Rural professionals

Meet the Rural Team​We are pleased to share that the Rural Team has expanded! With the latest additions of Ryan Bainborough, Team Manager, and Rachel Richardson, Recruitment Consultant, the team have broadened their expertise and are now looking after all aspects of Agriculture and Rural Recruitment. So, let's get to know the team further...Ryan Bainborough, Team Managerryan@morepeople.co.ukRyan grew up on a farm in Leicestershire and always envisioned himself as a farmer one day. However, after discovering his sporting talent, Ryan went on to play semi-professional ice hockey, representing England at Junior Level! After relocating to London, Ryan was able to start his recruitment journey and never looked back. Ryan utilises his recruitment and farming experience to support his team in the Rural and Agriculture Sector.Rachel Richardson, Recruitment Consultantrachel@morepeople.co.ukLike Ryan, Rachel grew up in a farming environment! Her early exposure to agriculture, combined with her experience as a farm service coordinator at a grain cooperative, has equipped Rachel with expertise in agricultural and rural recruitment. She is passionate about connecting with new people!Hannah Cuthbert, Recruitment Consultanthannah@morepeople.co.ukThroughout Hannah's life, she has hands-on experience in the agricultural industry. From driving tractors to advisory positions on policy and rural surveying, Hannah has even worked on a farm in Australia! Hannah has been a Student & Young Farmer for the NFU and a member of the Institute of Agricultural Management. She is also the face of our Young People in Food and Farming Group!Max Johnson, Recruitment Consultantmax@morepeople.co.ukAs a Harper Adams graduate in Rural Enterprise and Land Management, Max has developed a great understanding of Rural and Agricultural Employment. Paired with this knowledge, Max has experience working on farms across the country and also in various roles working on private estates.Miles Davies, Recruitment Consultantmiles@morepeople.co.ukMiles has always enjoyed being surrounded by the rural atmosphere, which growing up in Wiltshire and relocating to Rutland has provided him. Miles joined the MorePeople Rural and Agricultural Team this year and with his previous sales experience, is the perfect addition to the team.​Get in touch with the team...Please get in touch with the team for a confidential chat about their services and how they can help.​​

Hannah Cuthbert, one of our recruiters for the Rural Professionals industry interviewed Caroline Cavill to give us insight into the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) interviews. Caroline is a qualified FRICS and has over 20 years of experience as a professional educator, specialising in APC tutoring. The APC is a process where rural surveyors can demonstrate their professional competencies followed by a formal interview. Amid APC season, Hannah caught up with Caroline to understand more about the process and the benefits of being a Chartered Surveyor. ​Q: What is the APC and why is it important? A: Sitting your APC is important as it gets you your professional accreditation and demonstrates your professional standing. It also shows credibility. You, your firm and your practices’ clients know they’re going to get a quality service. Q: What is the layout of the APC process?A: The APC is a structured way to gain and demonstrate your knowledge and experience within the rural surveying profession and ends with a professional interview at the end.The interviews usually take place in the spring and autumn interview windows, with the submission of your work evidence prior to the interview – usually February for the spring interviews and August for the autumn interviews. Q: What 3 things would you tell someone about to sit their APC?1. Read the competence/pathway guidance and know the pathway guidance inside out.2. Make sure you know your submission incredibly well.3. Take a break before you sit your final assessment, don’t revise the night before - ‘it shouldn’t be a stressful process’.​“This is your hour to tell people what you’ve done, what you know, your experience and what advice you’ve given. Your case study presentation is your 10 minutes to tell the assessment panel all about this wonderful project you’ve been involved with”.​Q: What trends have you noticed in the last couple of years?A: There has definitely been a shift since the pandemic. The changes I’ve seen since are: 1. Candidates not knowing their submission as well as they should.2. Candidates not being able to articulate as well.3. Candidates not having as much time in front of clients as previous, lots of meetings are held over Teams now.4. Candidates maybe aren’t quite as prepared as previous years.Covid is another factor. People either didn’t go to university, or they spent a lot of time distance learning and didn’t have classroom interaction. For a lot of candidates, when they came out of university, they were working in firms that weren’t out in front of clients as much. There’s a lot of value to sitting in an office where you’ve got someone saying “I’m going out to see x, jump in the car and come with me” – they’re not as exposed as they are with hybrid working.Q: What do you think the common pitfalls are of the APC process?1. Not being well enough prepared for the professional interview. 