“ FARMING has added to the prosperity of the country over many years , supporting rural communities and businesses and shaping the countryside we all enjoy .

There are always plenty of challenges facing farmers , most usually focused on the weather and what ’ s happening with output prices . In the recent years since Brexit , farmers have been confronted with the added challenges of a new farming policy being introduced closely linked to environmental and carbon net zero measures , alongside a squeeze on farm incomes caused by inflation .

New farm policy has been slow to come forward , while sequential reduction in BPS payments will cut this support to 50 % of pre-Brexit levels by 2024 . Take up of new forms of support like ELMS and SFI has been slow , with farmers struggling to understand where these new payments will fit into their business .

At the same time , we have seen input inflation in the farming sector quoted above 20 %, causing a squeeze on farm incomes which will almost certainly

continue to be felt hard by farmers as we work through the 2024 growing season . As a result of inflation , we have also seen significant increases in interest rates for the first time in many years .

Given these changes , there has never been a more important time to take a hard look at your business , start to plan out what the future is going to look like and how you might adapt your business to this new future .

A ‘ deep delve ’ into your business is often long overdue , and taking the time out to sit down with your professional advisors and tackle these key questions will be time well spent :

• How can new support arrangements best fit into your business and what will the resulting income look like ?

• How well is my business performing and can I do some benchmarking to give us a feel for performance ?

• Given the changes to support arrangements and volatility of prices , are there some enterprises on the farm I should do more of , and others I should do less or even stop altogether ?

• What about the net zero agenda ? Will my customers be wanting information on this ? How can I learn more about it ? Should I get a Carbon Audit done ?

• Do we need to invest to future proof the farm and what might be an appropriate level of borrowing for the farm going forward ?

• Are there opportunities to bring other forms of income to the farm through diversification ? Are these appropriate for us and something we would be interested in pursuing ?

• What do we want to be doing as a business in 5 – 10 years and how should we build these ambitions into our plans ?

There is certainly plenty to consider , but it is essential for farmers to understand the inevitable changes they need to make , understand the net zero agenda , and start to build a plan for a sustainable future .

Professional advisors are a key part of that discussion , and there are some grants through the Future Farm Resilience Fund available to help pay for that advice . I cannot urge farmers strongly enough to seek professional advice from people you trust , so you can make informed decisions about the future . This is an invaluable investment in the future of your farm , and our own banking team are there to support our customers through these changes .

I remain positive about the future of farming in the UK , producing fantastic food and great value for money whilst managing the environment in a positive and sustainable way . The adaptability and entrepreneurship of farmers will enable the industry to rise to these challenges , but the future will be different , and now is the time to make sure we understand what that future will look like in our own business .”