The Under 40s Fruit Growers’ Conference sets out to get together young, like-minded individuals in the industry that are passionate about fresh produce and last week’s jam-packed conference schedule in France made for a whirlwind crash course in how to get ahead as part of the next generation of the industry.
“We put the conference scheme together in Angers because the topography is very similar to the UK,” says James Shillitoe, fruit adviser at farm advisory service FAST, one of this year’s organisers of the biennial conference tour. “You get to see how growers do things differently and have a chance to explore how different growing systems work. But most importantly, this is where the personal connections are made; where people become friends and forge long-term, sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships that have the potential to see them through their careers.”
In its 42 years, the Under 40s Fruit Growers’ Conference may never have been so apt and effective. The very concept of throwing 30-plus people who don’t know each other - some even experiencing their first business situation away from the security of more experienced colleagues - onto a coach and sending them off to another country sounds daunting, but seems to do the job. Bonds are made, arrangements to work together on various projects are set and ideas are exchanged. However, the one issue that the majority of the delegates stood strong on was that change lies ahead and they are the ones who are going to have to step up and face it.
In at the deep end
With many of the top dogs in the industry now well into their 50s and sailing towards retirement, there is a general sense of trepidation in the air around the 20- and 30-somethings at the conference tour. That’s not to say that the confidence, intelligence and skill set is not there, but there’s a feeling that a safety net is about to be taken away.
ADAS’s Harriet Roberts, who now describes her once “side track” from environmental science to horticulture as “the right path”, feels this uneasiness as a younger person in horticulture. “There is a wealth of experience at ADAS to learn from, to the extent of it not being unusual for many of my colleagues to have 30 years-plus knowledge of a subject and in the next five to 10 years, people at the top of our game will retire,” she says. “There are fewer people in the inbetween ages; I am one of the youngest in our company by a long shot. We are going to lose that reassuring presence of experience. There are still going to be some great people in the industry, of course, but there will be a shift.”
The gap in the work market is obvious, but times are changing, says Peter Bevan, regional technical agronomist at Bayer CropScience. “There is a shortage and companies like Bayer are slowly trying to buck the trend,” he explains. “In hindsight, the industry as a whole should have addressed the problem five years ago, because in that amount of time maybe up to half of the industry will be retiring and taking all that knowledge and experience with them. This is going to cause the industry to be in a state as the only place to get replacements will be within other companies and the job market is going to be flooded with opportunities and not enough people to take them.
“There are some good, qualified younger people in the industry, but there are not enough. This imbalance needs to be addressed, as the older generation is potentially leaving a really young, inexperienced industry to face work that is more crucial than ever.”
On the other hand, some feel that attitudes towards young people in the industry in general could improve. Jasper Hubert, consultant for Koppert Biological Systems, is all too aware that young people are in the minority in the fresh produce industry and says that sometimes it is a struggle to be taken seriously. “My company is fantastically supportive of me and my colleagues couldn’t do any more to make me feel welcome and part of the team, but you do have to go out of your way to prove yourself to people, which I guess is beneficial in itself. You have to be very careful about the advice you give because trust is everything, but the thing people have to remember is that we are still learning and people do learn by their mistakes. I double check and triple check and sometimes you can still not get it quite right, but you have to learn somehow.”
School’s out
A somewhat obvious solution to a lack of young people in the industry is through education. This is especially true when it comes to farming communities, where the next generation is being lured away to other professions, leaving no one to pass the gauntlet to. Unfortunately, this particular career path was not flagged up in schools 10-15 years ago, due to a belief that farming is something that is passed on, rather than broken into.
There is one shining light in the form of The Co-operative Farms, which is launching a national agricultural apprenticeship scheme on six farms across England and Scotland. The scheme is aimed at 17-19 year olds and has been designed to help The Co-operative Farms find and train the farming talent of the future. Once on the scheme, students will get the chance to complete an agricultural NVQ up to level three, which they will be given two to three years to complete depending on their level of previous experience. Reaseheath College, in Cheshire, will be the training provider for the scheme. The students will learn about key areas of the business from cereal and root crops to vegetable and fruit growing. Each apprentice will receive a bespoke teaching package that has been drawn up to suit the farm they are working on, its crops and specific business needs.
