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Know How / Careers and personal development

From getting your first job in agriculture to maintaining your work skills and developing your career, we provide advice and insights. Find out what courses, qualifications and experience can help you get your foot on the ladder and how to make your CV attractive to future employers.

Hear from others working in agriculture to discover the range of different careers and find the one that’s right for you.

Key areas of focus:

  • Guidance on qualifications and careers in agriculture
  • Applying for jobs
  • CV writing and interview tips
  • Job profiles
  • Skills development

Find your perfect career in agriculture on the Farmers Weekly jobs website.

Case studies

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LIVESTOCK

How swapping jobs with dairy farm owner helped a new entrant

An owner and farmworker have swapped places on a dairy farm on the Welsh Borders. The reversal of roles for semi-retired farmer Philip Davies and his former herd manager, Hannah…

ASSESSING PERFORMANCE

How a new entrant got backing to set up in dairy

A simple, once-a-day system, relying on grazed grass and spring-block calving, was the step into dairy farming for new entrant Nick Cavill. The first cups went on in 2018 and…

LIVESTOCK

How time working off-farm can bring new skills home

Born-and-bred livestock farmers can benefit hugely from working off-farm before coming home to continue in the business. Whether it is a job on another farm, within the industry, or outside…

YOUNG FARMERS

How new entrants set up an organic duck egg business

Ditching the city life for the Welsh countryside in 2015, Josh and Abi Heyneke moved to the 4ha Parc Carreg Farm, Carmarthenshire, with the goal of becoming full-time farmers.  But…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Becoming a trainer provides extra income stream for farmers

The squeeze on farm profits has driven the search for alternative incomes. Farmers becoming training instructors is one option that can help provide extra income. A dire safety record for…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

How a council tenancy got a new entrant onto farming ladder

Greenfields Farm may only be 12ha but it has given Aled Harper a foothold in farming and a hunger to grow his business. In the three years since he was…

Practical advice

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LIVESTOCK

How to transform dairy farming passion into financial success

Dairy farm operators who are clear about their goals and what they want to achieve have the number one attribute for success. With this, they will find ways around problems…

LIVESTOCK

Valuable business skills courses for dairy farmers

Many dairy farmers tend not to be driven by profit: satisfaction comes from a herd of fine cows, full clamps or milk in the tank. But being good at milking…

POULTRY

Advice on developing a well-trained poultry team

A team can make or break any business, and a poor poultry team can affect production as well as efficiency. NFU Poultry Board member Will Lea helps deliver staff training…

LIVESTOCK

Advice for livestock farmers on improving management skills

Taking stock at the end of the year and considering what you would like to achieve in 2024 might include a building project or filling some knowledge gaps. But it…

LIVESTOCK

How time working off-farm can bring new skills home

Born-and-bred livestock farmers can benefit hugely from working off-farm before coming home to continue in the business. Whether it is a job on another farm, within the industry, or outside…

COMMUNITY

Is an agricultural degree worth doing?

Over the past three years, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency have shown a gradual climb in the number of students enrolling to study land-based and agricultural degrees. In…

Job profiles

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JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What's it like to work in crop nutrition?

Working for a major fertiliser company can offer plenty of variety, as you are likely to be working with every sector of the farming industry. The role of an area…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What’s it like to be a technical agronomist?

Digital data is changing agriculture, which means it’s changing the nature of jobs in agriculture. One of the country’s biggest farming companies, Beeswax Dyson Farming, has recently created the new…

JOB PROFILES

Farming careers: Tractor driver to assistant farm manager

Simon Little, 35, is the assistant farm manager of the arable enterprise on a 3,000-acre mixed estate in East Sussex. From a non-farming background, Simon took a summer job carting…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: Working for an animal feed producer

The agricultural sector doesn't just offer jobs on the farm, there are many roles all along the supply and input chain. If you don't hold a specific qualification in this…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What’s it like to be a rural planning consultant?

More and more farmers and landowners need to deal with the planning system – whether it’s to expand their agricultural operations or diversify to generate new income streams. Often they…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What's it like to be a renewable energy expert?

Although government subsidies for renewables have fallen, many say the sector is facing a buoyant future. A rural practice surveying career can offer the chance to combine work in this…

Who to work for?

When looking for your next job, you need to make sure you and the company you are applying to are the perfect match for each other.

With this in mind, it’s always a good idea to read the company profile and see if it ticks the boxes on your career ‘wish list’.

Insights

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COMMUNITY

Analysis: How hiring apprentices helps solve labour problem

For years, a large portion of the workforce in dairy, poultry and horticulture has come from abroad. However, since Brexit and with immigration policies tightening, this labour supply is no…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

What are the job prospects in food and farming?

Agriculture and the food supply chain remain major employers in the UK, with 462,000 people working on agricultural holdings in 2023, according to Defra’s June census. But cast the net…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

What does the future hold for agricultural apprenticeships?

Earlier this year, the government-commissioned Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain highlighted the importance of apprenticeships as a means of improving the skills of the agricultural…

Job listings

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