2. Not understanding the process.3. The lack of face-to-face interaction students have experienced in the last few years.Q: What does it mean when someone’s been referred? A: It means that on the day of the interview, the candidate didn’t quite demonstrate their competence against the criteria required. It is important to remember that it is a referral and not a fail.Q: What does the refer mean?A: A refer means that the candidate was not successful this time, but the referral report should be written in a way to help them improve for next time – this may be related to any part(s) of the interview.This is why throughout the interview, assessors will be taking detailed notes, so that if referral feedback is required, it can be used to provide quality guidance for sitting again at another session.Q: What service do you offer? A: I tailor my offering to candidates. I offer packages that can be a longer-term or shorter-term plan, depending on where people are on their APC journey, or I can do it on an hourly basis.I offer bespoke packages or off-the-shelf packages that are a fixed price. An example of a one-off package would be that I can go through a rough draft submission from beginning to end and add commentary and critique throughout.Q: Why should someone use you? How does it help? A: Because a really well-prepared candidate has a lot better chance of having a better experience on their APC journey. Some candidates are well-supported by their firms, others aren’t and are reaching out individually. Q: What career advice would you give to someone after they pass their APC? A: There are so many rural people who work their way through firms and stay forever, some that move about for various reasons/changes in circumstances.I often speak to some clients a few years later who want to change but feel like they’re stuck. However, there are so many transferable skills gained. There is a lot of value to their wider skillset which I don’t think they always recognise. For example, rural surveyors would’ve dealt with people in big country estates, the gamekeepers, the estate tenants. They’ll know about farming practices, planning, dealing with tenants, selling property, drawing maps etc.After the APC and going forward there are so many options out there, so don’t feel stuck in a rut. It’s important to grab any opportunity – before and after APC. If you don’t enjoy your job ring Hannah! Get a different one.Life is too short to stay somewhere you don’t enjoy.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Get in touch!If you are interested in starting your rural career, or you are looking to take your next rural career step, please reach out to myself, Hannah, for a confidential chat.My contact details can be found by clicking here.

Route to Rural​The CAAV (Central Association of Agricultural Valuers) have recently launched their Route to Rural initiative, promoting the work of the rural surveying and rural valuers’ industry. Whilst they have more members than ever before, they have highlighted a recruitment gap in applications into rural roles. The CAAV is a specialist professional body which represents and briefs members within the agricultural and rural space. To gain entry to the Association, an examination must be conducted to demonstrate an understanding of rural surveying. The Route to Rural scheme aims to increase public awareness and understanding of the work as well as reaching a wider audience than the conventional routes to entry. Membership provides valuable ongoing networking and training opportunities.Currently, to become a Chartered Rural Surveyor and Valuer, who can carry out and sign off required work, a RICS accredited degree or a certain number of years of experience is required. In the past, this has somewhat hindered the type of candidates coming through and limited the talent pool.It’s possible to complete a top-up Master’s degree following your studies. This can be a one-year course or part-time alongside your work. Through conversations with clients, we are seeing an increase in companies looking further afield and supporting candidates from non-traditional backgrounds on their route to rural. Through personal experience, I didn’t complete an MRICS degree but I did explore the idea of the Rural Surveying and Agricultural Valuers route, by reaching out to local firms and applying to larger company's internships and summer work experience programmes. This provided me with a few weeks shadowing a qualified Surveyor and Valuer and gaining an insight into what the role would look like. Case Study:Claire Adcroft, AssociateUndergraduate degree in Geography. Reached out to a local Agent for work experience, fell in love with the Rural side and continued further weeks of work experience. Recommended that to undertake this career path would need a Masters, undertook a Masters degree and began the route to MRICS and FAAV.Has now been in the profession for almost ten years, focusing on Valuations and Farm Agency.The best part of the job...the variety and getting to nosey around some amazing properties. Top tip: grow your network, reach out to Surveying firms local to you and relevant employees via LinkedIn. Contact details can often be found on company websites, it’s very much a case of reaching out to people and knocking on doors. There are enough Surveyors willing to help, especially in bringing people into the industry.The CAAV are calling on employers to sign up to offer work experience through their route to rural programme, the hopeful outcome being that they find good future staff with transferable skills. They are calling on employers to consider their local network, including Young Farmers clubs and local schools to encourage young people to become aware of the work that rural surveyors do. They’re also looking to encourage those considering a second career later on in life, with transferrable skills into the rural industry. What work do Agricultural Valuers do? Sales and lettings: Sales, purchase and lettings of farms, estates, houses, commercial premises and land.Tax planning: Advice on rural taxation and finance, including income and capital taxes.Government Schemes: Payments and grants, applications and advice.Auctions: Property, livestock, machinery and equipment auctions.Valuations: Valuation of farms, estates, houses, commercial premises and land.Joint Ventures: Preparing contract farming, share farming and other agreements.Compensation: Compulsory purchase and compensation claims, including water and gas pipelines, road and rail schemes and electricity wayleaves.Planning: Preparing advice, applications, site promotion and appeals.Diversification: Providing advice, grant/finance applications and any planning issues.Renewable Energy: Advising on renewable energy projects including wind, solar, water, biofuels and biomass.Telecoms: Advice on agreements relating to telecommunication masts and broadband cables.Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and dispute settlements, mediation, independent experts, evidence preparation and hearings.Estate Management: Management of rural property and business.Strategic Business Advice: Strategic business advice, planning and identifying opportunities.Environment: Advice on government schemes, natural capital, biodiversity, soils, water and climate change.The MorePeople take:Within our rural team, we are seeing an increasing number of candidates considering the rural surveying route, without having an MRICS degree.Companies understand the need for a wider skill set, covering blind spots and the benefits of fishing from a larger pool. When taking job briefs and through general conversations, we’re seeing a lot more open-minded approaches to what their ‘ideal candidate’ looks like. With the uptake in utility and infrastructure projects, candidates from other backgrounds are securing roles in this area and undertaking rural work. This could be one of the reasons we are seeing a wider pool of people coming through. Next steps:If you’re interested in finding out how you could start your ‘route to rural’ then please reach out to myself, Hannah, in the Rural team here at MorePeople. My contact details can be found by clicking here.​​

​Roots or Roofs...The balance between solar energy implementation on farmland and our built environment. The push for renewable energy has (rightly) gained momentum in the UK, and one of the foremost technologies available to the push for Net Zero is Solar.  However, this drive to produce more of our energy in environmentally sensitive ways raises its own challenges. The main objection to the technology seems to be the use of farmland for solar installations, instead of utilising pre-existing and newly built infrastructure.  Driving around the country and seeing new housing developments, business parks and distribution centres springing up, it’s surprising to see how many of these developments are devoid of any solar generation infrastructure. In the countryside, new solar farm applications are on the up; 2010 to 2015 saw a huge increase, before dropping off in 2016 and 2017 following a reduction in subsidies. Since 2017, the number of applications has risen again, albeit not to the same level as its peak in 2015. Solar farms currently cover circa 0.1% of land in the UK, and the government’s 2035 target of 70GW of generation by solar would be estimated to require circa 0.3% of UK land, taking into account ongoing improvements in technology. To contextualise, circa 1.3% of land in the UK is classed as residential. One of the perceived most pressing disadvantages of this rise is the potential loss of agricultural land. Whilst applications are focused on less productive parcels of land (grades 3b to 5), there needs to be a serious conversation around utilising our already developed land mass before taking valuable farmland out of production.The UK’s farmland is an invaluable resource, and the UK is already facing challenges in agricultural output. Indeed, provisional data from Defra suggests 2024 is set to be in the top three worst harvests on record. Whilst in a grand-scheme-of-things overview the amount of productive land lost to solar development is small, it should nonetheless be considered as something with the potential to further undermine our own food security, forcing us to rely even more heavily on imports in a time when we should be prioritising home-grown produce.Moreover, the environmental implications of sacrificing farmland for solar energy shouldn't be overlooked. Solar farms can disrupt ecosystems and displace wildlife. In contrast, rooftops typically involve minimal ecological disruption and offer a more harmonious integration of renewable energy systems, owing to the proximity between production and end user. Another significant factor to consider is the regulatory and planning framework surrounding solar energy projects. Ground-mounted solar farms often face lengthy approval processes, and the complexities that come with land use change, community opposition, and environmental assessments can delay deployment. This is all before we consider the fact that a low-hanging fruit option would be to legislate that all new development is required to incorporate solar technology. Obviously, this will come with its own hurdles but generally seems a sensible proposal (from this layman’s perspective). Of course, a balanced approach is essential. Land under solar farms can still be productive when used in combination with the correct systems; livestock can graze beneath panels, and when implemented correctly, sites can provide valuable habitats for pollinators and other wildlife. Additionally, once the solar farm has been decommissioned and dismantled, the site can return to agriculture, but this will be a cyclic process with capacity being created elsewhere. While solar energy is essential in mitigating climate change, and the use of farmland is undoubtedly necessary for this implementation, the integration of, and ongoing focus on, incorporating solar panels into our already built environment before developing farmland offers a myriad of advantages. From preserving agricultural productivity and protecting local ecosystems to facilitating quicker installation processes, the case for a more concerted focus on rooftop solar is compelling. As the UK meanders its way toward a more sustainable energy future, making informed choices about land use will be crucial in ensuring that renewable energy initiatives align with broader goals of food security and environmental preservation.If you are looking to find out about our rural professional vacancies, please contact myself, Max Johnson, in the Rural team here at MorePeople. My contact details can be found by clicking here.​

