Arla sounds alarm over farming's persistent recruitment crisis

More than four in five farmers trying to recruit staff are struggling to find applicants with the right skills, raising fresh concerns over the workforce needed to sustain British food production.

An Arla survey of British farmers found 82% of those who had advertised a vacancy received very few or no suitably skilled applicants — a figure that has remained above 80% for the past seven years.

Yet the research also points to a significant untapped workforce. While 42% of young people say they would consider a career in food and farming, just 4% ultimately go on to work in the sector.

Arla farmer Tim Dale said the shortage of skilled workers had become one of the biggest challenges facing farm businesses.

“As farmers, we're passionate about producing nutritious food, but none of that happens without people. Finding skilled workers is becoming increasingly difficult, and it's one of the biggest challenges facing farms today,” he said.

“Modern farming is innovative, progressive and involves multiple skills such as business, science and technology. We need to do more to showcase the exciting opportunities available and create clearer pathways into the sector.”

The challenge is being compounded by the age profile of agriculture, with 48% of farmers aged over 55 and the average age across the wider supply chain standing at 46.

Arla argues that one of the biggest barriers to attracting younger workers is an outdated perception of what careers in farming and food production involve.

Modern farms increasingly rely on technology, data and automation, while jobs across the wider food sector require skills ranging from science and engineering to business management.

Paul Dover, UK agriculture director at Arla Foods UK, said the latest figures showed workforce pressures were becoming entrenched.

“The food supply chain has been facing increasing pressure from workforce challenges for a number of years, and the latest data from our farmers shows the picture is not improving,” he said.

“This is a challenge that will impact beyond the farm, if action isn’t taken.”

Education and training are seen as central to closing the gap between young people who are interested in the sector and those who eventually enter it.

Almost 65% of farmers surveyed said better education and training would be the most effective way to attract more people into the industry, while 64.7% said changes in schools and colleges were key.

Dover said government efforts to help young people into work were welcome, but argued the industry needed to intervene earlier to change perceptions and widen the potential talent pool.

“Government proposals like the Farming Roadmap and its efforts to help young people into work through courses in schools are helpful and will go some way to supporting farmers, but the reality is we need intervention much earlier,” he said.

“We need to change perceptions of the sector and ensure attractiveness to expand our talent pool to bring many more young people into our industry.”

Alex Hardie, development manager at the School of Sustainable Food & Farming at Harper Adams University, said strong graduate employment demonstrated continued demand for people with specialist food and farming skills.

“Each year at Harper Adams University, hundreds of our students progress on to careers in food and farming — and our consistently high figures for graduate employment show that the demand is there for these skills,” he said.

He added that earlier investment in education and training was needed to ensure more young people were aware of the range of careers available.

“Our food and farming sectors offer modern, hi-tech jobs which meet key Government priorities — ensuring a robust and sustainable food supply chain should be a core priority for Ministers.

“Firms like Arla and institutions such as Harper Adams University have a role to play — but we need earlier investment in education, skills and training to help young people realise the vast range of opportunities available to them.”

Recruitment is not the only workforce pressure facing farms.

Half of farmers surveyed said it had become harder to retain staff than it was before Brexit and the Covid pandemic, adding to concerns over the long-term availability of skilled labour.

Arla is seeking to address some of those pressures through apprenticeships, partnerships with local colleges and a new national outreach programme aimed at young people.

The programme is expected to reach more than 100 schools and more than 100,000 young people, with a focus on showcasing the range of careers available across modern food production and farming.

Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said the challenge went beyond individual businesses and was closely linked to the resilience of the country's food supply.

“We need to inspire young people earlier and connect them to food. When people understand more about where it comes from and what it takes to feed a nation, helping to be a part of that becomes a much more attractive proposition,” he said.

“If we want a resilient food system capable of feeding future generations, we must invest in the skills, education and pathways that will build the workforce of tomorrow.”

He added: “Securing the future of British food starts with securing people.”