REBECCA WILSON

Get to know… REBECCA WILSON

5TH GENERATION FARMING INFLUENCER AND PODCAST HOST

Interview by BETHAN ANDREWS

Q You’ve got quite the social media following on your podcast about farming, but what did your journey to full-time farmer at 25 look like?

A I’ve been on the farm all my life and I’m the 5th generation here along with my twin sister. My parents were of the opinion that we should have other experiences and earn some money elsewhere before coming back to the farm, so I headed o to Cambridge and studied Human, Social and Political Sciences. People always think you can’t go to Cambridge and then just be a farmer, but I always say you’re not just a farmer, and having that background has really helped. I then decided to do a Masters in Rural Estate Management at the Royal Agricultural University, which helped me to get back to my farming roots and make new connections. I worked in Oxfordshire as a rural surveyor, but I was never going to settle down there – people who leave Yorkshire invariably go back! I came back to Yorkshire three years ago, worked at the farm to help out, before coming back full-time in May 2021. This was earlier than any of us ever planned, but my dad was ill and couldn’t drive for six months over harvest time, so that was that. I thought I’d be well into my 30s before I came back full-time, so it felt like a perfect opportunity. I’m over the moon about it!

Q What makes you proud to be a farmer in Yorkshire?

A As farmers, we feel like we’re just doing our job, but I think there is more of an awareness these days about the importance of food production. I guess I’m proud to be producing something that people need everyday and I can say we produced it in an environmentally sustainable way with animal welfare at the forefront. Plus, farming in Yorkshire is undoubtedly the best place for it! We’re in the Vale of York and we’re so lucky with the positioning of the farm, looking across to the White Horse. The Yorkshire farming community is very, very close knit and everyone knows everyone. I also just love being outside!

REBECCA LOVES YORK

ROBIN HOOD'S BAY

My fi rst job every single morning is to go outside whether it’s raining, sunny, snowing or dark, and I absolutely love that.

Q A lot of your work appeals to young people wanting to get into the industry. Do you think there is a view that farming is dying out in younger generations?

A That’s such an interesting one. A lot of young people are desperate to get into farming, but there aren’t enough jobs or land. My generation are happy to put the hours in on a farm, but they need wage progression and career progression, too. There’s an appetite for young farmers, and there’s a move towards diversity in agriculture with lots of people wanting to break into farming that are from di erent backgrounds. Social media has done the world of good for that, to show that anyone can be a farmer. I think that’s really important.

Q Tell us about your work on social media and your podcast, Boots and Heels…

A When I took the role of ambassador for the National Farmers’ Union, I thought they might want me to use my younger voice to showcase messages and raise awareness. I set up my Instagram, which now has over 32,000 followers, and quickly realised there was an appetite for people to see the realities of farming, both the good and the bad. With Boots and Heels, I’m the boots of the duo, with my co-host Lizzie who I met at my previous job. She’s not from a farming background, but the idea came from Lizzie having lots of questions about the farm from a consumer perspective. Lizzie works in marketing and social media, so we decided to start the podcast. Our fi rst series of 10 episodes featured interviews with people like

“A lot of young people are desperate to get into farming”

Nigel Owens, Tom Pemberton, and Kelvin Fletcher. The reception was amazing, and I guess we just hit a di erent market, and then Farmers Weekly acquired the next series and we did a tour of the UK all with the aim of showcasing British farming. We’re fi nalists in the Women in Agriculture category at The Northern Farming Awards in February, and we're planning for what’s going to happen with it in 2023.

Q Having lived in Yorkshire all your life, what are your favourite places in your local area?

A I absolutely love going walking and fi nding a pub on the way, and one of my favourite places for that is defi nitely The Fauconberg at Coxwold near Thirsk. I’ve mentioned the White Horse as well, and I think it’s just such a beautiful place to go, as well as being really iconic and recognisable. When it comes to towns and cities, I really love Harrogate and York, with one being very luxurious and then York having so much history and character behind it. I love having those two places in a 20 minute proximity.

Q Is there anywhere in the county that you like to go to escape?

A Escaping doesn’t happen very often, but I love Robin Hood’s Bay. I have a little Jack Russell Terrier and when he goes to the beach there, he just absolutely loves it! I don’t mind going in winter, getting wrapped up and fi nding a quiet day over there. You don’t really get other counties with so much countryside, towns and coastlines, and we’re lucky to get it all here.

You can listen to Boots and Heels on Apple Podcasts