A Derby teenager with a passion for farming has told of the battles and hardship faced by those working in the industry.
Jimmy Pott sat down with Heather Wheeler, MP for South Derbyshire, at his family’s Watergo Farm, in Mickleover, to share the plight shared by farmers.
It came after the 14-year-old wrote a presentation for his English class at Murray Park Community School. His dad came across it when using the printer and he was so impressed that the family sent it to Mrs Wheeler and they arranged a visit.
In his presentation, Jimmy referred to ‘a dying business which brings in £11.2 billion a year and uses over 71% of Britain’s land’. He talked about farmers being offered ‘less and less money for their hard-earned produce as the UK slowly starts to become more dependent on other countries such as Morocco and America’.
He shared the struggles of egg farmers as they are turned down or denied when offering their produce to shops or bakeries, the egg crisis and avian influenza as well as the rising cost of living crisis.
Jimmy, who is in Year 9, said that he is hoping for a career in farming or a job around agriculture when he leaves school. He has already set up his own business from the farm, Eggxpress Delivery Derby, where he takes orders and delivers eggs across the area.
His father Edward said: “It’s been really nice and makes me proud as his father to hear. I always think he doesn’t listen to the things I moan about but this shows that he does.”
Mum Laura said: “It was really nice to meet Heather and we appreciate her taking time out of her schedule to meet us. I’m also pleased that the school allowed Jimmy to leave early for the day so he could meet Heather and they were very supportive.”
Mrs Wheeler said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Jimmy and his mum invited me to Watergo Farm.
“It’s so inspiring to hear from the next generation of farmers coming along. We sat and talked about what really matters such as the UK being food secure and I was able to reassure Jimmy about what the UK government would want to achieve.”
Watergo Farm is home to around 12,000 free range hens and chickens.
Craig Lindley, Murray Park Assistant Head of English and Literacy, said: “Students in Year 9 have recently studied the use of rhetoric in their language, developing an understanding of how their language can shape the opportunities they are given and how language has the power to influence others.
“We have given students the chance to write letters to anyone in the UK and also deliver presentations to their classes on global issues; we want our students to be confident communicators and they have really enjoyed the experiences.
“In this instance, Jimmy’s ability to communicate has made his family proud and led to a local MP taking the time to visit their home to discuss an important local, national and even global issue. This is a great example for Jimmy and to all students at Murray Park of how our words carry importance.
“I know that lots of his peers are incredibly pleased for Jimmy too – plenty of them are already big fans of Watergo Farm!”
