Jack Ward (MR 1973-76) tells us about his career in agriculture, and how he became the Director of the British Growers Association.

Leafing through the Autumn edition of the OKS Magazine, a small note saying there would be a King’s stand at the East Kent Ploughing Match caught my eye. Agriculture doesn’t normally get much of a mention, so I was intrigued to see this new interest in the world of farming. Having not been to the Match for several years, the presence of a King’s stand seemed like an added attraction and well worth making the journey south from Stamford in Lincolnshire.

I have to say Molly made me very welcome and plied me with sparkling wine. During our conversation, I mentioned that agriculture rarely (if ever) featured in any of the OKS Magazine articles which was inevitably followed with the question – will you write something?

Back in the seventies I am not sure a career in agriculture featured high on the list of choices for leavers. Inevitably there were some returning to the family farm but for those without parents already in the industry, the range of careers in the wider industry was largely a mystery. 

On leaving Seale Hayne College in 1982, I was faced with the decision about what to do with four years of agricultural college education. Not having a family farm to return to someone suggested I look at the NFU (National Farmers Union) as an option. Three days after finishing at Seale Hayne I began work for the NFU in Wiltshire mainly selling insurance. I can’t say I was the world’s greatest insurance salesman and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I moved to a role within the main function of the NFU. Happily, it involved moving back to Kent.

Agriculturally Kent is an interesting county with arguably the most diverse cropping of any county in the country and with it a wide range of political challenges. High on the list of issues in the mid-eighties was the accession of Spain and Portugal and concerns over the threat of displacing home-grown production. 40 years on Spain is the largest supplier of fresh produce to the UK, exporting a massive million tonnes of produce a year. As I finish this article there is a row brewing over the displacement of perfectly good fields of Cornish cauliflowers with Spanish imports.

Among the other issues in Kent in the 80s were plans for the first high speed rail link. The proposed route from Folkestone to St Pancras cut through 65 farms. The CEO of HS1 was genuinely keen to understand the impact and together we spent three weeks visiting every farm and farming family affected by the line. Travelling on the line now I still recall the meetings with the affected farms and listening to their concerns.

On the wider political front, my start in the world of agricultural politics coincided with the period of milk lakes and grain mountains, and a turning of the favourable post war political tide.

Reforming the CAP and the impact of the changes on UK agriculture became an enduring feature of my work with the NFU. In the space of 12 years, I worked through three major reforms. 30 years on the future shape and direction of the UK’s agricultural policy is still in the melting pot. The current Government is the first in 50 years to have a free hand with no direct or legacy involvement from the EU.

In 2004, I was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship to look at how farming lobbies operated around the world. My travels took me to Canada, USA, New Zealand and several EU countries in a quest to understand why farming in other parts of the world got an easier political ride (or in a few cased didn’t). 

In 2014 after a seven-year spell of running the City & Guilds land-based portfolio of vocational qualifications, a period in which vocational education came a poor second to the big increase in university places, I joined the British Growers Association as its CEO and took on the challenge of representing the fresh produce sector. The UK’s fresh produce industry mostly operates in a free market and outside the normal agricultural subsidy structure. But the decision to exit the EU brought its own issues. Most notably how to make a fresh produce system work which relies heavily on seasonal workers from Eastern Europe once the free movement of labour came to an end.

The last 10 years representing the UK’s fresh produce producers has provided endless challenges. How to persuade politicians to help halt the slide in home production and reduce the reliance on imports (the UK only produces 17% of its fruit and 55% of its vegetable requirements). A point finally addressed by the last Conservative Prime Minister at one of his Downing Street summits three weeks before calling a general election. Arguing the case for better returns from the most competitive food retailing system in the world is an ongoing battle – the UK spends less of its disposable income on food than virtually any country in the EU which largely explains why. And occasionally waking up friends and family with appearances on the Radio 4 Farming Today programme.

How we produce food and manage our environment in the future is a massive issue requiring a co-ordinated effort from politicians, food retailers and manufacturers and those at the sharp end of the primary production process. The past 40 years has been as fascinating journey but the next 40 promises to be equally challenging and no less interesting. For anyone interested the future of our food system, the opportunities are wide-ranging both in interest and skill requirements from the practical to the technical to the scientific and research and of course not to forget the political.

This article appeared as a feature in the Spring 2025 OKS Magazine. To read the full issue, please click here.