Settling into Emergent Generation's recent Summer Gathering – an event for young people aged 18-35 who care about agroecological food and farming – the host and co-founder of the network, Jonty Brunyee, asked everyone to turn over their lanyard, and write down a question they would like to answer over the next two days.
As everyone busied themselves, I took a moment to appreciate the fact that, for the first time in my policy career, I was surrounded by people my age. According to the ONS, two thirds of farmers in England are older than 55, while only 16% are under 45. But when farmers receive less than 1% of the revenue made from the food they produce - less than 1p per loaf of bread - it’s no wonder that so few young people are entering into the sector.
Often, a family farm cannot generate enough income to support multiple generations, resulting in a need to find off-farm work. Compounded with a lack of affordable housing in rural areas, the result is a dwindling agricultural workforce.
What struck me in that tent on Conygree Farm was the number of young people who, despite these challenges, want to be involved in growing and producing our food. Clearly the will is there, so where is the way? On the back of my lanyard I wrote, How do we get more people back onto the land?
“Is farming a viable option?”
Later that afternoon, we were invited by Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, to discuss what we as young people needed from policymakers to transition into food and farming work. Land? Skills training? Grants?
A thoughtful silence descended on our table. Eventually, someone ventured, “Confidence.” This, they explained, was not simply an anxiety about lacking the skills or self-belief to enter a land-based career. The question they needed to answer for themselves was, “Can we make a life of it?”
This is the crux of what new entrants need now. A transition into farming and horticulture must be financially viable for them. “Making a life of it” means having security – somewhere stable and affordable to live, being able to support a family, and a degree of certainty about the future.
These basic expectations are not necessarily available even to established farmers – a survey by Riverford found that 49% of fruit and veg growers feared they would have to give up their farm within 12 months. Ultimately, making conditions favourable for new entrants means creating favourable economic conditions for other food and farming businesses to thrive.
What do new entrants really want?
Sue Pritchard offered the room a tantalising possibility: if we could tell DEFRA what new entrants needed now, what would we ask for? Here are some of the ideas we shared:
- Derisk the transition for new entrants into agriculture and horticulture – create favourable economic conditions for new enterprises to thrive.
- Offer support at a scale that works for new entrants, who will often be starting out small – they need access to patient finance, small grants etc. Sustain’s recent report on horticulture offers a roadmap to increase the number of small-scale fruit and vegetable producers in England.
- Land-matching schemes, to bring together landowners (including public bodies) and new entrants.
- Incentivise land sharing and enterprise ‘stacking’ – where multiple businesses operate on the same land, sharing both the costs and risks, and mutually benefit one another e.g. through resource and tool sharing. Landowners and existing farmers can benefit from diversifying their land use, and new entrants can benefit from to access to land and collaboration opportunities.
- More paid training, apprenticeships and work opportunities – currently, it is difficult for young people to gain the skills they need without doing unpaid or low paid work. It is also often difficult for farmers to afford to pay additional staff on farms, even where additional labour would benefit their enterprise.
- Access to advice and support – every farm is different, and what works varies according to local climate and soil conditions. Access to expert advice and mentoring is essential for new businesses to be successful and resilient in the long-term.
- Peer networks, such as Emergent Generation and farming clusters, offer opportunities to share knowledge and encourage collaboration. They can also boost the confidence, resilience and wellbeing of people taking part.
- Flexibility around planning regulations and accommodation – would you want to drive over an hour to work in a field all day? New entrants need to be able to live closer to where they work. Planning restrictions can make setting up basic equipment (such as polytunnels and packing sheds) an expensive and convoluted process for small businesses.
Many of these suggestions are relatively inexpensive and could benefit established farmers as well as new entrants. Initiatives such as the newly established The Agroecology Learning Collective (TALC) – set up by Sustain and sector partners – demonstrate how mutual support, peer networking and mentoring can deliver the skills and knowledge needed for a regenerative future.
No more “doom and gloom”
The tone of the event was positive, pragmatic, and uplifting. Many members of the network are already championing a more sustainable food system. “Our voices can be powerful. It’s easy to underestimate that,” said Husain Alogaily, a member of Emergent Generation and founder of the Compost-It, a social enterprise in Leeds diverting food waste from landfill and creating compost for local growers.
Jake Waller, another member and young farm worker based in North Yorkshire, turned his frustrations into action. “Rural life and farming is usually spoken about from a very privileged perspective. I felt frustrated that my perspective – as someone from the rural working class – was not being heard. No one else was doing it, so I thought, ‘I’ll do it.’” The result was The Village Green magazine, published by Jake earlier this year.
Reflecting on the progress of Emergent Generation since it was founded in 2022, Becky Grove, co-founder of the network, said, “I feel hopeful. We’re building a positive vision for the future, beyond the ‘doom and gloom’.” Within just two years, Emergent Generation has grown from an idea conceived at the dinner table to a network of over 300 members.
The atmosphere at the gathering was buzzing with creativity and optimism, despite the enormous economic and environmental challenges facing our generation. If the Labour Government wishes to dispel some of the “doom and gloom” overshadowing their first months in power, they would do well to turn their attention to the emerging generation in agroecological food and farming.
Want to learn more about routes into food and farming?
Join Sustain and Emergent Generation for a networking event at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (9-10 January 2025). It will be an informal, inclusive, and engaging networking opportunity for anyone who is passionate about - or curious about - the politics and practice of food and farming. To join us, purchase your conference ticket from ORFC.
The event aims to foster intergenerational cohesion by welcoming those newer to the movement and those established in it. We'll have members of the team behind the jobs platform Roots to Work, as well as Emergent Generation, Soil Association, and other youth networks. Come along to meet new people, share ideas and opportunities, and build new connections.
Find out more about Emergent Generation and Roots to Work.
