For those of our clients who remain working farmers, Tony Blair's capitulation in the EU talks could have a direct impact on your business.
Although 2012 might seem some time away, five years can pass pretty quickly. You only have to think back to what you were doing when we celebrated the new millennium to appreciate just how quickly 2012 will creep up.
The opening sentence was deliberately provocative because unless you happen to be someone who is prepared to continue expanding your farming business, taking on further land and seeking to cut costs to the bone, the sad reality is that you may well be better off doing nothing rather than being a working farmer.
For many, the Single Farm Payment is merely an extension of IACS, but for those who have appreciated the benefits of detaching this payment from the farming business for budgetary purposes, we have seen some fairly stark decisions being made.
Farming is a way of life for many people and there will be a significant number who choose not to separate out their Single Farm Payment. Unfortunately these will be the ones who face much starker decisions come 2012 if agricultural subsides for UK farmers are significantly reduced (or possibly disappear altogether).
Unfortunately, there is not a single solution that will suit everyone but there are plenty of individuals who will find that they were far better off financially reappraising their whole business, and also might find that it does not do them any harm physically, mentally and emotionally!
So, next time you are unblocking the combine it might be a good time to ask yourself how much you would want to be paid per hour to do what you are doing. If a full farm business and asset appraisal identified that you were effectively working for nothing, you might give serious consideration to the alternatives available. In some cases where we have completed appraisals we have found opportunities for increasing return from assets that the farmers involved found that they had previously been paying for the privilege of working!
Sworders provide complete farm and asset business appraisal and also a much cheaper overview appraisal giving assistance in help in completing your own farm business appraisal, identifying opportunities for improved efficiency and maximizing return from property assets.
