UK farming faces people management crisis, white paper warns 

UK farming must urgently improve how it recruits, manages and supports its workforce if the sector is to remain sustainable, according to a white paper published this month by consultancy REAL Success. 

The paper, Facing the Future: Why UK Farming Must Put People First, argues that the industry is facing a “people gap rather than a labour gap”, driven by poor leadership, long hours and a lack of investment in working conditions and management skills.  

Authored by Paul Harris, founder and managing director of REAL Success, the white paper says farming has invested heavily in technology, automation and environmental standards, while failing to modernise how it treats and develops people. It claims this imbalance is contributing to high staff turnover, recruitment difficulties and an ageing workforce. 

The paper states that many farm managers are promoted based on technical ability rather than people management skills, leaving them responsible for teams without training in communication, conflict resolution or recruitment. It argues this has led to exhaustion, disengagement and accidents on farms.  

“The issue is not that people don’t want to work in farming,” the paper states. “The issue is that we have not created farms, roles and places to work where they can see themselves having a future.”  

The white paper warns that continued reliance on overseas labour is becoming unsustainable due to immigration rules and changing workforce expectations. It also highlights a disconnect between rising numbers of students enrolling in agricultural courses and the proportion choosing to work directly on farms after graduation. 

According to the paper, poor people management is also affecting wellbeing and safety, with fatigue and stress increasing the risk of mistakes and accidents.  

REAL Success calls for an industry-wide shift in mindset, placing people welfare on the same footing as animal welfare and environmental standards. It proposes the creation of a national people leadership programme for farming, alongside agreed standards for working hours, facilities, training and leadership. 

The paper includes a ten-point action plan for the wider industry and a separate ten-point plan for individual farmers, covering areas such as fair working hours, improved staff facilities, structured inductions and leadership training. 

Harris argues that improving people management is not a “soft” issue but a commercial one. 

“If we want new people to enter farming, we must fundamentally change how we treat, develop and lead the people already in it,” he writes.  

The paper also includes anonymised testimonials from farmers who report improvements in staff retention, productivity and work-life balance after changing how they lead and manage teams.  

The white paper was published in January 2026 and focuses on workforce challenges across UK farming.