The first question when talking to Liz Tree is how did a girl who grew up in Croydon South London in become interested in farming?
Perhaps the answer will give us insight into how we can attract fresh talent into the industry, but it is also about Liz – she is determined and passionate, so there is no doubt that when she did set her sights on farming, there was no turning back.
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"I first became interested in farming during a chance encounter lambing in the Brecon Beacons when I was on holiday as a teenager. From then I was hooked," she says.
"I got as much experience as I could and ended up studying a degree in agriculture at Harper Adams University, and then did my master of research in agricultural education." Working with charity Farms For City Children, her research titled ‘An Evaluation into the Impact of the Charity Farms for City Children on Participants' Agricultural Awareness and Wellbeing', sponsored by Worshipful Company of Butchers, really shone a light on just how important getting agriculture into schools really is.
Growing her career
Her time at Harper also opened many doors for her, including giving her the chance to be part of some research with the Royal Countryside Fund into the barriers young people face within the industry, and talking at Groundswell Regenerative Agricultural Festival. She also had an invite to the Kings Coronation where she was featured live on the BBC.
Liz went on to work for a sheep breeding and genetics company, travelling the country carrying out methane testing of sheep and ‘met a huge number of farmers within the sheep sector.' The idea of sustainability is something she is quite passionate about, and he says the role encouraged her to develop her networking skills which has helped her in her current role working for Harper Adams in the , where she is now the Morrisons farm network project manager.
She says: "Morrisons were one of the original contributors who helped set up SSFF up as a precompetitive space working to educate, inspire and empower current and future farmers to work towards reducing emissions, enhancing nature and developing more climate-friendly businesses. This has been a nice circular journey for me, as Morrisons also work with the Royal Countryside Fund as a sponsor of their Farm Resilience Programme."
Net zero
Morrisons has an ambition to reach net zero in its direct farming supply by 2030, and Liz is helping to drive this mission forwards, especially with her role in their new pilot project. 125 Morrisons farmers – in honour of Morrisons 125-year anniversary – will take part in the project which will see them streamline their farm businesses to become more sustainable.
"In turn, their farming businesses will become more resilient," says Liz.
Working with other industry companies such as Map of Ag and Downforce, the idea is to understand emissions and then formulate a plan to move the businesses forwards – benchmarking, technical advice and specific plans for individual farms.
READ NOW: Morrisons to trial sustainable farming net zero programme
"When you utilise those environmental aspects, it impacts the business and it has a positive knock-on effect on everything else," says Liz.
This is a collaborative approach – the project's idea of net zero does not mean every farm must achieve that status, but if each farm tweaks various elements of the businesses, it can be done. And as the sector is driven more by environmental policies, it is also a key part of the farm-to-fork story for Morrisons, and working closely with farms in the supply chain is key in connecting to customers.
Urban/rural divide
Liz says: "Growing up in an urban area, I see how important this environmental story is to the public. I see it as bridging that gap between what the consumer expects, and the great work farmers are already doing and building on that."
It is hard to imagine Liz doing anything else now, and with so much change going on in agriculture, especially the drive to become more sustainable, she is enjoying playing a part in supporting farmers to create more resilient businesses that are fit for the future.
She says: "We have had really positive feedback and it is nice to think I am helping to create positive change within the industry."
24 Hours in Farming is Back
As Liz says, there is so much more to farming than people realise. Why not join us, from August 8, 5am to August 9, 5am, to showcase just what the industry is all about? #farm24 is agriculture's biggest digital event. Post images, videos and stories across social media using the hashtag #farm24, and tag 草榴社区 Guardian and Morrisons. Just like Liz, you never know who you might inspire to take a closer look at farming
