NEW blood is needed in agriculture to keep it vibrant in the 21st century, a major farming conference in Malvern was told. While entry into it should not simply be through inheritance.

DEFRA minister George Eustice, speaking at the annual Three Counties Farming Conference, said that while the industry dates back many centuries, it has an important place in the modern era with many exciting career opportunities.

He told a packed audience that new entrants into the industry must be helped to fulfil their dreams. “When they come into farming people must be helped to achieve their aims, not just through something that is inherited," Mr Eustice added. "The biggest barrier is cost, with land prices having tripled in the last 10 years, probably due to low interest rates and land being seen as a safe haven for money. We have to identify alternative routes into the industry.”

The theme of the conference, hosted by the Three Counties Agricultural Society on the Three Counties showground, was Future. Farming. Finances. Joining Mr Eustice on the panel were NFU deputy president, Minette Batters, CLA president Henry Robinson and HSBC’s head of agriculture, Allan Wilkinson. The chairman was Gloucestershire beef farmer, Paul Westaway.

The audience included a high proportion of young farmers, and agricultural students from the Royal Agricultural University and Hartpury College. There were global themes, the scale of the worldwide economic and population challenges for food production, and the estimate that the worldwide middle class will grow from two billion to five billion by 2030

There was also advice as to how individuals can get their foot on the ladder in the UK industry. Mr Robinson reminded the audience that a quarter of farmers are over 65 years old, so the industry needs new young and dynamic entrants.

Minette Batters, sharing her own experiences of starting out, urged young people to get involved and not be deterred by failures, which in her world are considered a stepping stone to success.

Conference organiser John Wilesmith, said: “The Three Counties Farming Conference continues to go from strength to strength and each year we are attracting more delegates, together with more sponsors with a key mission to be part of the rural community. The Three Counties Agricultural Society is committed to promoting and supporting regional agricultural activity which culminates in the region’s largest agricultural show each June, the Royal Three Counties Show. It is a measure of the prestige of that show that George Eustice started his address by recalling how he used to show South Devon cattle with us."