Out & About Magazine Autumn 2020

Berkshire Farm Girl Eleanor Gilbert is on a mission – she wants to educate people about farming in the 21st century. In a regular column for Out&About, Eleanor will be taking readers through the farming seasons and the ups and downs of the industry. First we find out a bit more about what drives the 18-year-old from Rookery Farm, Newbury. E leanor Gilbert would be the first to admit that farming is her passion.

She says: “I have lived at Rookery Farm for 10 years now and was introduced to farming by my stepfather Dan, a fifth generation family farmer.” The former Downs School pupil recently completed two years at Sparsholt College, which, she says “allowed me to experience various things on a farm including milking, young stock and pig duties”. She adds: “I undertook many different tasks from oral drenching a cow, dealing with mastitis, PD (pregnancy diagnosing) pigs, bottle feeding calves and scraping out their muck. I thoroughly enjoyed each task and gave 100 per cent to every one.” She took her tractor test at 16 and now spends her day on the family farm driving the huge combine harvesters and baling machines. The young farmer has also played county hockey, representing Berkshire as well as playing for Newbury & Thatcham hockey club. She also enjoys a horse ride with younger sister, and fellow hockey enthusiast, Lucy. Eleanor says: “Farming is not what people imagine and I hope to be able to show how it has become a much more precise operation through satellite imagery, and how technology is helping to feed an ever-growing population.” Eleanor is in her first year at Harper Adams Agricultural University in Staffordshire, studying agriculture and crop management. “I never imagined I would go to university as I struggle with dyslexia and dyscalculia, so school was never easy, but I found college interesting and the practical side was my kind of learning. I am sure my teachers who supported me with my farming interests, Mr Park, Mr Fleming and Mrs Miller-Cook, will be thrilled to hear I am now at uni.” As well as her course, Eleanor will be making regular trips home to work on the farm. Read Eleanor’s autumn journey

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