Tips to ease the farm staff recruitment challenge

The number of regular employees, salaried managers and casual workers in UK agriculture has fallen by almost 21% since 2020 and last year stood at 157,319, according to Defra’s June Census.

Despite the fall in numbers, the challenge of recruiting to farming jobs grows.

See also: Advice on common farm employment issues

Pay, working hours and conditions, alongside the character of the employer and their approach, determine whether a candidate is attracted or not.

Clear communication about what the job entails and the expectations of both parties is crucial to a successful appointment.

Image and reputation

Farm businesses need to think about how they are viewed by candidates, says Miranda Webster, director of recruitment agency Websters Rural.

“What makes you stand out as an employer? People make quick decisions about the image and reputation of a business – word spreads in a small world such as agriculture, so you need to think about the image of the business and of yourself as an employer.”

Her business recruits mainly in the rural surveying and farm business advice sector but also for farm positions such as sprayer operators and farm managers.

A business can stand out because they are a “good” employer, but Miranda warns that an enterprise can gain notice for the wrong reasons, such as the business owner or manager being awkward to work with.

“Obviously, the character match is crucial to a good working relationship, so that is something to think hard about when interviewing – it’s important not to make someone ‘fit’ because you want them to,” says Miranda.

Although farming is facing difficult circumstances at present, she advises employers to monitor salary levels so they can be sure they are keeping up with what others are paying.

“Salary is generally the first part of the conversation about a position, and it’s easy to get left behind on salary, but the rest of the package is important, too.”   

Involve employees

Involvement in the business and having the chance to make a contribution to decisions can be key motivators for employees.

Robin Meadley, an agricultural business consultant and divisional partner with Brown & Co, highlights the importance of this, especially where it concerns a change in the direction of the business or on decisions about kit that staff are going to be using or operating.

He gives the example of a long-standing farmworker who left because of a switch in tractors to a cheaper brand.

Getting staff off the farm to events and technical demonstrations can help create involvement, motivation and loyalty, he says.

In other circumstances, motivation can come through a worker being able to pursue an enterprise or interest of their own on the employer farm, such as being able to keep their own livestock there, says Robin.

Loyalty and leavers

Mark Robins, a former farm manager on several estates and now a director of Strutt & Parker, says that while it’s a blow when a valued staff member leaves, it should be seen as a positive thing for them and potentially for the business they are leaving.

“It’s difficult not to take it personally,” he says.

“But don’t stand in their way – congratulate them, wish them well and take it as a chance to look at the business and what it needs.

“Farming is changing so quickly that if someone has been in a job for five years or in some cases even two years, there’s a fair chance that job is not quite the same as it was when they joined and you won’t be looking to replace like for like.”

Mark says the typical farm job notice period of one month is nowhere near long enough.

“You can do nothing within a month in terms of recruiting,” he says, suggesting three months should be used as a standard.

“These are business-critical roles – a three-month notice period shows the value associated with the role.

“It also gives time for reflection, recruitment and possibly even some handover.

“People can outgrow their existing role, so is there someone else on the staff who could be developed and trained to fill the vacant post, or a revised role – that could help keep an existing staff member.”

Alternatively, there could be other ways to fill the role, with a restructure or a change of direction such as using a contractor.

The recruitment challenge is such that it is worth thinking more broadly and giving someone who may not have the perfect CV an opportunity.

“Be brave, take a risk and give someone a chance,” says Mark, who was appointed to his first farm manager job after five years as a health and safety inspector, and with no farm management experience.

“It’s good for people to get out and have seen something different – my work as a health and safety inspector, particularly on construction sites, taught me a lot about dealing with people and situations and has stood me in good stead.”

At LKL Services, which provides contract and relief staff as well as recruiting for permanent positions in farm businesses, regional director Ian Lindsay says the recruitment side has become even more challenging since last July, when the government took away the opportunity to bring in farmworkers from abroad through the sponsorship route.

“Farmworkers were downgraded from skilled to medium skilled workers, so that is no longer an option,” says Ian.

The word about opportunities in agriculture and related sectors needs to reach beyond those who already know about it and are in farming and related jobs, he says.

Initial and ongoing training is valued by many employees, while artificial intelligence is helping support existing roles in some cases.

For example, a mobility score tool on a dairy farm is allowing the herdsperson to take action sooner than would otherwise be the case, boosting both cow welfare and staff morale.

“Automation also has a part to play in allowing people more time off and a better shift pattern, especially in the dairy sector,” says Ian.

In terms of casting farming’s recruitment net more widely and reaching beyond the obvious candidates, forces veterans are filling roles successfully on some farms.

“In some ways farming lends itself to this at all levels – former forces members are used to doing a lifestyle job and there is a willingness there.”