Lincoln farm set to dispel farming myths by opening it's doors on Sunday

New research has revealed nearly a third of Gen Z's think you must come from a farming family to become a farmer.

Well, Dyson Farm near Lincoln is hoping to help dispel that and many other myths by opening it's doors to the public this Sunday.

George Mills is a first generation farmer at Dyson:" I don't have a farming family. It's something I was passionate about," he said.

"Joining a company like Dyson has given me a lot of opportunities. We do a lot of work with things like tractors in schools, where we engage with younger children to talk about what we do on farms.

"On Open Farm Sunday people can come along and we can show them some of the equipment, some of the technology we use to help us look after the environment too."

Agriculture plays a key role in combatting climate change, but this new research ahead of Open Farm Sunday also revealed only one in 18 to 24-year-olds are aware of its importance on the matter.

Despite being digitally savvy themselves, Gen Z are the least likely to know British farms use technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), drones, and robotics.

Only 15% were aware AI is already being used in crop management, and fewer than a quarter knew GPS is used to help with planting or that robotic systems were used in dairy farming.

"We've been really into things like cover cropping," said George.

"So growing a crop that's not necessarily for harvest, but for things like soil conditioning, so improving carbon reserves in soils.

"We're also doing things like reduced cultivation. So putting the seed directly in the soil without moving it."

Open Farm Sunday is the farming industry’s annual open day, now in its 19th year. To find out which farms you can visit see here.