Helen talks farming on Harper Adams visit

Helen Morgan MP visited Harper Adams University in Newport last week to talk all things farming and research. The discussion included the state of British farming, UK competitiveness abroad, and the unique offer being provided for Shropshire students by the university.

The MP was shown around the campus by Vice Chancellor Ken Sloan to see the offer from Harper Adams for local students, their nationally recognised veterinary school, and on-site farm. The tour included details of how at Harper Adams, all students have a year-long placement in employment, many in North Shropshire such as Muller, in order to ensure graduates enter the workforce having already had hands-on experience of the industry.

Harper Adams have five academic departments, not just agriculture. Agriculture and Environment; Animal Health Behaviour and Welfare; Harper Keel Veterinary School; Food, Land and Agribusiness; Engineering.

One issue raised was the way that often highly-skilled agricultural workers and graduates are classified as unskilled or lower-skilled by the Office of National Statistics. Considering the technical expertise required in the agricultural industry and expert-level of training required for much of the work in this classification, this seems inappropriate. Helen Morgan MP plans to raise this issue with DEFRA.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “We are really lucky to have Harper Adams University in Shropshire. They really do provide a first-class service to both their students and the wider industry. The agricultural sector employs around 4 million people – nearly 14% of the UK workforce – so the impact of training high quality graduates cannot be understated.

“It was really fascinating to have a tour of the campus, veterinary school, and on-site farm. It was also good to talk through the non-agricultural offer, including engineering, animal health, and food sciences. The ethos is all about giving students hands-on experience of the industry, which stands graduates in a good stead going into employment.

“Rural areas like in Shropshire are too often looked over and underappreciated by Westminster policymakers. One issue raised was with the way that agricultural workers are classified as lower-skilled by the Office of National Statistics, even if the skills and depth of knowledge to do their jobs requires a huge level of expertise. I will be raising this as a point in need of change.”