A shortage of skilled farm workers threatens Britain’s food security, Arla Foods has warned, after 82 per cent of its farmers with a vacancy said very few or no job applicants had the right skills.
The dairy co-operative, which owns the Lurpak and Cravendale brands, employs about 3,700 people in the UK and works with 1,900 farmers. Its survey of 440 farmers found more than half reported that retaining employees had become harder since Brexit and Covid.
Arla said hiring problems had grown from a “labour shortage to a wider skills challenge that could have implications for the long-term resilience of British food production if left unaddressed”.
The survey also points to an ageing workforce. Some 47.7 per cent of the farmers surveyed were over 55, and nearly a fifth were over 65. The most recent government figures on the agricultural workforce show only 5 per cent of farm holders in England were younger than 35.
Paul Dover, Arla’s UK agriculture director, said: “The food supply chain has been facing increasing pressure from workforce challenges for a number of years, and the latest data from our farmers shows the picture is not improving. This is a challenge that will impact beyond the farm, if action isn’t taken.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
