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After being told there was no hope of him entering the industry, Stephen Evans defied all odds and worked hard to secure his place in the farming sector. Now, he is completely hooked.

From a non-farming background in Northern Ireland, Stephen spent much of his weekends as a child on a friend’s farm and went on to work for a local dairy farmer.

Firmly set on pursuing his passion, he was determined to attend Harper Adams University, and secured a place there to study Agriculture.

Stephen had always set his sights on working with cattle, but a placement gained through Harper Adams led him to work in the pig sector, and this changed the course of his journey.

He has since dedicated a lot of his time to promoting agriculture to those outside the industry, using his own story as an example of the opportunities farming can offer.

Outside of academic life, Stephen attends the Young Farmers Club in Ulster and enjoys livestock judging. He also a keen public speaker. After finishing his studies, Stephen accepted a role with For Farmers UK as a young animal feeds specialist. This position will allow him to provide commercial and technical support to pig producers all over the UK. It will also give him the opportunity to travel across Europe and work alongside colleagues to maximise performance of UK pig production in a sustainable and efficient way.

Although he is confident about the future of the industry, he has spoken about some of the issues the sector faces, including labour and the price versus production balance which is topical within the pig sector. In terms of labour, Stephen hopes he can play a part in encouraging young people to take farming seriously and identify it as a fulfilling job option.