It is possible to do better and spend less
There’s going to be less financial support for farming, and more money for “greening”.
The farmers who took to the streets in Dublin last week did so out of concern that state support of farming will decline.
One of the reasons for the change in emphasis is the increasing belief in Brussels and elsewhere that the huge CAP budget is going to a sector which is doing okay at present.
Europe has bigger and more important issues, such as youth unemployment, infrastructure in Eastern Europe, and managing change in industry, to name but three non-agricultural issues — and it looks probable that farming will be asked to gradually look after itself.
In my talks to farmers across the country, I am advising them to prepare their businesses for the age of the new CAP, and this, of course, can mean significant changes at farm level.
For many farms, it means making a full business assessment of strengths and weaknesses — something which a good many have not done for decades, if ever.
Change is made easier when the balance sheet is strong: the result of prudent investment, effective management, good marketing, and a barrow load of good luck!
Strong balance sheets happen when farmers spend less than their neighbours, yet perform as well, if not better.
Peter, who farms 300 acres with 150 cows, is one such farmer. A main road bisects his farm, he’s close to the River Severn and to the Forest of Dean in the southwest of England. I was interested in his minimal cost approach and the ideas he used, an example of which is featured here.
As Peter expanded his dairy herd in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, he needed increased silage clamp capacity, and he created all his clamps using scrap lorry beds, bought from breakers’ yards for about £200. The beds are cut off the frame, stood on their edge and welded to upright girders set in the concrete base. The timber is saturated with oil, so it is well preserved.
Peter put all his silage in the clamps, apart from some wrapped bales of haylage which were sold to local horse owners. He found it impossible to justify the costs of baling and plastic wrapping, together with plastic disposal, against those of clamping, especially when the clamps themselves are built so inexpensively.
One money-saving idea leads to another, which cuts costs further, all leading to a stronger balance sheet, and this in turn provides a farm with the opportunity to take stock and, if desired, make major changes.
My initial visit to Peter was fascinating, as was my return in 2010, when I discovered that a health scare, low milk prices, and a total re-assessment of the farm had led to creation of a new business which was completely different to the one I first saw in the 1990s, does not depend on the CAP, and provides diversified income that does not rely on one product and one customer, as was the case with his milk production.
The family business now has the chance to develop in a number of different directions.
The basis of this change was the strong initial balance sheet, and the inexpensive silage clamp is just one example of how this was achieved.
The mindset for this kind of farming starts with the desire to minimise costs.
I am grateful to Peter, and the many other farmers, each who have shown me their individual methods of getting on top of their farming costs.
