Visit us at The Bath and West Show

The arrival of Rupert Cox as chief executive of the Royal Bath and West Society has proved most welcome.

On taking charge in January last year Rupert said: “Who would have thought that when I started stewarding in the sheep section of the Bath and West Show as a teenager some 35 years ago, that I would return to lead this iconic and highly regarded institution?”

Who indeed? But the show is now benefitting from the older Rupert’s considerable business experience, wealth of contacts, love of the countryside and likeable personality.

Rupert also comes from an agricultural background and I am delighted to see that under his leadership the Bath and West has regained more of its agricultural show character while enhancing its wider appeal for the whole family.

It offers consumers a rare opportunity to meet the producers of the food they eat – and increase their knowledge of today’s farming industry.

Our farmers need the public’s understanding and support, especially when so many are struggling with commodity prices below the cost of production and the disturbing failure of the Basic Payment Scheme to pay farmers their due in time and without a scary number of errors.

So I am pleased that this year’s Bath and West Show will feature a new, dedicated food and drink area showcasing some of the UK’s finest producers, running in conjunction with the British Cheese Awards and the British Cider Championships.

Visitors will also see more than 4,500 livestock and 2,000 horses, sheep shearing and a display of farming machinery from the past to the latest farming technology.

The Bath and West is the only four-day royal show in the country, with a history dating back to 1852.

This year its evolution continues and 2016 promises to be a show of transformation with changes to both features and layout.

One innovation comes courtesy of Michael Eavis, president of the Royal Bath and West of England Society, and perhaps better known as the founder of the nearby Glastonbury Festival.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Eavis’s addition to the show is a new music area with him sourcing the acts. Music will take place throughout the day and into the early evening, bringing a festival feel to the showground.

My firm, Carter Jonas, will be in the CLA stand at the show and we will be pleased to see you there.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

“it’s easy to be a busy fool”

They say “it’s easy to be a busy fool” and this is a trap into which livestock farmers can easily fall because animals need looking after, especially in winter when routine tasks like feeding, mucking out and bedding down can take up much of the day.  

By the time all this daily work is finished many farmers simply do not have the energy to think how they could improve or alter their farming system for the better.

This was reflected in a study presented at the Oxford Farming Conference entitled “Entrepreneurship: A kiss of life for the UK farming sector?”  The paper was written by Graham Redman of the Andersons Centre and Muhammad Azam Roomi of the school of management at Cranfield University.

In the paper Redman explains that farming, unlike many other businesses, has evolved to be more than making the maximum profit, they are often about lifestyle and longevity. Consequently farming businesses generally last a long time but their return on investment is not as great as others.

Redman argues that this approach has stifled entrepreneurship in British farming.  He also explains that diversification is not the same as running an entrepreneurial business. 

Farmers who generate additional income from diversification may be running an efficient or profitable business but it doesn’t make them entrepreneurs. To be truly entrepreneurial, you need to be an original thinker.

“Entrepreneurship involves innovation,” he says. “It involves doing something new rather than just copying something that someone else has done.“

Not everyone can be an original thinker and I see no problem in copying someone else’s idea provided you do it well, but equally there must be original thinkers in the farming community who are stuck in the trap of time consuming routine tasks.  If those farmers could give themselves some strategic thinking time this might well benefit their business and perhaps also the wider farming community.

Redman goes on to say: “It is also important to exploit your skills to the maximum – and those of the people around you, as well as your other assets. 

“Evidence suggests that people do best at what they are good at, what they enjoy doing and what they understand. As a farmer, you are more likely to be successful doing something in the food supply chain than you are going off and building a factory that makes shoes.”

So, why not make some time for yourself to think? The results may be scary because change very often is. But you may find the changes you decide to implement are less risky than carrying on as you are.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

The highs and lows of 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, now is the time to reflect on the highs and lows of the farming year which has proved to be a mixed bag.

The year opened with torrential rain and floods on the Somerset Levels which became international news, but as the rain stopped it gave way to one of the best periods of “growing weather” we have seen for some time. Arable crops generally yielded well, grass and maize grew strongly filling the silage clamps and barns with an abundance of good quality winter fodder.

Livestock also enjoyed the pleasant spring and summer and incredibly mild autumn, resulting in high milk production and beef cattle growing and fattening well.

However, good as the weather may have been, farmers have been buffeted by some extreme conditions on the commodity markets.

Beef farmers were the first to be hit as prices plummeted by around 20% in the first six months of the year. But since then, the market has firmed and the year ends with prices back by about 10% on a year ago with modest hope now emerging for a better 2015.

