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Harvest Weather Galore
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The weather has been pretty good over the weekend (cracking wedding too). Congratulations to Eve and Liam - Miss Seaford and I had a jolly old time and from what I remember so did everyone else.
I expect the combines will be rolling today and much of this week. Hopefully most will be able to get finished before the next hit of rain; at least in the South East anyway....how is the rest of the country looking?
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A little bit more about me....
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Yesterday I had my 100th view of the Blog – in less than a week! With that in mind I thought I should tell you more about myself....
I live in a lovely house in East Sussex with my girlfriend who I will call Miss Seaford. It was the wonderful Miss Seaford who suggested the name of this blog – so any potential bloggers looking for a name get in contact.
Miss Seaford and I look after our dog called Doodles and enjoy taking her for walks in the local area. We are both involved with young farmers and I have just taken up sea fishing.
I graduated from Writtle Agricultural College in 2003 with an Agricultural Business Management Degree and loads of good times. The reason I am so involved in this industry is a school farm. I think school farms are great. You learn so many skills and get a fantastic insight into the industry.
Let’s hope there is more support for school farms in the future.
I am off to a wedding this weekend (Good luck Eve & Liam). I am hoping for dry weather both to get harvest finished and for a good wedding!
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Valuers examination is really great
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Yesterday I went over to Salisbury for the Hants, Wilts and Dorset CAAV Tutorial. I have recently started to revise all that is needed to know working toward qualifying as a valuer next year. But CAAV is far more than valuation....yesterday I valued livestock, machinery (deadstock), discussed ELS and SPS, valued a grain store and grain and assessed a building for tenants dilapidations. In the afternoon we looked at diversification, tenancies, land purchases and estate agency.
First – really great day thanks to Robin Edwards and CAAV - Robin has also been a great Fresh Start supporter.
Secondly – I want to recommend the CAAV (www.caav.org.uk) to any consultant and young surveyor as you learn stacks and stacks and build up a really useful network of contacts and peers.
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Can’t Get No (Job) Satisfaction! Unemployment, public spending cuts and job security
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With the news full of job cuts in the public and private sector, spending cuts which will affect us all and those in the public sector especially and news of a record number of young people not getting into degree courses it got me wondering is working in farming all that bad?
A recent survey showed that the industry feels that farming and horticulture is viewed as low pay, low technology, no job opportunities and not progressive. What? It is none of those!!!!
We will always need food! So farming can offer job security. You often get a car and/or accommodation with a farm worker job. Not too many farm workers get sack due to spending cuts. You get to live in a quite rural location (no London commute), work in the fresh air and we have very high levels of job satisfaction. Yes there are some down sides – but far more upsides!
Why else are so many city-types trying to come to the countryside! Our industry is great and we need to tell more people about it.
How can we get schools and career advisors to be more positive about the opportunities our industry can offer?
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Low number of degree places: Land-based Apprenticeships????
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In Kent earlier this year we launched our New Entrants Fresh Start Academy (www.careeringfarming.co.uk) which is designed for school leavers and career changers to get a taste for farming. The course has had huge demand with plans now to set up a 2nd one (thanks to Hadlow College and KCC for the support!). We look at all the basic practical skills involved in all aspects of farming.
Why did we do this? Well - more and more people with no basic skills in agriculture we coming to ask about Fresh Start courses.....so we designed one!
This leads me to my question: why is there such low uptake of land-based apprenticeships? It is a good way to learn about the industry and gain skills. It is a great career! You can earn why you learn! Agricultural workers have a wide range of transferable skills! There are good opportunities to progress to management! What more could we want?
So why are apprenticeships not working? The industry needs to work together, learn and commit about apprenticeships...how can we do it?
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About Me - Welcome to my Blog
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My name is Doug, I am a Rural Business Consultant for Laurence Gould Partnership (www.laurencegould.com) and also the Regional Coordinator for Fresh Start in the South East (www.careerinfarming.co.uk). Fresh Start Academies offer training and opportunities for people looking to start or develop a career in the farming, horticulture or land-based sectors. I provide a wide range of advice on rural business matters to commercial businesses, government organisations and charities. I grew up working on a school farm and last year was Agriculture and Rural Affairs Policy Chairman for the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs.
Check out my Blog for news and info on Fresh Start and to hear what I am up to.