It ’ s been a tough year for many in the farming community simply because of the adverse weather we ’ ve had since Christmas 2017 . At the beginning of the year , saw snow and ice , followed by down pours and now for the last few weeks an extreme hot spell , that many people have compared to the summer of 76 . The worrying part of that comparison is that in 76 , the winter that followed the summer was horrendous , and one of the harshest on record .

WHILST the hot weather has been great for companies operating within the tourism industry , its been rather troublesome for the agricultural sector . Many farmers are already breaking into food and forage resources , which will have a greater impact over the next few months , especially if we see another harsh winter , and let ’ s hope it ’ s not as severe as the ‘ 76 winter .

Yet , it ’ s not just been livestock farmers who are suffering as a direct result of the weather . Arable farms are also under a lot of strain , especially those growing oilseeds and grain crops , which are suffering from lower yields due to low moisture content .

Though the one major issue of the hot weather that ’ s affected many in rural communities including the farming sector has been the wildfires . All across the UK and Europe there have been devastating fires that have destroyed crops and wild life , some have been as a direct result of the weather whilst many have been started deliberately . The fires have spread out of control because of how dry the landscape is causing a colossal amount of damage in their wake . The situation became so bad that the army were called in to assist fire fighters extinguish many of the outbreaks . One such fire in Greece killed over 50 people . Experts are warning we could see a lot more of these adverse weather spells in the future as the climate changes .

On top of all the problems due to adverse weather conditions there seems to be even greater uncertainty surrounding Brexit as many are now suggesting that a ‘ No Deal ’ scenario is highly likely . This could lead to supply lines to and from Europe being disrupted along with several other issues that could potentially affect the farming and rural communities around the country .

Editor , Jason

AUG / SEP 2018 • farmers-mart . co . uk

RESEARCH undertaken by Plimsoll Publishing into the UK ’ s top 1000 veterinary practices has revealed that one in four is making a loss , suggesting that the sector is likely to experience significant consolidation as businesses are either taken over or closed .

Nationally , over 60 % of veterinary firms with a turnover of less than £ 5 million have reported losses . Average margins across all loss-making practices have fallen from . 03 % to -2.9 % in the last year .

But , it is not all doom and gloom . Whilst sales across the industry are flat , the 814 best performing businesses have seen margins increase from 2.7 % to 3.8 %.

Analysis by the team at Plimsoll Publishing reveals that average sales per employee have decreased to just £ 61,000 over the last year . Declining sales per person ,

set against a backdrop of increased profits within the sector , would suggest that performing veterinary firms are finding profit from increased margins and cost cutting rather than sales .

www . plimsoll . co . uk

Margin trends in the veterinary sector

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