“I bet you’ve never met a blind farmer!“
That was one of the first things Mike Duxbury said to me when he called to discuss his new charity in Aberdeenshire which hopes to get more people with disabilities working in the agricultural and rural sector.
He was correct, I had not.
Mike has been registered blind since he was six years old, but that never stopped him pursuing his dream job in farming.
“When I went to an agricultural college in the 1980s they made sure that I was not treated differently, and I had to get on with it, and I did,” he said.
“I did a bachelor’s degree in animal science and animal management; I specialised in pigs.”
Now 57, he and his partner Ness Shillito have helped hundreds of people with disabilities and who have additional needs get jobs through their Inclusive Farm in Bedfordshire.
The pair are hoping to replicate that success with a similar site in Scotland and have been gifted a 22-acre farm near Aboyne in Aberdeenshire from northeast charity, The MacRobert Trust.
When we arrived to interview Mike, he was keen to show us his new all-terrain vehicle. He plans to have sensors fitted to the vehicle so he can operate it himself.
For today though, he drove it alongside one of his charity’s trustees.
Mike said: “Our charity is trying to create an environment where people can come and learn and thrive without being judged.
“There are so many disabled people on benefits, and what I want to do is to look at the bigger picture, we have huge problems within Britain with mental health and pressure on the NHS.
“If we can get people here with a chance to learn and experience agriculture, horticulture, various things, it increases people’s self-worth, and willingness to be part of society and helps to fill some of these job gaps we see within the rural sector and keeps people healthier.”
The sister site in Bedfordshire helps trains around 20 people every week, and helps participants work towards different national qualifications.
STV NewsIt has wider gate access to allow easy manoeuvrability for wheelchair users, has no steps, and has installed tactile fencing to help people navigate around the farm, alongside dozens of animals like sheep, pigs and chickens.
In Aberdeenshire, whilst Mike and his team have some of the equipment they’ll need to get started, they’re still short of £90,000 to fully open the centre.
Mike said: “I’m hoping we can find it before the autumn, the need is there, and we have been contacted by so many people who are keen to come and learn.”
Throughout his career Mike has worked in various pig units by himself, before gaining qualifications in animal nutrition, and going to working with feed companies, where he met Aberdeenshire pig farmer Kevin Gilbert.
Kevin is now a trustee of the charity’s Scotland branch.
He said: “When Mike arrived for a site visit on my farm a few years ago, I hadn’t realised he was blind.
“He has changed my perceptions.
“Mike had built his own farm down in England and is helping many people there, which will hopefully now continue here.
“Agriculture is really struggling to recruit people, and this is an untapped market. If we can help train people with disabilities, that gives them a job and helps us to fill gaps within the sector too.”
Mike says farming remains underrepresented when it comes to hiring those with a disability and is determined to change that.
He added: “If I was to talk to employers, I would say ‘don’t dismiss disabled people.’ Find out more and come and talk to people like ourselves.
“We can help people understand, particularly with technology what people can do.
“If you look at agriculture, there’s jobs in food production, on the farm and into sectors like forestry, there’s various areas where people could thrive and contribute.”
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