18-year-old Champion Bull farmer navigates brain tumour, college to victory

By Cecelia Campbell Livingston

Eighteen-year-old Jessica Farquharson walked away with three trophies at the recently held Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial, and Food Show in Denbigh Clarendon. She copped prizes for Champion Bull other beef breed, Champion Bull other dairy breed, and Champion Female other breed.

Her team also won 11 first places, 3 second places, and 3 third places.

Jessica, a student at the College of Agriculture, Science, and Education in Portland, where she is now pursuing an associate degree in General Agriculture, has been navigating her way through challenges for some time now.

No one would guess the battle she has been fighting by her pleasant demeanour and the fact that she never shirks her responsibilities. Her inner circle, which includes her mother Stephanie Coley-Farquharson and a very supportive network of grandmother, brothers, aunts, and other close relatives, has been offering ceaseless prayers as she battles a brain tumour that she was diagnosed with when she was 14,

Blinded in one eye with a prognosis that the other was going too, her aunt, after watching a programme on Television Jamaica where the guest said he dealt with situations similar to Jessica’s with positive results,  got his details and gave it to her sister who took her to see him.

Today, she is seeing with both eyes but is still battling the tumour. Her aunt, Juliet Horne, who was close to tears, said seeing her niece’s achievement was nothing short of a miracle.

“She still has rough days as we had to convince her to continue taking the medications as whenever she takes them it leaves her disoriented and not herself,” she shared, pointing out that it is hard for her to function, but she has learned to battle the effect and continue doing her school work and her farming.

Jessica, commenting on some of her challenges, said taking care of the cattle and attending classes tops the list.

“The challenge comes in when I’d have to choose between completing my assignments or sleeping or studying and instead going to cattle training; as a result, I would compromise my sleep time or study time to go to cattle training and make sure the cattle are fed and have water. I know that good things happen when sacrifices are made,” she shared with Freedom Come Rain.

Growing up in a family of farmers in Coleyville, Manchester, in a little area called Bilby, she said farming is a way of life for everyone there—raising chickens, goats, cattle, and crop production—so it was only natural that the farming bug would bite her too.

“I’ve grown to see my grandparents, my cousins, and my parents doing agriculture, and I’ve always loved it. In high school, I did agriculture from grade seven straight up to sixth form, and I’ve grown to love it even more,” she gushed about her number one passion.

Encouraging Peers

Jessica, whose whole world revolves around farming, doesn’t miss an opportunity to share and encourage her friends to embrace it too.

“I always say to my peers, Why not agriculture? It is the future after all, because without it there wouldn’t be life.  I have also come to the realisation that all my careers would come out of agriculture. So why be one thing when you can be all things? I just love it, and I am extremely passionate about it. My ultimate goal as a farmer is to take agriculture to the next level and show Jamaica what agriculture is all about, not just wearing water boots and being dirty. I would love to have my own enterprise, both livestock and crop production,” were her excited words.

Her path doesn’t come without naysayers, but she has learned to deal with them.

“I have one or two family members who would say they don’t like what I am doing or they don’t know why I chose to do this, but I know what I love, and I am going to do what I love to prove them wrong because they think that agriculture is this long-time thing where it’s just weeding grass and digging dirt. I, however, will prove to them what agriculture is all about,” were her firm words.

Jessica, who is a past student of Holmwood Technical High, has words of wisdom for other young farmers, and it is to ensure that they really love what they are doing.

“Then go for it, like my lecturer would say, because agriculture must not be a shackle; it must be something you enjoy, and with hard work, dedication, and commitment, you are giving yourself the best chance to succeed.  Never give up,” she advised.

As a young farmer, Jessica observed that life could be better if there was more capital investment in the business.

“The money I would want to use to buy a goat or start up something, I have to put it towards paying my tuition or buying medication as it is very expensive,” she stated.

Why has she chosen cattle, especially being such a small person and taking care of the big animals? For Jessica, it was simply to get over her fear of cattle, as she knew eventually she would have to come into contact with them.

“As a farmer, I can’t be afraid of farm animals, so I knew I had to get over the fear, and being around them, I just fell in love with them and took care of them,” she said.