​For the last six weeks, conversations within our industry have been heavily based around the future of policy in food and agriculture. With a new Labour government confirmed by Friday morning, the question now is what exactly they will do for farmers, landowners and importantly the general public who rely on the production of food. Whilst the Conservative Government successfully ran a Food to Fork Summit at Number 10, Labour did not commit to this in their manifesto. The Food to Fork Summit demonstrated to UK Agriculture that the Government were listening and provided discussion for trade bodies and over 70 businesses to meet with key political figures, including the Prime Minister. It will certainly be interesting now to see whether Labour bring something similar in to bridge the gap between politicians and farmers. There was no mention of an agricultural budget in the labour manifesto whilst the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats promised an extra £1 billion and Reform pledging to increase the Farm Budget to £3 billion. We are almost at the end of the Transition Period where we see subsidy payments phased out and replaced with environmental schemes paying farmers to implement practices that positively impact the countryside. Labour has committed to not changing the schemes that have already been implemented, a welcomed response to a policy that has many up and downs over the last few years with new ‘Standards’ (actions) being added. Labour recognises food security as a national security and will champion British farming whilst protecting the environment. This is crucial with a move away from the European Union causing a ripple effect to our empty supermarket shelves. It is also important that the new Labour government look at supply-chain fairness and evaluate existing relationships between supermarkets and farmers. Many key rural and agricultural MPs, including Minister for Food and Farming Sir Mark Spencer MP and Therese Coffee, previous Secretary of State lost their seats in the Election. A handful of other key figures also lost their seats whilst newly elected Secretary of State, Steve Reed MP and Minister of Food and Farming, Daniel Zeichner MP both won their seats and then were selected into post. Since his appointment as Shadow Minister last year, Steve Reed and Daniel Zeichner have both been active and present in key agricultural discussions, including appearing on NFU panels. To some degree, with this in mind it would be expected that farming would have been more prominent in the manifesto. In an online video message, Steve Reed said it will take “years to reverse the damage that ahs been done” and laid out his 5 key priorities: Cleaning up Britain’s waters. Supporting farmers to boost Briain’s food security. Creating a road map to move Britain to a zero waste economy. Ensuring nature’s recovery. Protecting communities from the dangers of flooding. Whilst broader policy changes, such as housing developments, will be impacting farmers and landowners, agricultural policy is crucial in supporting our industry and providing food security as a national security. ​

​2023 saw a record year for farm dispersals, second-hand machinery and land sales and halfway through 2024, the trend is showing no sign of abating.  Land sales in 2023 were up by 20%, and in the first quarter of 2024, the figure was already 6% higher than the preceding year. In total, circa 157,000 acres were marketed in 2023.  The figures for farm machinery dispersal sales follow a similar trend, with an East Anglian firm reporting record sales totalling £71m in 2023. Those leaving the industry will be keen to realise the best value for their assets, and with the market for second-hand machinery stronger than ever, a collective sale is often viewed as the best way to dispose of anything from high-value equipment to pallets of bent drying ducts.  Whichever way you look at it, the uptick in both land sales and dispersal sales point to a worrying trend; the UK is losing its farmers. Gov.uk data shows that the total number of people working on agricultural holdings decreased 2.9% between 2022 and 2023. In terms of total holdings, comparing 2018 and 2023 the UK lost circa 9,000 working farms (209,000 down from 218,000).  What does this mean? Experts attribute these trends to the increasingly difficult times in farming, with many farmers opting for retirement or diversification into alternative industries. The reasons behind this shift are multifaceted, but some potential contributing factors include the increasing age of the average farmer, lack of succession planning, and difficulties in finding reliable labour and access to affordable finance. Additionally, the ongoing challenges posed by Brexit, climate change, and environmental regulations may also be driving some farmers to reconsider their involvement in the industry. Some even use the phrase “the three D’s”; death, divorce, debt. As gloomy as this sounds, it isn’t something which should be ignored.  This brings into focus another topic; young farmers and the accessibility of the industry to the younger generations. But that’s something we’ll cover in another blog!  As the number of experienced farmers leaving the industry increases, the loss of knowledge and expertise accumulated over generations could have a significant impact on farming practices, potentially leading to a decline in productivity and competitiveness. Furthermore, rural communities that rely heavily on agriculture may experience a decline in economic activity and population growth. It is crucial for policymakers, agricultural organisations, and farmers themselves to further dive into the root causes of this trend and develop strategies to address the issue. This could involve initiatives to support succession planning, provide training and development opportunities for younger farmers, and promote more affordable access to finance and resources.  MorePeople have recently released a White Paper on Succession Planning, which may be relevant to those struggling to see where the future of their farm lies.