A word from our Board – Owen Piper

With the New Year fast approaching, I always think it’s a great time of year to take a step back and think about what I want to achieve in the coming months.  

Like many people in the industry, the pandemic has forced me to spend a lot of time working hard at the coal face over the last two years, with very little opportunity to leave the farm. 

Before we head into another uncertain 12 months, I want to take the time to get some headspace and feel inspired, which is why I’m really looking forward to joining online in January’s Oxford Farming Conference (OFC). 

I first went to the OFC as a student helper, and between handing out passes, I could listen to some of the sessions. The event made a lasting impression on me, and I remember thinking it would be great for other young farmers and new entrants to attend.  

Supporting farmers in their own growth

TIAH is helping to make that possible for a group of young food and farming professionals thanks to its support of the OFC’s first Inspire Programme - the replacement for its long-running Emerging Leaders initiative. 

Designed to inspire the best young people working in agriculture, everyone enrolled on the programme will have taken part in an away day in London before the conference to build contacts and develop skills. 

Having seen the list of participants - and some of their social media posts from their away day - I’m really looking forward to meeting them virtually and finding out what the industry means to them, what they want to achieve, and to hear about the support they need to meet those goals. 

Supporting the Inspire Programme is an important element of TIAH’s ambitions to be relevant to the next generation of people working in agriculture and horticulture, and to provide strong support for people developing careers in the industry. Of course, I’m not defining all new entrants as young people! 

As part of these goals, we want to understand the labour market data, what new entrants need now, and how we can encourage a more diverse, forward-thinking industry. 

Developing the skills portal

TIAH is very aware of its responsibilities as an organisation, which is why I’m excited that TIAH will launch its online skills portal in 2022 to support people as they move through their careers in agriculture and horticulture.  

As well as suggesting relevant skills and courses, the platform will cleverly integrate with industry partners; it will use artificial intelligence and collate users’ skills and training to help them formulate a pathway to professionalism, regardless of their goals or aspirations in the industry. 

With the industry facing so many challenges recently, it has sometimes been difficult to feel inspired in the last two years. But through TIAH’s efforts and work I’m seeing being done in my involvement with the NFU’s Next Generation Forum, I’m confident we can come up with ideas and solutions that will not just inspire those already working in agriculture and horticulture, but also attract the best new people to the sector, and support them in developing successful, long-term careers.  

You can find out more about Owen Piper's experience and that of the rest of our non-executive directors.