As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, as a 16-year-old the information available to me was very limited. Now, however, there are more organisations, events and people out there keen to support and nurture new entrants to the field. Here’s a look at just five of those: 

1. Open Farm Sunday
   
   Managed by LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) and taking place this weekend, this annual event has grown since it began in 2006. Now over 1,600 farmers across the UK have opened their gates to over 2.7 million people. The celebration is a great way to understand local farming businesses, to hear from farmers about the food they produce and often there are opportunities to speak to other organisations about environmental protection and restoration, forestry and technology.
   
   The 2024 event will take place on 9 June. Visit https://farmsunday.org/ to find your nearest open farm. 
2. County Shows
   
   May to July is a fantastic time in the calendar for county shows – an excellent platform for agriculture. You’ll often find a variety of trade marquees, providing refreshments and shade (or cover if the weather turns). And although it may appear daunting, I would urge visitors to wander in and listen to the many talks on offer.
   
   At 3.30pm on 9 July I will be on the CLA stand at the Great Yorkshire Show contributing to a session on what a productive, profitable and sustainable farming future looks like. Come and join the discussion. 
3. Talking to others e.g. Nuffield scholars
   
   Nuffield scholars are an excellent source of information across a broad spectrum of topics touching the agriculture sector.
   
   2024 scholar Dan Smith’s study is titled “Generation Regeneration. We need you”. Dan believes now is the time to cultivate new interest in the industry and he will look to reel in global experiences to explore the opportunities to empower farmers, educators and land managers to a brighter future.
   
   For our own Rural Research team meetings, I have tapped into this network and regularly ask scholars to present their findings to the team. I believe we can all learn from them. Our recent presentation was from Chris Manley who highlighted the often lack of leadership in the agricultural sector, and discussed how we can empower individuals to recognise that each one of us can be a leader.
   
   You can access more information here.
4. Mentoring
   
   At a recent WiFF (Women in Food and Farming) event, attendees heard from Helen Wyman, founder of Cultivate Success, and Flourish in Food mentor Claire Martino. Both these programmes provide mentoring opportunities and both programmes embrace the concept of surrounding yourself with good, supportive people that are your allies and hold you up not keep you down.
   
   Whilst formal in name, a mentor can be an informal relationship with no set times or targets but the ability to air thoughts, ideas, opinions and ask questions in a safe space without prejudice or judgment. Without a doubt, the mentoring process has helped me to continue to build my confidence.
   
   How do you find a mentor, who should be a mentor – why not use one of the programmes to make a start? Or, ask internally in your organisations if mentoring programmes are provided.
5. Outreach and training
   
   Take advantage of careers advice from those already in the industry, wherever you find it.
   
   As a firm, we work with schools, mainstream colleges and universities (as well as agricultural universities) and armed forces resettlement schemes, for example, to raise awareness of the vast range of training and opportunities within the sector. We also offer apprenticeship and graduate trainee schemes.

We know that the agricultural sector is going through the biggest transition many of us have and will witness and we know from Einstein that “you can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it”. Embrace change and the people who can support you.

Further information

Contact Kelly Hewson-Fisher