Chloe Gimson, 22, is a final year BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Farm Business Management student. For her research project entitled “Is stockmanship still important on achieving optimal performance on a modern outdoor breeding pig unit? If so, how do we best manage it?”, Chloe is running a survey to gather first-hand experiences and to analyse the skills and characteristics of stockmen and women.

Chloe was brought up on an outdoor breeding pig unit in Suffolk and has seen first-hand how a good stockperson can affect the outcomes of a unit.

“The impact a stockperson has on performance is often overlooked by the agricultural industry. My dissertation looks to highlight the impact a stockperson does have on farm performance and how to improve performance on farms through a good stockperson."

“I’m looking to determine the significance that labor has on the performance on a pig breeding unit and the importance of not only practical skills and knowledge but also soft skills such as stockperson empathy, observation, anticipation, planning and communication.”

Chloe has recently accepted a role at Savills, Oxford, as a Food and Farming Graduate where she hopes to further develop her interest in farm management and labour within the industry following her graduation.

Chloe is appealing to those who work on outdoor breeding pig units to support her research through completing her questionnaire - Is Stockpersonship still important on achieving optimal physical performance on a modern outdoor breeding pig unit?