Welcome to The Farm Consultancy Group’s second edition of the Business Briefing Newsletter for 2017.  In this issue you will find management tips on tax planning, Brexit, dealing with your creditors,  NVZ designations and on farm articles on waste reduction, fertility and  zero tillage.

Working With Your Accountant – Max Sealy (Chippenham)

At this time of year, we spend a lot of time doing management figures to estimate profits to the end of the financial year, to help with tax planning.  This year some businesses have been less than prepared for the size of their tax bill, due to poor cashflow in the year ending 31st March 2016.  This has led them not to make any investment for capital allowance purposes.  Because of previous investments being 100% written off in the year of purchase, some large tax bills have been received, as taxable profit is considerably more than profit before depreciation.  Read more …

BREXIT – Charles Holt (Lincoln)

So what are we to make of the “Hard Brexit” that is now almost inevitable, following Theresa May’s recent speeches and her visit over the pond of last week?  For agriculture, it all suggests to me that farmers are likely to be much more on their own, and any support from central coffers will be limited, compared with current levels of subsidy.  But it is the uncertainty that is so concerning.  Read more …

NVZ Designations – Steph Emmerson (Chippenham)

New and proposed NVZ designations have now been announced by DEFRA for 2017-2020.  DEFRA intends to issue notices to the farmer via first class post.  These notices will be sent out at different times depending on your river basin district.  You have 28 days from notification to appeal the decision to designate land as an NVZ this applies to both current land under designation and new!  There are several proposed new NVZ areas which were not previously designated, including land in Lancashire, Staffordshire, South Devon and the Thames Valley.  The map shows the proposed new areas highlighted in dark blue.  Read more …

Water Industry Deregulation – Harry Edwards (Gloucester)

From April 2017 the water industry will begin to deregulate.  The aim of this deregulation is to reduce the barriers to competition.  The water industry is worth £3 billion per year, with each water supplier holding a monopoly on its geographical area.  Ofwat asked the 14 regional water companies in England to split their businesses between wholesale (the infrastructure) and retail (customer service and billing).  Read more …

Zero Tillage and 20T/Ha? – Will Hyde (Chippenham)

The North Wilts Arable group recently had a joint meeting with the Avon Meadow sheep group and welcomed Jake Freestone, Farm Manager of Overbury Farms to speak about zero tillage, heavy wheat yields and integrated livestock management.

Jake worked his way through the Velcourt management route before taking on the Farm Management role at Overbury Farms in Gloucestershire where combinable arable crops are grown in rotation alongside salad onions and potatoes.  In 2012 Jake embarked on a Nuffield scholarship where he looked at the possibility of growing 20t/ha in winter wheat crops in a sustainable system. The scholarship took Jake to New Zealand where he met high yielding growers and also to America where he visited zero tillage farmers.  Read more …

 

Reducing Waste – Phil Cooper (Sherborne)

There are eight different types of waste within any type of business including farm businesses.

1. Over Production – producing more than is required, e.g. carrying more heifers than you require.
2. Transport – e.g., machinery the wrong size for the job or animals in multiple sites.
3. Waiting Time – staff having to wait for a machine or having to wait for another colleague, unplanned work schedules.
4. Extra Processing – over cleaning or treating stock like pets.
5. Inventory – carrying too much stock which can spoil or take up extra space/capital.
6. Defects – unclean routine or sick animals.
7. Motion – not having the right tool for the job or not being able to find the right tool.
8. Unused Talent – not asking your team how things can be improved, don’t forget you pay staff for their heads as well as their hands.

Read more …

Leadership Training – Max Sealy (Chippenham)

A common theme which reoccurs on farms is empowering team leaders to manage and motivate staff.  As unit size grows and businesses become more complex, the role of the key people in the team becomes ever more important.  This is particularly so in dairy situations, where often head herdsmen have been promoted from being good managers of cows, to needing to be good managers of people.  Read more …

For more articles follow the links:

Fertility – Maintaining the Momentum – Chris Coxon (Andover)
Farmers to Jump on the Healthy Eating Bandwagon – Steph Emmerson (Chippenham)
Dealing With Your Creditors! – Take Your Head Out Of the Sand! – Gerard Finnan (Sherborne)
Expert Witness – Charles Holt (Lincoln)
New Trials Show Benefit of Spring NPKS Fertiliser Policy – Phil Cooper (Sherborne)
Fixing Your Exchange Rate – Kevin Edwards (Gloucester)
Don’t Forget to Send the Milk Production Reduction Scheme Claim Form! – Sophie Cligg (Sherborne)