Farmers get a lesson in risk management

Guy Poskitt, the Goole-based farmer whose vegetable firm has grown over the last 40 years to become one of the country’s largest carrot producers and a major supplier to Asda, was among the panel of speakers at the event in Hexham on Wednesday.

He said he had managed risks to his business by expanding his operation throughout the country.

Mr Poskitt farms more than 6,000 acres of land in total, across the north of Scotland, the South of England as well as in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

“The differing climates extend the growing season for us but this can also bring additional challenges,” he said.

“In Yorkshire there is the chance of drought and in Lancashire the opposite, but properly managed they can both work well. Farming 200 miles from home can also have its problems – if you can’t find the right people you are in trouble.”

The 330 delegates at the event also heard from Jonathan Allright, head of the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, who recommended that now was a good time to restructure finance.

He said: “We have become too used to low base rates; these will rise and fixed rates are already on the move so now is a good time to mitigate the risk.”

Land prices are riding high, he said, with investors from non-farming backgrounds having bought up swathes of agricultural land in recent years, and buyers should be cautious.

“Look at the five-year average and work out if you can afford interest payments in the lean years,” he said.

Colin McGregor, an arable farmer and contractor working over the Scottish Borders and north of England, said the introduction of new technology had reduced risk to his business. Accurate steering systems had saved him £10 per acre, while mobile communications technology and social media had improved efficiency and decision-making.

Robert Sullivan, of the Strutt & Parker farming department, said that after two tough years for farmers, market demand was increasing for grain as well as both red and white meat, while the cost of fertiliser was dropping.

Professor Allan Buckwell challenged farmers to embrace the increased focus of environmental management or ‘greening’ aspect of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

He said: “The most fertile soils are those that recover the best. We have been working ours hard for many years and so it is only right that we should invest in environmental schemes to improve the quality of our soil and water supplies.

“Farming is an extraordinarily complex process of producing food and managing the environment and the CAP exists to help manage the volatility and variability of the food market but also to fund the upkeep of our country’s landscapes, for which there is no market.”

Subsidy countdown

Farmers were reminded to have their say on the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) before the Government’s consultation closes on November 28.

Farming Minister George Eustice said the Government intends to focus its CAP budget through a new rural development programme in pillar two of the policy.

“We think we can come up with better tailored policies there, both to support the agri-environment, but also to promote farm competitiveness and rural growth,” he said.