Opinion: Agriculture degrees – priceless or pointless?

Many years ago, at a local NFU evening meeting in County Durham, a farmer stated that the worst thing to happen for his region was grammar schools.

When I asked why, he pointed out that they took the most able, led them to university, from which they never came back, leaving the region short of its future business and industry leaders.

I’ve never forgotten the point – and the question raised in regard to an agricultural degree is just as relevant.

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As a degree, it is certainly not pointless. In fact, it provides so many avenues of choice, I would argue it is one of the most enabling degrees possible for a future career.

It is a degree I would encourage anyone from a non-farming background to consider if they have a passion for the countryside, food and the environment.

It is a fantastic key to open doors in so many directions.

There is, however, a catch. As with any degree, it comes with a cost that has to be paid back, which puts an element of pressure on future employment.

Practical farming is the least likely avenue to match the incomes that are available to graduates from the various supply chains and manufacturers involved in food and agriculture.

So, having gained a degree, there isn’t the financial room to step back into the practical everyday world of on-farm work; it’s onwards and upwards.

Fast-tracked

You find that real talent is quickly recognised, rewarded and promoted, coming with added management and financial responsibility.

So, while they set off studying agriculture with a passion for farming, a degree has fast-tracked them to a path one step away from direct involvement.

The agriculture and food industry does undoubtedly benefit from agricultural degrees and the intellectual rigour that goes with the studying and experience.

Taking one step back, though, a degree is primarily an intellectual experience, whereas many of the problems we face in farming are practical and technical.

The level of technical requirement, particularly in understanding machinery, genetics and data management, are at a level unimagined 10 years ago.

The bigger question is, are today’s degrees capable of properly embracing the practical and technical requirements that sit side-by-side?

Good husbandry 

My first farm management lecture began with the line, “you’ll all enjoy farm management, but remember, 90% of profit is good husbandry”.

I’ve reflected on it over the years and it still stands true.

For those involved in offering degrees, ensuring a practical understanding of what the industry will need to meet its every day challenges has never been more important.

When I reflect on the more practical path I took, I started off being able to mend, weld, fabricate, and carry out all forms of administration.

Now, though, I find myself surrounded by technology that increasingly excludes me, yet I am fully dependent on, so a degree almost becomes a necessity.

The farming challenge is to ensure that the degree comes at a price that ensures it remains competitive and sustainable in the long term within farming.

We urgently need to focus on changes to business practices and structures, to allow farming to both retain and attract the best degree-educated talent.