Agriculture and farming jobs in the UK have become more prominent in the past few years, especially since there will be more job openings in the wake of Brexit. Despite the abundance of job opportunities, people are often unaware of the diversity this field offers.
Fresh graduates or students considering a career in farming will need to see the benefits and diversity farming has to offer. Therefore, this blog will discuss job opportunities in agriculture and give you a brief guide for applying for them.
Why Choose a Career in Farming
Before moving to explore the diverse jobs in farming in the UK, let's first look at why choosing a career in the agricultural field is beneficial for you.
1. It is an Essential Job Category
The pandemic has been horrible for all of us, but its single benefit has been differentiating between essential and non-essential jobs. Since farming is at the base of ensuring adequate food supply, it is considered a vital job category. The pandemic did not really affect the sector - people need to eat after all!
This categorization shows that farming jobs will always be in demand, and you will never have to worry about an emergency affecting their status for too long.
2. Diverse Applications
The best part about farming, and all agricultural jobs, are the diverse applications. Just because you studied farming doesn’t mean you can only be a farmer. Depending on your interests, you can enter farming related management, consultancy, etc.
All these categories still include farming knowledge and expand into another area, increasing learning and growth potential. Once you have the knowledge in the sector, your skills can be transferable.
3. Global Demand
Farming is a part of every country because they need to create their food supply system to remain functional. Therefore, farming jobs are available in each country, and you can safely relocate elsewhere, knowing there will be a market for your knowledge and expertise.
4. Technology Integrated Future
Technology is becoming more integrated with farming jobs and whilst we may not see increased usage of crop picking robots yet, you will see the industry becoming more futuristic and embracing more agricultural technology. If you like technology applications and studying them in diverse fields, this phenomenon will be perfect for you.
Farming Jobs in the UK
There are several farming jobs in the UK that you can consider based on your preferences, skills and expertise.
1. Farm Administration
Farm administration primarily involves clerical and administrative roles on a farm. You will be the primary bookkeeper and manage all invoices. Your role will also include managing ordering supplies on the farm, often including receiving materials like fertilisers etc.
2. Farm Consultancy
Farm consultancy opens up as an option after you have been in the industry and have enough experience and expertise for advisory. You will understand the overall management of a farm and issues that are important to farmers. The role will allow you to use your knowledge to help other farmers improve their finances, productivity, growth and development.
An Agricultural Consultant will also use data analysis to offer strategic and technical advisory that takes current and future industry movements into account. All in all, it is an exciting job to take up, as you will be at the forefront of new agricultural developments.
3. Farm Management
Farm management is extensive because of the number of responsibilities a farm manager has, as well as the different types of farms that you can manage. You will need to be on top of budget control, needs analysis, supply and demand management, etc. You will also be the main point of coordination between several farming locations and responsible for raw material distribution and harvest collection from each farmland.
You will essentially be responsible for ensuring that the farm operations run smoothly at all times and may even have other staff workers to manage.
4. Farm Marketing and Sales
Farm marketing and sales are often covered within farm management, but they are increasingly becoming a separate division due to the work involved. This area within farming covers all the marketing communication, new customer acquisition and customer account management.
People in farm marketing are the client facing side of farming and work on improving client experience and retention.
Farm sales jobs predominantly cover the selling process itself. Farm sales people can sell anything from machinery, to animal feed and more. Within sales, there is the chance for the employee to specialise in a particular area, gain product knowledge, whilst having a higher earning potential, as often sales jobs will include commission and/or bonuses.
5. Farm Technicians
Farm technicians are responsible for accurate time testing and research to ensure there are no signs of disease. Your job will be split between sample collection on the farm from crops and livestock and conducting research on them in the laboratory.
This role requires specialised knowledge in the field, so you will need to obtain the relevant certification and qualifications if you are interested in pursuing a career in this area.
6. Farm Trading
Farm trading involves buying and selling crops, seeds and/or grains based on market trends. Like all traders, farm traders leverage their ability to analyze and forecast demand changes, predict the demand curves for crops and farming materials, and buy and sell accordingly.
While it is closer to finance, the job requires the person to have farming knowledge to understand the market successfully.
7. Estate Manager
Estate managers do not work on farms. They work for landowners who need someone to manage their vast estates, keeping the land healthy and presentable at all times. The nature of job requirements differs from client to client as people have different preferences.
Some prefer to convert their estate into a garden, whilst others prefer to keep things simple. Your workload will depend on which type of client you get and the estate itself.
8. Agronomy
Agronomy specialists are scientists who study soil control and crop management. They use their scientific knowledge to determine ways to maximize productivity without compromising soil health and increasing the nutrition in each crop.
They also examine lands for diseases or pests and determine the best ways to keep the land healthy. They are then able to make product recommendations based on their findings.
How Agricultural Recruitment Specialists Can Help
Agricultural Recruitment Specialists is a recruitment agency dedicated to recruiting candidates in the agricultural, food and farming field. Since this industry is broad, employers have diverse skill requirements for the jobs they offer. Similarly, candidates also have different expectations from their employers and finding the right fit is critical.
With our agricultural backgrounds and recruitment expertise, we are the first point of contact for both candidates and clients.
If you are looking for agriculture or farming jobs in the UK, visit our website www.agriRS.co.uk . You can also contact us if you have any queries about our services and our team will answer them as soon as possible.
We look forward to working together.