Other institutions are also putting some effort into the horticultural cause. Roberts has been invited back to Nottingham University, where she read Environmental Science, to give a talk on plant science on behalf of ADAS. She considers this ironic, as she herself completed modules in the subject as part of her degree, but hadn’t considered going into the industry. “I didn’t really think about it all,” she admits. “And you talk to your peers out of the industry about horticulture and they have no idea what goes on it in and how exciting it is. We all just go to the supermarket and don’t think about where our food is coming from.”
Lucy Mason, a graduate trainee manager at The Co-operative Farms, believes this is changing and with her rural upbringing, has always been an advocate of the food and farming industry. “People do care about where their food is coming from more and more,” she says, making the point that she chose the company she’s working for very carefully and mainly for its sound ethics and trading practises. She believes that the education system is promoting the industry, but admits that she was very much born into the farming world, with her family still running the farm she grew up on. “There is definitely a shortage of people coming through, but there are good people out there,” she continues. “It’s hard work and long hours, and I think that can be off putting if it’s not everything you want in a career. It is really hard to get farm managers at the moment, as there was a gap where young people were not being pushed through the system. The Co-operative Farms is moving towards correcting this.”
But the fresh produce industry can be a hard one to penetrate when you don’t have a farming background, says Alex Radu, fruit agronomist at Agrovista. “With both my parents being teachers, I had no horticultural background and followed my passion,” he says. “I’m just at the beginning and I have a lot to learn, but this industry isn’t that open to outsiders and for various reasons it doesn’t seem to be that attractive to young people. But like all things in this world, it is up to the individual and taking on the challenge.”
Ready to go
Industry-organised conferences and study tours seem an effective way of getting people together in more informal surroundings; both building the confidence of individuals and keeping them abreast of production issues, techniques and modes of thought.
Roberts feels that her perspective has been changed after the trip and considers the contacts that she has made will be influential going forward. “You realise that there are lots more young people in the industry that are very knowledgeable and informed,” she says. “There’s so much energy and enthusiasm and it’s been great to meet them. It has been really valuable to meet with people within the industry independently of any colleagues and hold my own. I ask questions without feeling like I’m taking up too much time; I usually go on visits with a more experienced adviser so it’s difficult to know when you should be vocal. It’s nice to have the time to walk around a farm and find out more, then take it all in to use in my job. Everyone seems to know each other so well in this industry as well and you can sometimes feel a little baffled by it, but trips like this is how it happens.”
Just being part of the Under 40s Fruit Growers’ Conference, it is clear that if there was ever any doubt that the fresh produce industry is an exciting, dynamic place to be, the next generation in place have their wits about them and the passion to drive the industry forward. But further promotion of the industry to school leavers and graduates remains vital, regarding both future workers and consumers. “People don’t realise all the implications and effects of their food choices on the fresh produce industry,” says Radu. “It is disappointing that the children of farmers do not want to continue in the family business and that it’s not seen as an attractive sector to go into. We need to change that.”
Nevertheless, the conference tour ended with a sense of solidarity and the reassurance that important connections had been made. As Roberts says: “The prospect of an experienced older generation leaving the industry is still daunting and there’s a lot to learn, but connections within the industry are everything. We have to help each other to be the best we can.”
ALEX RADU
Fruit agronomist, Agrovista
Age: 30
Background: Graduated with a BSc in Horticulture and an MSc in Horticulture at Reading University; completed an MSc in Propagation in Romania; joined Agrovista two years ago in a trainee agronomist role.
Additional notes: Radu gained his BASIS and FACTS accreditations with Agrovista and is now a fully qualified fruit agronomist. He will be part of the Under 40s organising committee for the next conference in two years’ time. He says: “I see myself eventually specialising in top fruit and soft fruit, building relationships with customers and increasing my experience as a fruit agronomist. Experience in food is also a great advantage in this industry; if you’re not passionate about eating it and keeping a full fridge, how can you expect others to be? Passion is vital; you won’t be doing this to make easy money.”
