Meet the Consultant - Tiffany Stephenson
I’m Tiffany, a Senior Agricultural Consultant in the SAC Consulting St Boswells office in the Scottish Borders. I joined SAC Consulting during the COVID lockdown in 2020 which provided an interesting start to my time with working from home, online meetings and later social distanced outdoor meetings on farm. From the St Boswells office, I support farmers across Berwickshire, covering east of Kelso to the coast and stretching to the Lammermuir Hills.
I grew up on a mixed farm in the Scottish Borders with a Romney ewe flock, spring calving Aberdeen Angus cross suckler cows and arable cropping. Having thoroughly enjoyed working on the family farm for a few years I made the decision to study Rural Business Management with SRUC in Edinburgh. Throughout my time studying I arranged various work experience placements to find out more about different jobs in the industry. Between third and fourth year I worked between the St Boswells and Edinburgh SAC Consulting offices as part of the SRUC Trainee Trust Scheme. It was during my 10-week placement I was inspired to become a consultant. I was then lucky that a job came up in the St Boswells office.
One of the things I quickly realised when I started was the experience and knowledge of the people in the organisation from the consultants through to the researchers. Farmers have many different questions so this breadth of knowledge available allows you to find out the information needed, providing expertise to the farmers and clients. It is definitely a job where you continue learning the whole time as it is always changing and evolving.
I am involved in a huge range of work which ensures no two days are the same and keeps every week interesting. This varies from the ‘typical’ work of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Nitrate Vulernable Zone (NVZ), to the grant schemes which are continually changing. Carbon Audits are one area which has increased rapidly in my time working with SAC Consulting. Although some people are unsure about the benefit of completing a carbon audit, they provide a great way to get on farm, thoroughly learn about a business and identify where efficiencies can be improved. In many cases this has financial benefits to the business as well. This has also helped to develop business work and considering the financial side of the business as well.
Working with farmers is definitely a highlight of the job. Farmers are such knowledgeable people, and you can learn a huge amount from them. It is a privilege being able to help and guide clients on their own journey and seeing the differences, changes and the results being achieved.
As well as working one to one with farmers I carry out work for Scottish Farm Advisory Service (FAS). I currently run three discussion groups in the Borders with colleagues running a further three groups. These discussion groups are hugely rewarding and have allowed for the farmers to build trust between each other and share successes, failures, their journeys and concerns. For the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) I also produce two podcasts, Cropcast and Rural Round Up.
SAC Consulting are incredibly supportive of our learning and personal growth and development as consultants During my first three years, I undertook a part distance learning Master’s Degree in Agricultural Professional Practice. I have also achieved my Fertiliser Advisers Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS) qualification and more recently started working towards my British Association for Sustainable and Integrated Systems (BASIS) Diploma in Agronomy.
I am honoured to have recently won the Elrick Prize. The Elrick Prize was first awarded in 2022 in memory of Senior Consultant, Gavin Elrick and is awarded to a member of staff within SAC Consulting who has promoted sustainable farming. I did not know I had been nominated for the award, and I am humbled that my colleagues nominated me. It was such a surprise to have won the award. The award is a lovely way to honour Gavin Elrick’s memory.
Tiffany Stephenson, Senior Agricultural Consultant, Tiffany.Stephenson@sac.co.uk
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Posted by Unearthed News on 13/03/2025
