Farm Business Review

Over the last six months we have been involved in helping deliver the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) Farm Business reviews, in conjunction with DEFRA as part of the Farm resilience fund to help businesses plan for life after the Basic Payment Scheme subsidies.

This has been a very interesting exercise, visiting a variety of different farming businesses across the Southwest. The farmers will have benefitted from the time spent looking at their business and discussing what can be done to improve; whether this be financial efficiencies leading to increased profit or reducing the labour time taken to complete tasks and what these changes will look like for the business once the BPS has gone.

There were numerous topics which were discussed during the visits, with every business having different objectives and challenges. Having an independent point of view made for lots of discussion around what the farmers were wanting to achieve and how they were going to change to achieve it.

Understanding the issues being faced will help towards managing the success of the business now and after the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme income. This will ensure the best outcomes for all those involved. The managers of the businesses discussed how they can control most things, maybe not the weather, and ensure these parameters are monitored. Ultimately these improvements lead to a better business.

Now that the DEFRA funded service has ended, farming businesses should still ensure that they are spending the time considering how their business will look in the future, continuing to understand their products and their markets, maximising their returns, in order to make sure that their business will thrive.

Whilst there is no one size fits all approach to the future of farming businesses, we are confident that with our experience, passion and knowledge of farming, we can be there to help and, where necessary, guide you along the way.