A FARMING apprentice has been crowned the winner of a prestigious national farming competition after being put to the test in a series of bootcamp-style tasks.

Sam Coote, of Spennymoor, took the top title in the 2018 Farmers Apprentice, organised by Farmers Weekly, having made his way from an initial pool of 250 applicants through to an intense final week of tasks.

A graduate of specialist land-based Askham Bryan College, in York, he took home a cash prize of £10,000 to invest in his farming future.

The 22-year-old, who does not come from a farming background, graduated in July with a first in Agricultural Management and was encouraged to take part in the competition by his tutor, Fiona Macdonald.

Catherine Dixon, Askham Bryan College’s chief executive said: “We are absolutely thrilled at Sam’s success which is richly deserved. He is a credit not only to himself, but also to Askham Bryan and clearly has bright future ahead.

“The Farmers Apprentice is a superb way of highlighting the incredible skills and knowledge that young people need to take the industry forward.”

Throughout his diploma and degree studies, Mr Coote gained practical experience working on a Spennymoor-based mixed beef and arable family farm – LR Welsh & Company. He developed his leadership skills as chairman and treasurer of the Durham City Young Farmers Club and is currently working on a sheep and beef farm in New Zealand.