THE efforts of the agricultural students at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland, have been recognised by one of the biggest farm machinery manufacturers in the world — John Deere.

As part of their course, the Level 3 students all needed to operate a mower and forage harvester. The best ten silage operators were then chosen and presented with a host of goodies from John Deere, which were donated by the company.

Student Hannah White said: ‘It has been a great experience. We have all learned a lot and had a great time doing it. I think it has brought the group closer together as team work is really important when silaging and operating big machinery. I was really pleased to have been chosen as one of the award winners.’

The staff had difficult decisions to make in deciding who had won the prizes as all the students had impressed them with their efforts. The winners were presented with their prizes at a short ceremony held at the Duchy College farm.

Agriculture machinery instructor at Duchy College Tom Gill said: ‘The students have great fun with this competition and they all demonstrated a determination to be the best.

‘They’ve all said that they’ve enjoyed the experience and find that team work is essential in order to make the job run smoothly and efficiently.’