Jo Ranson: how skill-building boosts resilience and success

I've just spent this morning pregnancy scanning some of our cows. I decided to take a training course to become what‘s called ‘lay scanner’ several years ago. This means I have the skills to use a scanner to tell whether or not a cow is pregnant but don’t gather the more detailed information that our vet does when scanning.

Gaining the skills to do this has been really good, both in terms of my own knowledge and for our business. It gives us more flexibility and helps make us more resilient in the face of the day-to-day challenges of running a busy farm. I can scan the cows in small groups, which means I can do it as and when I can, and it is also less stressful for the cows. And it saves costs because we don’t have to book a vet to come and do the initial scan for us.

Broadening perspectives

That’s just one example of how training helps our business. Another example is that my husband and I encouraged both sons to do a year or two of experience working on other farms before returning to work in the family business. It gives them a lot of extra knowledge and a wider view of things, which is good for them and brings additional knowledge back to our farm. My son Toby is returning to the farm next month after working with farming contractors for two years.

It’s also really important that all of our staff team can train in areas they're interested in, which helps them build their knowledge and confidence. It means we can give them more responsibility, which is great for them in terms of building their experience and also for us.

Overcoming staffing challenges

Staffing our farm has always been difficult for us due to our geographical location. Surrey is not known for its dairy farming opportunities.

We've always had young staff from non-farming backgrounds who have been to college and got qualifications but always need further assistance. We can teach them what we know, but there's a need for them, and us as employers, to keep up to date with new and other skills in the industry. We also need to know where they can find the right training and to have the information at our fingertips as and when we need it.

TIAH's mission: connecting farmers with essential training

This is exactly what TIAH is working on, helping people understand what training they might need and how to find it near them. So, when I saw adverts looking for people to help play a part in helping TIAH shape its skills and careers online platform, I felt it would be good to be involved.

Farming is changing and changing fast, with all sectors in desperate need of finding and keeping staff. I'm passionate that farming doesn’t get forgotten for the younger generation.  To them, it can look incredibly daunting, so any help that can be given to them that's available 24-hours a day can only be a good thing. 

Now, back to the cows…

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