KRAMP AWARD FIRST GRANTS

PICTURED ABOVE: Cameron Merryfield presented by Kramp

Kramp has announced the first people to be awarded their Cultivate a Generation initiative grants - which provide £30,000 annually for essential workshop equipment from the company's range.

Claire Gammin from Devon and Jack Sowerby from Cumbria won the first family support and young farmer grants.

Six students at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) secured funding as part of the special launch grant; these were presented to them by Kaleb Cooper at RAU. They have been set up with a Kramp account with a local Kramp dealer, Carpenter Goodwin, and given £500 credit to spend at Kramp.com.

RAU winners with Kaleb Cooper

Cameron Merryfield received the first agricultural engineer grant. Cameron has worked for the John Deere dealership Mason Kings, which covers the South West, since 2012. He began his career in the John Deere AgTech apprenticeship, and since graduating, he has established his career as a skilled agricultural engineer.

Kramp says acquiring workshop equipment is something many young engineers struggle with when they start as apprentices, and Cameron also experienced this. However, he stresses that there is now more support for apprentices than when he started.

“Acquiring tools is a slow burner. It is something you have to keep ticking away at every month when you can spare the money; it’s what you have to do to get started,” says Cameron. “You might go out on a job early on (in your career) and have to get by with a socket set, a spanner and a hammer.

“I was about five years in before I could say I had everything I needed to keep me going, and by then, you are talking of £15,000 worth of equipment.”

Cameron says he plans to spend his grant on axle stands to help with safer working when he is out at a breakdown. Promoting safety for agricultural engineers is something he feels strongly about.

“There is only so much equipment we can hold in the vans, and an axle stand isn’t always one of them unless you know it is needed. If you go out to a job that requires it and don’t have it, you are still expected to get the job done.

“You can always say no, but there can be pressure from the customer, especially at busy times, to get by without everything you need,” adds Cameron.

This is different to engineers in the construction industry, where it is more culturally accepted for engineers to leave a job and return once they have all the necessary equipment, explains Cameron. He hopes that agriculture gets to a similar point in the future.

Applications for Cultivate a Generation are still open. Anyone who fits into one of the categories can apply through the Cultivate a Generation website. Those who have already entered will remain eligible for a grant until the end of the year.