ON Will Sargent (97-04) appeared in a recent Farming Today episode, talking to Anna Hill about how he swapped his journalism career for life as a farmer.

One of three brothers, Will grew up on a Norfolk family-run farm. After leaving Norwich School in 2004, he went on to University at Bristol before moving to London to follow a career in journalism, working with The Times and then Sky News.

However, a few years ago, Will decided to return to the farm and swap television cameras for combine harvesters. Alongside his uncle, Will now helps run 2000 acres of farmland, which includes crops, grazing pasture and 49,000 ducks.

In the episode, Will describes how a catalyst for him returning to Norfolk was his father’s diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease, which made him realise how important it was for him to return to the farm. He also discusses the challenges of running a large farm and the importance of succession.

You can listen to the episode in full here.