Kieran Coughlan: Keeping tabs on credit costs is key to profits

This is an expensive time of year on many farms with heavy feed and fertiliser bills for sheep, cattle and dairy farmers, and seed, diesel and fertiliser bills for tillage farmers.

Farmers rely heavily on merchant credit at this time of year as cashflow is generally under pressure.

Later in the year as animals are sold, milk production kicks into full swing and crops are harvested many of the bills will be cleared down.