Our Agriculture & Landscapes team delivers strategic and practical support to improve resilience and productivity in supply chains and landscapes. Their specialist focuses are sourcing strategies and effective engagement with suppliers and farmers.
With previous projects including work for John Lewis Partnership, the Nature Friendly Farming Network and Sustainable Food Lab, the team’s expertise is grounded in first-hand industry experience. But what exactly does this mean?
We wanted to unearth just that bit more about the people behind the projects, to dig a little deeper into how and why they got into agriculture in the first place – and to understand their big-picture views on a fast-evolving sector.
Led by Catherine McCosker, a former US farm manager, the team includes specialists who previously worked at the National Trust, National Farmer’s Union and the National Park Authority.
Catherine, Head of Agriculture & Landscapes
“I’ve always loved being outside and working with plants and animals. The opportunity to work on my first farm came about organically (if you’ll excuse the pun!). I fell in love with it immediately.”
Russell Ashfield, Principal Consultant
“My parents were very active in Young Farmers. As a child I worked on family and friends’ farms – every summer (and weekends)!”
Ali Rickett, Principal Consultant
“I was born and raised on a mixed dairy and arable tenant farm. Farming has been in my blood from day one. It’s what makes me tick.”
Luke Ryder, Senior Consultant
“I got into agriculture through personal interest and family acquaintances in the village where I grew up. I wanted hands-on experience and I loved working on dairy farms and milking cows.”
What experience do you have in agriculture?
Catherine McCosker
“Before moving to the UK, I spent seven years apprenticing, working on and managing small and medium-scale mixed farms across the north-eastern United States.
“My experience includes horticulture, dairy and small livestock. I’ve also worked with large-animal veterinarians, primarily in the dairy sector.”
Russell Ashfield
“I studied Countryside Management at Wye College. I’ve since had various advisory and land-management roles on the nature-conservation side of agriculture at National Park Authority, FWAG and the National Trust.
“My time at the National Trust included being the share farmer for a 900-acre mixed farm focusing on rare breeds, historic parkland restoration, nature conservation, public access and setting up a farm shop.”
Ali Rickett
“On top of my practical farming background, I have a Higher National Diploma in Agriculture, and I’ve worked with hundreds of farmers, landowners and stakeholders at a national level.
“I built up a farmer-training group near Cambridge over seven years. I’ve also worked as the National Rural Skills & Training Adviser for the National Trust, National Project Manager for Fresh Start Farm Business Academies and ‘Bright Crop’, and was the sustainable farming lead for the Nature Friendly Farming Network.”
Luke Ryder
“My experience in agriculture is fairly broad. I’ve worked on multiple livestock farms since the age of 15 and I studied agriculture at university.
“For 10+ years, I worked for the National Farmers Union of England and Wales as a policy adviser. I’ve also worked in agri-tech, helping businesses to innovate and use satellite technology to monitor natural capital at scale.
“Since joining 3Keel, I’ve been involved in multiple projects spanning resilient agriculture and landscape innovation.”
What’s around the corner for agriculture?
When speaking to the team, it’s clear that a shift is afoot. There are exciting changes coming, or already under way, in agriculture that range from big-picture (even landscape-scale) advances all the way down to the weeds.
”For me,” says Senior Consultant Luke Ryder, “the most exciting developments in UK agriculture are around whole-system thinking – regenerative approaches, outcomes-based policy, better use of data, and more honest conversations between farmers, businesses and policymakers.”
Many of the key changes are at a high level for Principal Consultant Ali Rickett too. “I’d have to say it’s around a significant shift in farming practices,” she says, “in understanding that we have a huge role to play in the longevity of our landscape, with climate change and in our communities. Most importantly, it’s that agriculture can deliver real positives.”
Step a level down, and much of this translates to finance. But it’s also about connecting up the dots in the right way. “Some of my most exciting work involves helping farmers to capitalise on their role as land stewards to restore landscapes and benefit from emerging ecosystem service markets,” says Luke.
“There’s also real momentum around supply-chain engagement with agriculture, and increasing recognition that we can’t meet sustainability goals without farmers being properly supported and rewarded.”
It’s an area that also stands out for Principal Consultant Russell Ashfield: “I find the growing opportunities that the private sector presents to farmers and land managers very exciting. They allow farmers other income streams, away from subsidies and agri-environmental grants.”
For Catherine McCosker, Head of Agriculture & Landscapes, it’s those developments underfoot, which go unnoticed by many, that hold the most excitement and significance. “I’m a nerd at heart, so I love reading about trials and improvements in intercropping and perennial cropping,” she says.
What are the biggest challenges for agriculture?
