A career in agriculture might not look how you think

Mention a career in agriculture and, for many people, the first image that comes to mind is still farming.

And while farmers and the people working directly with livestock remain at the heart of the industry, modern agriculture needs an increasingly diverse range of people, skills and expertise around them.

Technology. Data. Engineering. Science. Marketing. Business management. Training. Consultancy. Animal health and welfare. Biosecurity.

The list is growing.

It's one of the reasons Livetec will be supporting AgriFest, an event designed to showcase the breadth of careers available across agriculture and help more people discover where they could fit within the sector.

For Livetec Biosecurity Specialist Amy Davies, who will be attending the event, changing perceptions about what it means to work in agriculture is an important part of attracting the next generation.

“People can have quite a traditional picture of what a career in agriculture looks like, but there are so many different routes into the industry now.

“You don't necessarily have to come from a farming background or know from an early age that agriculture is where you want to work. We need people with different skills, experiences and interests – and there are roles across the industry where they can use them.”

An industry that's changing

Agriculture itself is evolving.

Technology and data are becoming increasingly integrated into livestock production. Businesses are investing in digital systems, sensors and monitoring technology, while growing expectations around animal health and welfare, disease prevention, sustainability and assurance are creating demand for specialist expertise.

The people working within the industry are evolving alongside it.

That was one of the interesting discussions to emerge from the recent Poultry Network Live event attended by the Livetec team.

Traditional stockmanship remains incredibly important, but the modern stockperson may also need to understand environmental controls, interpret data and work with increasingly sophisticated technology.

Look beyond the farm itself and that breadth becomes even greater.

A modern agricultural business might need software developers and data specialists alongside vets and animal health experts. It could employ engineers, marketers and commercial teams. There are opportunities in research and product development, training, logistics, operations, consultancy, communications and specialist disciplines such as biosecurity.

Some roles require academic or technical qualifications. Others provide opportunities to learn and progress on the job.

What connects them is the industry they support.

Building skills as well as attracting them

Encouraging people to consider agriculture is only one part of the challenge.

Businesses also need to create opportunities for people to continue learning once they arrive.

At Livetec, Amy's role spans both external training and the development of skills and knowledge within the business.

As the company continues to grow, investment in people and professional development is an important part of making sure the expertise within the team grows with it.

“We talk a lot about bringing new people into agriculture, but development shouldn't stop once someone joins the industry,” Amy says.

“There are always opportunities to build knowledge, develop specialist skills or move in a completely different direction. Training and development can help people see that there isn't necessarily one fixed career path.”

That's particularly important for an industry competing with many other sectors for talent.

Agriculture needs to demonstrate not only that there are jobs available, but that people can build meaningful, varied and progressive careers within it.

You don't have to be a farmer to work in agriculture

Livetec itself is a good example.

Our team includes people working across biosecurity, animal health and welfare, technology, data, product development, operations, training, marketing, commercial roles and business management.

And we're growing.

As Livetec continues to develop our services and technology in the UK and internationally, we're bringing new people, skills and experience into the business and creating opportunities for our existing team to develop alongside it.

But the bigger message extends well beyond our own growth.

Agriculture needs people.

It needs those who want to work directly with animals and those fascinated by technology. People who like solving problems, working with data, communicating ideas, building businesses or developing specialist technical expertise.

And the industry needs to become better at showing them that those opportunities exist.

Events such as AgriFest provide an opportunity to do exactly that – opening up the industry to people who may never previously have considered agriculture as somewhere they could build their future.

Because a career in agriculture doesn't have to mean becoming a farmer.

It might mean becoming almost anything – and doing it in an industry that matters.