Young people across Britain are eager to work towards to becoming well-trained, knowledgeable farmers and growers of organic food, but at present there are not enough host farms to meet the demand for training, according to organic charity the Soil Association.

The Soil Association's Future Growers programme – which matches host farms with young growers – has been running across the UK for the last seven years. Since the programme began, 65 organic growers have been trained on partner organic farms.  However, the number of people currently interested in becoming Future Growers is outnumbering the available farms.

The charity announced on Thursday that it has received interest from over 700 young people, meaning demand for places has never been higher.

Even so, at present practical training in organic crop production and horticulture is very limited. Ben Raskin, head of horticulture at the Soil Association said on Thursday, "We have a wealth of horticultural knowledge in this country and we are in danger of losing it unless it is passed down from one generation to the next. The Future Growers scheme enables new growers to work alongside highly skilled experts and learn the craft of growing, as well as what it takes to make a business succeed."

The Association's two year apprenticeship is widely recognised as the gold standard in organic horticulture. Farm-based work is combined with a series of structured seminars and visits to build upon the practical knowledge gained out in the field. The Bristol-based charity has also launched a shorter six month traineeship.

Both the traineeship and the apprenticeship involve:

• Participants being employed as organic growers
• Regular mentoring
• A programme of farm-based seminars run by organic experts
• Farm walks and visits to learn from a variety of approaches and techniques
• Soil Association producer membership

Kate Edwards, a former apprentice at Swillington Organics in 2009 said, "The apprenticeship scheme has given me the skills, knowledge and a network of support to make a successful career in organic farming at an exciting time for the industry."

Host farms joining the scheme must be willing to provide a rich learning environment with dedicated mentoring time, but hosts themselves will find the experience enriching. Nathan Richards at Troed Y Rhiw Farm outlines the benefits, "Having Soil Association Future Grower apprentices here has not only allowed our business to grow but has the benefit of allowing the wider organic grower movement develop and blossom. Hosting and training enthusiastic and fired up young people, and giving them tangible skills that they can take forwards with them into a world that needs sustainable food production, has been the greatest joy."

To find out more about the scheme, visit www.soilassociation.org/futuregrowers or email futuregrowers@soilassociation.org