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Careers, community and opportunity: why farming is still the best career in the world

From career progression to community spirit and real-world impact, FG’s Tom Ryder explains why there are still plenty of reasons to be positive about farming

clock • 3 min read
Careers, community and opportunity: why farming is still the best career in the world

We know farming news can feel like one blow after another. That is the reality of the industry we work in.

This week alone, we have reported on another devastating farm fatality, more cases of livestock worrying, and Muller serving notice to dairy farmers.

It is not always easy reading.

So, let me take the opportunity to highlight some of the shining lights in our sector.

READ NOW:ÌýFrom farm worker to equity partner: One dairy farmer's route up the farming ladder

Progression is still possible in farming

Take Neil Simcock's journey. From general farm worker to equity partner within a contract farming system, it is a story that deserves recognition.

Joining Dale Farming aged 27, he worked his way up to herd manager before securing a share in the business in 2022 alongside his partner, Laura Smith.

Now managing a 460-cow block-calving herd, he plays a key role in running a modern, efficient dairy business.

It means he now earns both a salary and a return on his investment, showing there are real routes into farm ownership without inheriting a farm.

This is what can be achieved in agriculture through some real ambition and graft.

It should serve as inspiration for any young person thinking about turning up at the end of a farm lonning and asking for a start.

There is real progression in this sector.

Farming's impact beyond the farm gate

For all the negativity in the sector, you can always find something genuinely inspirational too.

And there are few better examples than the story behind our latest Crop It Like It's Hot podcast.

Our head of arable, Ash Ellwood, visited a food redistribution site in Merseyside, where charities such as FareShare and The Felix Project are preventing food waste while supporting communities across the country.

Thousands of tonnes of food never leave farms in the UK, often due to cosmetic specifications or market pressures. For example, potatoes which are too big to fit in supermarket packaging.

Projects like these are helping to redirect that surplus, supplying nearly 8,000 charities and reaching around 1.5 million people every week.

It is a forward-thinking solution to a very real challenge farmers face. And what better reminder is there of the value of what farmers do than helping to feed those most in need?

READ NOW:ÌýFarming community rallies behind London Marathon runner after MS diagnosis

A community that shows up

Finally, if any more proof were needed of the strength of the farming community, have a read of Victoria Myerscough's story.

A farm machinery employee from Lancashire, Victoria is about to take on the London Marathon after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2024.

She is turning that diagnosis into something positive, for the MS Society and, in her own words, 'taking back a bit of control'.

She said: "If my run can raise money, awareness, and a bit of hope for others with MS, then every mile will be worth it."

Good luck, Victoria. The farming community is behind you.

And that is what farmers do.

This industry, our industry, is one of the strongest examples of community you will find. It is tight-knit, it backs its own, and it shows up when people need it most.

So, the next time it feels like everything you read about farming is negative, or when you have had one of those soul-crushing days on-farm, take a moment to find a story which reminds you why you do it.

This is a career of big highs and big lows.

But I would take that every time over the monotony of a desk job, seeing green spaces only on the walk to the tube.

WATCH NOW:ÌýCrop It Like It's Hot: From Field to Food Charity, how surplus crops find a second harvest

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