As someone without agricultural background or training, new Guild member Rachel Jones gratefully credits her “very patient Farmers Weekly colleagues and lots of equally patient farmers”, for helping her get to grips with the farming industry.
She took on the role of deputy Community and Farmlife editor a year ago after a two-year stint in publishing.
“I don’t come from a farming family, I’ve never attended agricultural college, nor do I have any kind of agricultural background, so I’m grateful for all the help I’ve received from colleagues and farmers,” she says.
Working with fellow Guild member and section editor Tim Relf, one of Rachel’s roles is to produce content for the Farmlife section of the magazine and the FWi website, covering countryside issues, rural life, quirky rural stories and interesting diversification projects.
“My other role is to engage with our ever-growing community of online users,” she explains. “This could be via Facebook, Twitter, blogs, our online forums, live web chats, or any emerging social media tools promising to be the next big thing.”
Her favourite assignment to date? Reporting from sub-Saharan Africa on the work of sustainable farming charity Send a Cow.
Rachel adds: “When I’m not in the office or tearing around the countryside with a video camera, you can find me either training for the next big run (currently the Berlin marathon) or in the kitchen baking something shamefully unhealthy!”
