For Professionals: Introduction to Agriculture & Rural Business

A short course for an introduction to agriculture and the wider rural economy. This course will provide professionals with a total of 12 hours continued professional development.

All sessions are interactive, linking to core themes in the global agriculture industry and commodity trades. They lead to an overview of UK Agriculture and systems, e.g. livestock combinable crops, high-value crops, and the pressures on land in the UK such as food security, climate change, business planning, and concepts.

Topics include:

• The global agricultural economy and commodities
• Agriculture in the UK ~ systems and change
• C21st Challenges & Opportunities
• The pressure for land and the rural land market
• Business planning & consultancy in the rural sector

Course Costs

• Course fees for the two-day programme (including course materials and refreshments): £295
• Attendees may also book individual days at a cost of £160 including course materials and refreshments

Course Delivery

The course is designed as a two-day programme with progression from the first to the second day. 

• Day 1: 12th February 2025, 9:30 - 17:00
• Day 2: 26th February 2025, 10:00 - 18:30

Of interest to:

• Early career professionals wanting to deepen their knowledge of the rural sector and agriculture in particular
• Public & third sector advisors engaging with the rural economy
• Those considering a career in agriculture or the rural economy whether:
• Pre-university
• Considering a change in career
• New entrants to agriculture and rural business

Optional Reading Preparation

This is an introductory course so there is no essential pre-reading. However, for those coming to the project completely afresh the following texts may be useful as part of wider study around the subject:

• Agriculture: A Very Short Introduction. Paul Brassley & Richard Soffe. 1st Edition 2016. Oxford University Press

We will refer to physical and financial outputs from various farming systems and one or other of the following will support this and will be important sources for a future career in agriculture:

• John Nix Pocketbook for Farm Management. Graham Redman. 54th Edition 2024. The Anderson Centre (published annually ~ colloquially referred to as Nix)
• Agricultural Budgeting and Costing Book. 98th Edition May 2024. Agro Business Consultants (published six monthly ~ colloquially referred to as ABC)

The following statistical sources might also be helpful and will be referenced during the course:

• Agriculture in the UK 2023
• RICS Rural Market Survey
• Urban Food Mapping – Making visible the Edible City by Katrin Bohn and Mikey Tomkins