AgriLeader: What kind of leader are you?

Last year, we conducted a review of leadership and management in the UK farming sector, looking at best practice, traits, qualities, uptake, barriers and future needs. This review highlighted a shocking statistic that only 0.37% of farmers and their employees engage each year in any formal leadership and management training.

In this episode, AHDB’s Mark Campbell talks to two farmers about their experiences and thoughts on leadership and management, and their take on this review, which you can read in our Bridging the gap report.

Phil Halhead is a third-generation dairy farmer with a herd of 300 dairy cows. He is also the founder of Norbreck Genetics. Phil was the 2007 Farmers Weekly Young Farmer of the Year and has travelled extensively through his career. His contributions to agriculture resulted in Phil receiving a Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAgS) and the Freedom of the City of London in 2012. Phil has a passion for ongoing development, especially around leadership and empowering his team.

Phil Nash is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from West Sussex who farms in partnership with his brother Jonny. The farm is a mixed operation comprising of a beef cattle, arable and grassland, however, the predominate enterprise is an all-year-round herd of 270 Holstein Friesian dairy cows, producing milk for a major retailer. Phil is at the start of his journey to upskill and develop both his own and his team’s leadership and management skills. 

The six areas where leadership and management efforts should be focused are:

1.     Support for leadership

2.     Detail consciousness

3.     Decision making

4.     Strategic vision/clarity

5.     Growth mindset

6.     Entrepreneurial and profit focused mindset

Listen to the first part of this podcast in which the team talk through the findings from the Bridging the Gap report.

Book reference: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Find out more about our AgriLeader programme: ahdb.org.uk/agrileader

If you want to find out more about AgriLeader or to talk through the options for developing your leadership and management traits, get in touch with one of the team.

Izak Van Heerden: izak.vanheerden@ahdb.org.uk

Mark Campbell: mark.campbell@ahdb.org.uk 

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This episode was produced and edited by Miriam Drewett, Marcomms Manager (Pork).