Agriculture
Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 71% of the country's land area and employs 467,000 people on commercial holdings.
The agri-food sector in the United Kingdom accounts for a total estimated Gross Value Added (GVA) of £115 billion, according to the UK Government report: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2021
Within the agriculture sector there are a huge range of opportunities for graduates of all degree disciplines to contribute from farm to fork.
Other life science sub-sectors you may wish to explore further are:
- animal health and welfare
- biotechnology
- food and drink
- medical technology
- pharmaceuticals
Explore the sector
Those working in the agricultural sector are constantly navigating a changing environment. Just a few examples of key topics affecting the sector are:
- The global food security crisis. How will we be able to feed an additional two billion people by 2050? This is the research focus for Nottingham’s Future Food Beacon
- Managing the impacts of climate change, but also considering the contributions agriculture makes to the issue. The UK government has released a roadmap to encourage more sustainable farming in the UK over the next seven years.
- The ongoing free-trade deal negotiations post-Brexit.
The Transforming food production challenge is providing up to £90 million of funding to help businesses, researchers and industry to transform food production, meet the growing demand and move towards net zero emissions by 2040. Find out more about some of the projects that have already received funding to give you a sense of the possible future of the industry.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's (AHDB) strategy enables British farmers, growers and their supply chains to succeed in a rapidly-changing world by:
- bringing data, insight and analysis together in an easy-to-use format to help farmers, growers and supply chains make better business decisions
- helping farming and growing businesses reduce their environmental footprint to meet future policy and consumer needs
- investing in targeted research to tackle current and future pests, weeds and diseases
Given these three points alone, there are a range of opportunities within the sector for graduates from all degree disciplines.
What skills will I gain during my degree?
Depending on which degree pathway you are following you will be developing a range of valuable skills such as:
- agricultural business development
- livestock management
- policy design
- agronomy
- disease management
- international awareness
Biosciences Core Graduate Competencies
You will also develop 12 competencies which have been divided into these four headings:
- fundamental skills
- interpersonal skills
- personal aspiration and development
- professional responsibility
Explore the Biosciences Core Graduate Competencies
How can I develop my skills and experience during my degree?
Employers often seek a range of transferable skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, in addition to the subject-specific skills and knowledge you will gain during your degree. Below are some ideas of how to develop these transferable skills during your degree; make sure you look at the ‘What can I do?’ pages for even more ideas.
Gain work experience
Join the Nottingham Advantage Award
The Nottingham Advantage Award offers a range of modules to help you expand, develop and evidence your skills and experience during your time at university. With over more than 200 modules across our three campus in the UK, China and Malaysia, there's something for everyone.
If you’re thinking of moving into consultancy after graduation, the Nottingham Consultancy Challenge module will help you develop and demonstrate all the right skills.
Nottingham Advantage Award - find out more and explore the modules on offer
Keep up to date with industry news
Knowing about the latest developments is important for a couple of reasons: firstly it may spark off your interest in a particular part of the sector and secondly, employers often ask questions about the factors that may be affecting their company at an interview as a way of gauging your interest in their business. Try the following resources - check out any events or directories of employers too.
What are the range of careers I could enter?
Agricultural sciences and business management students move into a wide range of different careers after graduation, including farm management, consultancy, agronomy and farm trading, agricultural policy, academia, marketing and communications, starting a new business and various roles in the food industry.
Some of the employers who have recruited our graduates
- Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB)
- Animal and Plant Agency
- Brown & Co
- Cargill
- Evolution Foods
- Frontier Agriculture
- Hazlewoods
- Holkham Farming
- IDEXX
- Langmead Produce
- Moundsmere Estate Management
- Pro Cam
- Strutt and Parker
Some of the roles secured by our graduates
- Agricultural assurance manager
- Agricultural business consultant
- Farm business consultant
- Graduate consultant
- Graduate farm manager
- Graduate trainee, supply
- Histology lab scientist
- Pig and poultry nutritionist
- Plant health and seed inspector
- Trainee accountant
- Trainee agronomist
Read Peter Cox's (agriculture alumnus) blog post on becoming an agricultural business consultant.
What are my further study options? Watch our webinar on PhD study.
Each year a number of agriculture graduates start postgraduate courses either at Nottingham or at other universities. Some examples of the types of courses Nottingham graduates study include MSc Agri-Food, PhD Crop Science, PhD Sustainable Soil Management and accountancy training courses.
Search for further courses and find out about funding
Thinking about a PhD? How to get started and how to apply
In these two videos, Dr Judith Wayte from the University of Nottingham provides clear and wide-ranging advice on:
- how to get started: what to take into account, and how to gather relevant information
- on the application process and how to prepare for interviews
Login to SharePoint to watch the webinar
- Alumni: Email us to gain access to the webinar
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