Securing rural surveying’s future beyond Brexit

While UK agricultural policy beyond Brexit has yet to be finalised, it will likely involve increased environmental stewardship, with the value of subsidy determined on the basis that public money will be awarded for achieving public good.

This has led to concerns that the rural surveyors’ agricultural, rather than environmental, background may limit their ability to act for clients in applying for such subsidies. But there are 4 key factors that will help ensure a bright future for rural surveying:

supporting clients through change
dealing with competition from other professions
increased specialisation
improved visibility.

Supporting clients through change

In times of significant policy change, landowners are more likely to seek advice from professionals. This is certainly likely to be the case with post-Brexit agricultural policy because of the significance and extent of the changes planned.

Surveyors have become accustomed to dynamic changes in policy and legislation, which have been a constant in agriculture and land management since the introduction of the Common Agricultural Policy in 1962. For example, surveyors were instrumental in implementing changes under the Agricultural Tenancies Act in 1995.

Clients want to be led through these changes and will look to professionals, including rural surveyors, to ensure that they are making the most of any new legislation. To maintain their status as trusted advisers, it is vital that rural surveyors continue to explain the consequences of decision-making with empathy.

Rural surveyors understand better than any other adviser the long-term decision-making approach that landowners take, often leading them to decisions which a company on the stock market would never make. This is largely related to the stability of land as an asset class, which must be used to the profession’s advantage.

With future legislation likely to require major changes in day-to-day land management, the relationship between clients and rural advisers could come under significant strain.

Dealing with competition

The wide variety of business functions that surveyors support will mean that there is always competition from other professionals in the rural advisory network, such as accountants and solicitors. However, perhaps the greatest competition will come from environmental advisers.

The probable focus on environmental stewardship in post-Brexit agricultural policy means that such advisers may be better placed than rural surveyors to apply for subsidies because they are already experienced in doing so. And the more funding that is pushed towards agri-environmental schemes, the more landowners may be tempted to direct work towards specialised professionals.

This is not to suggest that the key functions performed by surveyors are unimportant. The profession’s core land management responsibilities are vital and unchanging, regardless of the policy context. Brexit is only one element of land management, and there are still long-term decisions to be made about:

the structuring of business
tenancies
diversification projects.

Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge the need for rural surveyors to develop skills. For example, there is likely to be a skills gap with regard to understanding new terminology or valuation systems that will be incorporated into future policy and schemes. Those surveyors who can be ahead of the curve and understand new policies and valuation systems quickly will be able to act in the best interests of their clients.

"Those surveyors who can be ahead of the curve and understand new policies and valuation systems quickly will be able to act in the best interests of their clients"

That is not to say that some surveyors haven’t already begun working to understand the natural capital approach to policy and valuation, and therefore there are already surveyors who are specialising in these areas. Those who have specialised or carried out a significant amount of environmental work are likely to be at an advantage. This could contribute to increasing specialisation in the profession, enabling it to adapt to competition from environmental advisers. But it could also be a concern for smaller firms, which are less able to specialise than their larger counterparts.

Specialisation and size

It could be argued that there has been an increasing divide between small and large firms, with the latter recruiting more specialist surveyors and the former more likely to hire generalists who can cover a wide variety of areas. This dynamic is comparable to medicine, where small local firms act as GP surgeries as the first port of call for smaller projects, and the larger national firms are equivalent to surgeons who can work on more complex issues.

Smaller firms tend to have rural surveyors doing more general work because of their less sizeable client base and limited choice about the type of work they do. On the other hand, larger firms have more resources with which to specialise, and find it easier to recruit new graduates, thus keeping a continual influx of fresh expertise.

Specialisation in larger firms is also more prevalent because of the increasing concerns around the cost of professional indemnity insurance to protect against wrongly advising clients. Generalists face a higher risk of making errors because they cover such a wide range of topics. Ensuring a better future for the profession means maintaining an influx of talent for small and large firms alike.

Improving the profession’s visibility

One area that could be stifling the growth of the profession is its lack of visibility. Rural surveyors are not well known to young people in rural areas, unless they have direct contact with one, for example on a family farm. The rural surveying profession has so much to offer for people who want a career that spans a variety of sectors such as law, accountancy, planning and land management that could attract fresh talent. It is therefore vital for the profession to attract a more diverse range of talent, including communities who live in urban areas and minority groups, by increasing visibility of the profession to those who don’t know what a rural surveyor does.

"It is therefore vital for the profession to attract a more diverse range of talent, including communities who live in urban areas and minority groups"

There is also a lack of funding for further study such as conversion courses, or to support those such as ex-servicepeople who do not want to come into the profession through traditional higher education routes. Access to distance learning and funding for people from a variety of backgrounds will make the profession stronger. To put it bluntly: if there’s no investment in the future, then there is no future for the profession.

Collaborating for a brighter future

The rural surveying profession faces a difficult challenge in adapting to future agricultural policy with its likely increased emphasis on environmental issues. This will become even more prevalent as advisers look to capitalise on the UK’s move towards net-zero carbon by 2050 for their clients – an opportunity professionals need to be aware of.

If smaller and larger firms can collaborate more effectively to refer specialists and generalists where required, competition from other professions can be reduced and clients will get a better service.

To ensure this continues, a constant influx of talent from a diverse range of backgrounds is vital. The future of the profession can then be bright, providing it continues to adapt to the changing agricultural and environmental policy landscape as a trusted adviser.

Emma Popham is working towards her MPhil in Planning, growth and regeneration at The University of Cambridge. This article is adapted from her undergraduate dissertation at Newcastle University

ep633@cam.ac.uk

Related competencies include: Agriculture, Environmental management, Land use and diversification, Landlord and tenant, Management of the natural environment and landscape