It was then the turn of arable farmers to feel the cold wind of falling world commodity markets as feed wheat prices slumped from around £170 per tonne in the spring to a low of around £100 per tonne in mid autumn. From there prices have thankfully improved somewhat, approaching £130 per tonne at the yearend.

However, the most unpleasant surprise of the year was the unexpected slump in milk prices which started reasonably gently, but in recent months has gathered pace with some dairy farmers now being paid as much as 10p per litre less than they were being paid at the start of the year. This remains a worrying situation and there will undoubtedly be casualties as the months go on and what is particularly worrying is that there does not seem to be an obvious end to this decline in milk prices.

Having said that, unlike other sectors, not all dairy farmers are suffering at the same rate because the price each farmer receives depends on the terms of the contract they hold with one of the numerous milk buyers in the market. This is demonstrated by the latest DairyCo data which shows the top monthly milk price offered in October was 36.7p per litre as compared to the bottom price of 24.98p per litre; a staggering difference for more or less the same commodity.

So, it has been a mixed year with generally good weather after a disastrously wet start but this has not been enough to offset the effects of falling commodity prices which will undoubtedly impact on farming profits in 2014. However, with oil prices also falling fast this should help reduce costs of production as we move in to 2015 thereby offsetting at least some of the effect of falling produce prices which have proved to be the dominant factor effecting farmers in 2014.  

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Ragwort is bad news

I read an article which was recently published in this paper with incredulity. The article was promoting the idea that Common Ragwort should not be kept under control because of the benefits it brings to wildlife.

From memory I think it was an organisation called Buglife that was promoting this quite absurd idea, the premise being that ragwort is not a poisonous as some people think. Well anyone who has fed hay to horses or cattle which is contaminated with ragwort will confirm that ragwort is poisonous and does kill such livestock.

Sheep on the other hand are more resistant and can be used to graze the ragwort in early spring so as to reduce its growth but having acted for a number of conservation organisations, I have never heard of one actually promoting the spread of ragwort.

For the uninitiated, ragwort is a vigorous plant which produces a bright yellow flower that is often seen at this time of year on land which has limited management input such as roadside verges, railway embankments and extensively grazed grassland. One of the problems is that it is a very effective plant; it is estimated each plant can produce between 75,000 and 120,000 seeds.

Thus when one looks at a sea of yellow heads waiving beside a road as one whizzes by, one can see why it is of concern to neighbours who may find their land infested with a very heavy weed burden.

This is why common ragwort is one of the five plants named as an injurious weed under the provisions of the in the Weeds Act 1959. This legislation has been further bolstered by the Ragwort Control Act 2003 which provides a code of practice on how to prevent the spread of ragwort. This does not mean to say it is illegal to have ragwort on your land but the Weeds Act gives the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the power to order a landowner to take action to control the ragwort on their land.

I hope this goes to demonstrate that if governments, of all political persuasions, think the control of ragwort is worth legislating about, then surely there is no reason why anyone should be given air time to promote the spread of ragwort. I do not deny that some insects, including some rare ones may well like ragwort, or perhaps even depend on it, but from an agricultural perspective it is nothing but bad news.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Potential threats to farmers as the British Economy strenghtens

As the British economy strengthens this may pose threats to farmers because it is likely the pound will strengthen and interest rates will rise.

The strengthening pound is a particular threat for two reasons; first because it will impact on the value of European support payments which are defined in Euros and converted to pounds before being paid to farmers and second because it will make exports less competitive and imports comparatively cheaper.

The exchange rate in particular has been identified in recent years as one of the most important factors influencing the profitability or otherwise of British farmers and for livestock farmers in particular the receipt of European support can often make the difference between profit and loss.

These livestock farmers are also potentially vulnerable to the impact of increased imports which have been implicated in the recent slump in beef prices as beef is being imported from destinations such as Ireland and Poland. As a result the value of beef cattle in this country have fallen by approaching 25% in the last 6 months or so which is posing a serious threat to many livestock farmers.

This has lead to criticism being directed at farming leaders where many farmers feel the National Farmers Union (NFU) has not been doing enough to “beat the drum” for British beef producers. But the NFU has explained it has been encouraging the public to buy British beef and to back the “Red Tractor” logo.

The Red Tractor logo was introduced in 2000 in the wake of the BSE crisis to give the public confidence in British produce. The Red Tractor is a food assurance scheme which covers production standards developed by experts on safety, hygiene, animal welfare and the environment amongst other things. The Red Tractor logo means the food or drink has met these responsible production standards and is fully traceable back to independently inspected farms in the UK.

The NFU are also highlighting where supermarkets have not made enough effort to differentiate between British and Irish beef. But, the Chairman of the NFU Livestock Committee has admitted it has been incredibly difficult to gain traction on this due to the combination of an over-supplied market and soft demand for beef in this country which is giving the retailers the chance to ‘drive down’ farmgate prices.

