the UK at 60, Will is supporting the NFU’s work to encourage more young people into farming and give the industry a sustainable future.
A joint industry report published in autumn 2021 estimated there were 500,000 vacancies across the food and farming industry.
Labour availability is a significant barrier for many businesses across the sector and is restricting the opportunities for growth and often resulting in the contraction of food production.
Will said: “At school everyone talked about going into banking and things like that, so I never spoke about farming.
“I fell into farming through my horse riding – taking part in events and making farming connections.”
Will went to Hartpury College at 16, where his love of farming grew, then The Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester.
Many different roles in agriculture
Will has worked on an arable and sheep farm near Hatfield and is now a self-employed contract farmer.
He plans to work a harvest season in Australia from September before returning to Hertfordshire to launch his own business working with water systems and drainage to play a role in delivering much-needed water security for farms in the area, alongside continuing his contract farming work.
Will said: “There are so many different roles in agriculture that people don’t know about. Farming isn’t just about sitting in a tractor.”
He was inspired by his former boss Jamie Burrows to get involved with the NFU.
NFU Combinable Crops Board Chair Jamie Burrows
Excited about the future
Jamie Burrows, who farms near St Albans, is the national NFU Combinable Crops Board Chair.
Will said: “Jamie has been really supportive, and I’ve been able to act as a link between the NFU and young people here.
“We’ve been able to get a lot more young people at NFU and Young Farmer meetings. They always come away saying they got a lot out of it and want to get more involved.
“I don’t know exactly what the future looks like for me or where I’ll be in five or 10 years from now, but it’s a future I’m really excited about.”
Jamie said: “Will is a great lad who works hard at everything he does.
“Winning the Sydney Fawcett Trophy was well deserved. He speaks very eloquently on agriculture and YFC, be it in front of members, in Westminster in front of MPs or indeed at the NFU Conference.
“His story shows that you don’t need to be from a farming background to get on in the industry.
“There are other young people like Will doing great work. These are the people who will take farming forward and give the industry a positive future.”