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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