However, NFU President Mr Meurig Raymond said that, “Confidence, particularly among beef finishers, is at rock bottom. This is a crisis. It is our top priority,” He added that, “Next Tuesday’s beef summit, hosted by Farming Minister George Eustice, would be an opportunity to reinforce these messages and encourage DEFRA to promote beef exports.”

So it appears a lot is hoped of this high level meeting next week but it remains to be seen what effect political influence will have on market forces and the often obscure world of the meat industry from the predominantly Irish owned abattoirs to the supermarket dominated retail sector.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Falling beef prices - serious concern for the livestock sector

The fall in the beef price being received by farmers is becoming a serious concern for the livestock sector.

Over the last few years beef prices have steadily risen peaking at over £4/kg deadweight but in the last six months in particular this trend has reversed and as a result many beef farmers are facing significant losses.

The price of beef has dropped by over 10% during the last twelve months while the price of beef on the supermarket shelves continues to stay firm or edge upwards which is causing British beef farmers significant concern.

This time last year the average price of a “standard steer” was £404p/kg which compares to a price of £362p last week and the price quoted by abattoirs to farmers continues to fall week on week.

What this means in real terms is that an beef animal weighing say £350kg deadweight will be worth £150 less this year than last year and because the margins on beef production are very low at the best of times, it seems likely beef fattening units in particular are going to face some significant losses over the coming months.

Indeed without support payments from Europe most livestock farmers in this country would simply not make a profit anyway and with such payments looking likely to reduce as we move in to the future many beef farmers will have to seriously examine the viability of their business model.

The problem is not helped by the fact that the retail outlets are dominated by the supermarkets which always brings in to question whether there is a fair market place between the many small farmers and the few big retailers. This is exacerbated by the fact that the number of abattoirs in this country is also dwindling, which further impacts on a farmer’s ability to influence the price they can achieve.

It is also interesting to learn that many of the abattoirs are owned by Irish firms and whether this influences the amount of Irish beef which is imported in to this country is open to question. Having said that Irish beef farmers are also struggling and so it may just be the low price of Irish beef which is influencing imports.

But what is clear is that on the supermarket shelves, British beef is often sold alongside Irish beef with no obvious distinction. Accordingly the NFU has called on retailers to stop mixing British and cheaper Irish beef on their shelves and to consider promotions to reignite consumer demand.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Memories of 2012 have come 'flooding' back

The memories of 2012 have unfortunately come flooding back (excuse the pun) to many in recent weeks and the Somerset Levels in particular seem to have taken the brunt in this area. The main road to Taunton is once again cut off and we see pictures of villagers being supplied with essential goods by boat.

 

No doubt the issue of dredging the main water courses more effectively will become a hot topic of conversation but it has to be remembered that winter flooding was a regular feature of farming on the levels in the past. The problem this time is that it has followed the devastating floods of 2012 which has left some farmers still recovering from the effects of those floods which started in April and continued on and off throughout the summer and beyond.

 

Such summer flooding is far more damaging than winter flooding because it occurs during the growing season, killing grass and other crops, preventing grazing and damaging soil structure when machinery or livestock cross waterlogged soils. This leads to short and long term impacts on the farmers affected. They not only lose summer grazing and fodder stocks which need to be replaced in order to maintain livestock numbers in the short term they also face the cost of re-establishing grass swards and sorting out the damage to the soil structure in the long term.

 

It is these latter issues which are most likely to cause some farmers particular problems now, in that the grass leys which were reseeded last year are still relatively immature and may not survive the winter flooding which older permanent pastures would probably survive relatively unscathed. The type of grass seed used will also be important in that some of the modern short term leys will struggle to survive periods of flooding whereas many of the old permanent pasture seed mixes are far more resistant to such conditions. However, such seed mixes are less productive and so farmers have to balance the risk flooding against the productivity of the grass.

 

So, although these floods will have been devastating for some I would suggest, provided they do not last too long, they will have done significantly less damage to farmland than was the case in 2012. But whether or not a farm has been flooded, the very wet conditions make looking after livestock in particular difficult. Out wintered stock need to be moved more regularly to prevent the land becoming poached, mud is everywhere hindering virtually everything you need to do, manure and slurry become difficult to handle in wet yards and rainwater fills the slurry lagoons threatening an overspill and yet it is difficult to spread the slurry on waterlogged land without causing soil damage and risking a pollution incident.

 

Thus, all in all wet weather just makes farming difficult and unpleasant work although most will be glad the rain did not come as snow – let’s just hope that is not what February has in store for us.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk