Gregor Belcher

My placement experience

I’m in the second year of my BSc Applied Farm Management degree at the RAU and have just undertaken a 4-week work placement at the NFU Mutual Head Office in Stratford. Working alongside Charlie Yorke, Farming Propositions Consultant at NFU Mutual, I was able to get involved in several exciting ongoing projects, including research on precision technology.

The experience has been invaluable for gaining a better understanding of the industry. I had the opportunity to attend national precision technology events which explored innovation in farming and gave me the chance to network with experts in this area. Following on from this, I wrote a report on precision technology which I then presented to senior NFU Mutual colleagues.

"This placement enabled me to obtain a greater understanding of the day to day running of the organisation and the products and services they supply."

I enjoyed being actively involved in NFU Mutual meetings, discussing key topics ranging from how to engage the young farming demographic in the Young Farmers Scheme, to getting an update on the current political status of UK agriculture in the face of Brexit.

Though the placement is now over, I will have the chance to continue my contribution to NFU Mutual by helping to inform further discussions about the NFU Mutual Young Farmers Scheme.

“These placements are designed to provide students with industry experience, tackling modern day sector related issues and preparing students for work. Gregor has demonstrated the value that these placements can offer organisations such as ours.” – Charlie Yorke, Farming Propositions Consultant at NFU Mutual.