“UK agriculture is facing lots of competing challenges right now – growing policy uncertainty, climate change driving extreme weather events, economic pressure on farm businesses, and rising expectations around environmental delivery,” says Luke.
“To be honest, I’m pleased to be able to help by acting as a convener and translator, aligning corporate business ambition, policy frameworks and on-farm realities – and also by helping supply chains to invest in change in a way that’s credible, fair and effective.”
Geopolitical instability is also front of Russell’s mind. ”It’s been a very uncertain time over the past few years,” he says, “with numerous changes in government policies and unstable markets due to global pressures (wars, oil prices, trade tariffs).
“The impacts of climate change also make it a very challenging time to make long-term business plans. Personally, I feel the advances 3Keel is making in opening up new private market opportunities provide real, tangible opportunities to farmers and land managers. Some of these opportunities can be long term and allow stability for business planning – not just financial planning, but also to alleviate the environmental challenges.”
“Farmers are pivotal for wide-scale change to happen, but like the rest of us they need to feed their families and pay the bills.”
While it’s essential to keep track of the wider trends, Ali’s note of caution lands closer to home. She highlights that the challenge is to ensure we bring farming businesses with us. ”Changes to agricultural practices represent a big challenge, but so do the incredibly tight margins and day-to-day challenges that many farming businesses operate with,” she says.
“As government-supported schemes continue to change and reduce, there’s a real need to understand the other opportunities available to farm businesses, such as their role in the food supply chain and Green Commerce.
“Yes, agriculture has the potential to deliver hugely for the landscape and climate change. But we need to properly support this for real change to happen, and understand that we can’t ask farmers to deliver this unless there is benefit to them and their business as well.”
What should we be wary of in agriculture?
“For me it’s a polarising of the issues: food security vs. nature vs. climate change,” says Russell. “I believe there’s a real opportunity to tackle all the issues in a joined-up, clear and sensible way. This needs people to come together to listen and work together.”
In a similar vein, Luke’s biggest fear for agriculture is a loss of trust between farmers, policymakers, businesses and the public. “If agriculture is pushed to change without meaningful engagement or viable economics, we risk disengagement, polarisation and the exportation of our industry,” he says. “Avoiding this means better leadership and collaboration, long-term thinking and ensuring farmers are partners in change, not just seen as delivery mechanisms.”
Ali’s concern is that we must be able to grow and maintain resilient businesses as well as resilient landscapes. “Farmers are pivotal for wide-scale change to happen,” she says, “but like the rest of us they need to feed their families and pay the bills.
“With pressures on agriculture from all directions, farming businesses need to stay afloat and be viable. This requires support and help for farmers to make the changes that will benefit all of us.”
Looking ahead: from agriculture springs hope
Despite the challenges and the knowledge that many beneficial changes still need to take place, there’s definite consensus within the team that the last 10 years have seen a real shift not only in narrative, but in the understanding of the different agricultural practices required to take us forward.
”We’ve seen some real progress over the past few years especially,” says Russell. “For me, the increase in farmers seeking out alternative approaches is particularly encouraging. I’m thinking of things like the growing interest in LENs, and also the rise of ‘farmer clusters’ and the power these clusters could have in demonstrating to large companies and to government what we can achieve at a landscape scale.”
The importance placed on considering alternative views and methods is a thread that runs through the team.
“There’s a growing realisation that the industry needs greater leadership and fresh ideas – that we need to start leaning into some of the more difficult but constructive conversations,” says Luke. “It’s not present in all corners, but there’s a growing openness to experimentation, learning and collaboration.”
This sense of openness is key for Ali too. She adds that most (if not quite all) of the new ideas required already sit within the sector. ”Agriculture is lucky to have many people who are innovative and who solve problems. And bit by bit, there are more opportunities for this to shine through,” she says.
“For change to continue happening, a mix of ideas and solutions from those long-ingrained in the industry and those from other backgrounds is essential.”
This is only part of the shift in narrative, however. Many now see that collaborating, and understanding how best to do so, is an essential piece of the puzzle. “Most importantly,” says Luke, “there’s a recognition that if we get the systems right, food production and environmental stewardship don’t have to be opposing forces.”
Russell agrees: “There’s a definite opportunity here to really show we’re ‘greater than the sum of the parts’ if we all collaborate.
“For example, the increasing interest and realisation from companies that they need to be (and are) part of the solution from a direct business perspective – not just from philanthropic donations – gives me hope that we can continue to move forward.”
Ali sums it up nicely: “These are exciting times, but we all need to work together to drive this train of change.”
If you’d like to know more about the experience within the team, or if you’re interested in speaking to any of Catherine, Russell, Ali or Luke, please get in touch using the form below – or call the office on +44 1865 236500.