Look him up at: uk.linkedin.com/in/alexradu81
LAIMA ANGANAVICUITE
Research assistant, East Malling Research
Age: 27
Background: Biology graduate; previously a laboratory technician for Geotechnical Engineering Ltd; joined EMR in October 2008 and has seen it change from a government-funded institution to a private company.
Additional notes: Anganavicuite has spent a lot of time on EMR’s raspberry breeding programme under the guidance of Feli Fernandez and believes that more funding should go into varietal development. She says: “There has always been a lack of young people in research, but there isn’t enough money to fund those places. I don’t think there is a lack of interest. I really enjoy being part of the supply chain and had no idea of the hard work that goes into it. We should shout about it.”
HARRIET ROBERTS
Trainee fruit agronomist and production systems consultant, ADAS
Age: 23
Background: Graduated with a degree in Environmental Science at Nottingham University; took first job with ADAS in 2009 as scientific officer; joined ADAS’s two-year graduate scheme in horticulture last year.
Additional notes: Roberts is part of the second year intake of ADAS’s graduate scheme, which concentrates on soil, crops and water use. She was been one of 15 graduates that were employed at the provider of environmental solutions, rural development services and policy advice that year. On her move from scientific officer to agronomist, she says: “Horticulture is more applied, and ultimately rewarding. With the Foresight Report citing that we will have to produce food for nine billion people by 2030, it’s more important than ever. During my degree, the given was that the farmers were the bad guys, destroying the world. That perception needs to change if we are going to win this battle.”
LUCY MASON
Graduate trainee manager, The Co-operative Farms
Age: 29
Background: Grew up on an organic livestock and vegetable farm in Herefordshire; graduated from Harper Adams University College, having studied rural enterprise and land management; worked for cherry grower Lower Hope Farms in Herefordshire; joined the first intake of the fresh produce graduate scheme at The Co-operative Farms in 2009.
Additional notes: Mason was named the Rising Star of the Year at The Co-operative’s internal Good With Food Awards in November and is the only woman enrolled on The Co-operative Farms’ fresh produce graduate scheme. She says: “I have always had a great deal of respect for The Co-op. I admire the company’s ethics and like the fact its members run it. It is conscious of the lack of young people in the industry and is actually doing something about it; hence initiatives like the graduate scheme. It has been my dream to work in farming. It’s a great place to be.”
PETER BEVAN
Regional technical agronomist, Bayer CropScience
Age: 28
Background: Grew up on sheep farm in South Wales; graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in Genetics; first job taken with soft-fruit grower Berry Gardens in 2005; moved to Bayer CropScience in 2008.
Additional notes: Bevan originally wanted to follow in his family’s footsteps by going into livestock but at the time of graduating recruitment was slow in that industry due to the BSE outbreak aftermath and he decided to take an opportunity at Berry Gardens with the intention of going back to livestock eventually. Six years later, Bevan realised he was in the right industry for him and took a job with Bayer as an agronomist in Kent in 2009.
Look him up at: uk.linkedin.com/pub/peter-bevan/2b/aaa/a09
JASPER HUBERT
Consultant in biological control and IPM, Koppert Biological Systems
Age: 28
Background: Graduated from Newcastle University with a BSc in Wildlife Biology; completed MSc in Entomology (insects) at London’s Imperial College; worked in healthcare in Germany; studied monkey life in Thailand; employed by Koppert just over a year ago.
Additional notes: Hubert looked around before he set his sights on a career in biological control and after working with people with mental health problems and taking part in several conservation projects, he decided to go back to education to study his main passion: insects. He says: “Insects are very important to everyday life and people don’t realise that. They are extremely beneficial to the horticultural industry and, although I am new to Koppert, its team has been very supportive and nurturing.”
KAREN FISHER
Chavereys Chartered Accountants
Age: 29
Background: Studied accountancy at London’s Imperial College; started work for Chavereys, which specialises in working with horticultural clients, in 2003.
Additional notes: Fisher came to the Under 40s Fruit Growers’ Conference with a colleague to improve her knowledge of the horticultural industry and as a result has decided to take on more horticultural clients in the future. She says: “This has been so useful. I have managed to get an insight into the industry from my client’s point of view. People are so passionate about what they do; it’s very inspiring and it makes you want to be part of it.”
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