To celebrate International Women’s Day, we spoke to our Wildflower Development Manager – Megan Townley – about her love of farming, where it came from and how attitudes towards women in farming have changed over the years…
What inspired you to pursue a career in the farming and agri-sector?
My grandfather is my biggest inspiration. He has been a farm manager across various regions in the UK, and has worked with livestock, cereals and grass seed. He also owns the farm that I currently live on.
I grew up in Winchester and took my A Levels there, but when I had to make the decision on what to go on and do, I asked myself where I was happiest and what I enjoy doing. This was easy, the weekends and school holidays that I spent on the farm helping out with woodland management, hedging, fencing and other maintenance. So, my decision was made. And I applied to Harper Adams, where I gained a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture.
How did you get started in Agri-Business?
Whilst at Harper Adams, I worked at Hampshire Grain (now Trinity Grain) undertaking grain testing in the harvest – this helps decide whether the grain would be used for milling, malting or feed. I did this for six summers.
Following university, I worked at a wildflower turf company for two-and-a-half years, which is how I came to work with Wildflowers. From here, I moved to Bright Seeds.
What does a typical day in your role look like?
It chops and changes all of the time, which is one of the reasons I love what I do.
I manage the end-to-end wildflower seed enterprise. From choosing what we grow and what sites to harvest, all the way through to selling and marketing the product.
I am the decision maker in terms of which way the enterprise is going, and planning for the next 5 years, including looking at what meadows to harvest and what customers to work with.
This means that I split my time between the office and on-site visits. Visits include assessing meadows to harvest and speaking to customers to conclude what they want to achieve with sowing wildflower and specifications that they have.
I also help out with hedging and other trial site work!
What barriers do women still face in the British farming sector today?
Well, it is far better than it used to be and there is no doubt that the industry is ahead of where it was. I recently took part if a Farmers Weekly webinar discussing women and succession planning on, the other panellists who were further into their careers than me remembered the time when women could first have a bank account!
Now, there is definitely a lot more respect towards women, with more women in positions of authority and more women undertaking physical, labour work. So, generally, there is a greater degree of willingness to have women involved in the sector – which is great.
There are, of course, still some challenges with being a women in a male-dominated industry, such as the assumption that women can’t carry out physical work or the need to go above and beyond to gain respect. This can also backfire occasionally, with a small number of men not liking being ‘out-shone’ by a women. Equally, not being able to do something can sometimes result in a rather patronising, ‘at least you tried’.
Are there any resources or networks that have supported you in your career?
Well, there are definitely more than I have taken advantage of, but the big one is Young Farmers.
This has been helpful as there are a lot of women involved, and I’ve made friends with several fiercely strong women in the agri-sector, and having common ground has helped bond our friendship. It allows us to vent and give each other our perspective on things.
So yes, I highly recommend joining Young Farmers.
How do you see the role of women in farming progressing?
I definitely see the upward trend continuing. There is no question that the dynamic on the farm has evolved and is still evolving. It isn’t just the eldest son who inherits the farm now – it is the individual that shows the interest. For example, on our farm at home I showed more interest than anybody else and this has allowed me to get involved with the planning and daily running of the farm.
I think that men and women bring different skills to the table, and farming is at its best when both sets of skills are utilised.
Men bring continued strength and problem solving to the farm. Women are good at strategizing and thinking ahead. With different strengths, a farming business can optimise the land, allowing us to do our best for the food and environmental sector which, as we all know, is the farming focus.
What advice would you give to young women considering a career in agriculture?
First and foremost, do it! There is nothing more rewarding.
Once you’ve decided, join young farmers and seek out some practical work experience. And, if anybody makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t stand for it because you don’t have to. There are a lot more open-minded farmers within the industry now than there ever has been. If where you are working isn’t right, there are always other options.
Finally, where you see the farming industry in the next 10 years?
This is a tough question after the changes to inheritance tax and the mistakes of the Labour government.
It doesn’t look good. A real concern of mine is that there is such a lack of understanding on what goes on in farming from people outside of it. Very little seems to be known and understood about food production and what farmers do for the land.
There is also the perception from many that all farmers are wealthy, and as we know this just isn’t the case. The reality is that most farms are at 1% return of asset value.
So, it would be good to see a push in education. And this starts in schools, making sure people are educated on the importance of farming.
Despite being a real blow, the one positive from the inheritance tax decision is that it has been an eye opener and created more public awareness, more openness on farming. Particularly on social media platforms.
As farmers, we love what we do and want to continue for generations to come.