A modern rap remix of the most famous farming pop song is being used to tempt young people into agricultural education in East Anglia.

The YouTube music video with the immortal chorus of 'I've got a brand new combine harvester' has been produced by Easton and Otley College as a way of highlighting farming as a cool career choice for the next generation.

The lyrics have been re-written from The Wurzels' 1976 hit Combine Harvester – itself a cover version of the song Brand New Key by folk music singer Melanie.

The high-energy new video features professional musical performers, backed by dancers in wellies performing on a straw-strewn dance floor in front of a combine harvester.

The re-written words are full of the virtues of a life outdoors and a challenging high-tech career with earning potential, including the line: 'I used to earn ten thousand, now I earn thirty-three'.

Clare Dyble, director of marketing and enterprise at the college, was one of the writers of the new lyrics. She said: 'When I first took this job, the message was about the ageing population in the farming industry. The workforce was getting older and there was a skills shortage.

'We are trying to attract people into farming and to show them that it is a viable career. It's no longer about an old man on a tractor – these are very complicated machines today.

'A tractor driver is not just a tractor driver any more. You have got to programme the equipment and there is a lot of technical knowledge required to get the yields which will give you a good earning.

'The video has been tweeted by The Wurzels, so we are very pleased with that. The aim of it generally is to get the message out there that food and farming is quite cool.'

The main dancers and performers on screen are professionals Ricky Jinks and Jennifer-Jayne Stone, with the rap vocals provided by Tim Goodacre and Melanie Sharman.

Other performers were from the Knightshift Dance Company, based in Norwich.

Easton and Otley College is holding a series of open days this month to highlight the courses on offer. They will be held on Friday October 10 from 4pm to 7pm, Saturday October 11 from 10am to 2pm, and Monday October 20 from 4pm to 7pm.