The UK agricultural engineering industry needs to continue finding ways to retain and attract young talent, not just from within but also from outside the industry.

Speaking at the annual conference of AEA, the organisation for machinery manufacturers and importers, newly elected president Adrian Winnett said that from the outside, agriculture is often thought of as being another world, of being insular and open only to those already in it with personal experience of farming or at least of rural life.

He said: “It is a terrible shame that beyond our own circle neither of the words ‘agriculture’ and ‘engineering’ resonate in terms of a career choice with the majority of young people.

“Yet we all know what challenging, fulfilling and rewarding opportunities there are in agriculture generally and in the agricultural and groundscare machinery sectors in particular.

“We must do our bit to help change those perceptions if we are to capitalise on the wealth of talent that, at present, is attracted to other industries and commercial sectors.”