A new Rural Exchange programme that matches British farms with foreign students searching for work experience has begun.

Farmers have the opportunity of an extra pair of hands on the farm in the busiest months of the year in exchange for offering a young person accommodation.

Rob Orme, chief executive of Concordia, which set up the scheme, said it operates quite differently to its other programmes.

"It’s likely to appeal to smaller family run farms which are less labour intensive," he said.

"We have a very healthy interest from trainees from Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark who are looking to work on dairy, horticulture, forestry or other types of placements. They want to share work practices and to learn about life in the UK."

Trainees on the programme are typically from an agricultural background and are either still studying agriculture or have recently graduated in their area of specialism.

Many are looking to build on their initial experience of work in their home country in their chosen field.