Researcher will highlight womens’ role in farming during cycling challenge
12th April 2025
A researcher from the University of Exeter will cycle hundreds of miles across England to interview women working in agriculture, highlighting their role in farming and talking about their visions for the future.
PhD student Veronica White set off from Land’s End today, 12th April, and is on a route of over 1,200 miles. She will end the challenge at the Scottish border in July.
The future of farming is often visualised in high-tech terms – but Veronica’s tour will investigate how women living or working on England’s farms imagine what the future of food production could look like.
Explaining her reasons for her “PhD by bike”, she said: “I was born in the US, but I grew up in the Netherlands, where my family travelled by bike or public transport.
“I don’t drive, so cycling is still my main mode of transport – and of course it’s also a low-carbon, sustainable way to travel, which is important to me.
“By cycling, I will see and experience the farming landscapes I ride through – I will feel the hills in my legs, and experience the seasons as they shift.”
Highlighting the role of women
Veronica added: “Women in the UK cycle a lot less than men, and farming is male-dominated – so I aim to highlight the role of women in both these areas.”
The researcher will stop at various points along her journey to spend several days meeting people in farming communities.
Reflecting on the challenge of bike touring and camping, she said: “I know that this cycle tour is not going to be easy. It will, most likely, be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
“But isn’t that what they say about doing a PhD, too? Nobody starts a PhD thinking it’s going to be easy – so why not throw a 1,200-mile cycle ride into the mix?!”
To find out more, see the Farming Futures Cycle Tour webpage. For updates from the trip, see Veronica’s Instagram.
She has also launched a JustGiving page to raise money for the Farming Community Network.
Read more rural news.
