Having recently completed my 90-day review at Wilson Wraight, I thought it an ideal opportunity to reflect on the first quarter of my placement year, and all that it has entailed.

Having started in mid-July, the prospect of working as an agricultural consultant was completely new to me, having only ever worked in more practical roles across the industry. I chose this particular placement as an opportunity to try my hand at a something new which I may otherwise never have had the opportunity to undertake. I saw the Harper Adams placement year as an ideal chance to gain experience and skills in a higher-level part of the industry, learning from experienced advisors in everything from planning consultancy to environmental advisory.

My first week at the company was a busy one; new faces, names, administrative enrolment and introduction to my future responsibilities occupied my time, with the first real billable work being assigned toward the end of the week. This was a particularly busy time due to the opening of SFI26 in mid-September. I am not ashamed to admit that the thought “I’m no good at this!” crossed my mind a few times in these early weeks. However, the willingness of my supervisors, and the WW team as a whole, to teach newcomers all that they need to know quickly made me realise – “I can do it!”- with the ‘nothing is a stupid question’ mentality of the experienced team making learning on the go extremely easy.

The team at Wilson Wraight couldn’t have been more welcoming; we were taken for lunch on the first day – a brilliant introduction to our senior members of staff – and have since been included in a number of thoroughly enjoyable social activities such as a summer outing to Go Ape, and more recently, a Macmillan Coffee morning/bake off, organised by my placement colleague Will Brett and myself (humble brag but my team won).

Very quickly, I was integrated into the agricultural consultant and environmental teams, completing real client work from the very start. Early responsibilities included a large amount of SFI prep interspersed with other tasks, such as analysing cashflows, updating cropping licences, and even having the opportunity to review and discuss contract farming agreements in client meetings as harvest drew to a close. All of this is a testament to the variety of work that comes with this placement.

Being involved in the actual application of client’s schemes for SFI26, allowed me to feel I was quickly making a difference. Since the application window has closed,  my work has shifted towards a more classical ‘agricultural consultant’ role, completing financial reports and budgets as client’s financial and harvest years come to an end – something that I have found very interesting and have learnt a huge amount from; this was something I was really looking forward to being involved with.

I look forward to seeing what the next nine months in industry will bring as my role and responsibilities continue to progress.