When it comes to holiday reading, the John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook is never going to make to the list of "must be seen with" books to take to the airport.
No, holidays are about getting away from it all, hence my decision to pack The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst and the latest Sebastian Faulks, Devil May Care, when throwing my things together in haste this morning. (Yes, I'm off for some late summer sun in Greece.)
But that's not to suggest that the Nix Pocketbook is not a cracking good read. The new 40th anniversary edition shows that feed wheat variable costs have fallen by a third for the forthcoming 2010 harvest since the expensive 2008/09 growing year - down from £62/t to £42/t.
Who knows what the price of wheat will be in 12 months' time, but the £20 drop in variable costs at least more than compensates for the £10/t drop in wheat prices compared with this time last year. Good news for arable farmers.
Dairy returns are also seen rising in 2010. "Despite a lower milk price, higher cull and calf prices, coupled with lower costs of concentrate feed, fuel and fertiliser will push the gross margin per forage hectare up slightly," it suggests....
Livestock returns are also considerably higher across the board in 2010, with slightly higher livestock prices coupled with lower inputs.
OK, once fixed costs and drawings are also factored in, the net margins don't always look so clever. But at least with the weak pound giving a significant boost to single farm payments, most farm businesses should show a profit next year.
Like any good book, the Nix Pocketbook contains a few surprises. In an extended section on renewable energy, it also includes costings for hydro-electricity which, apparently, accounts for 40% of the market.
Alpacas and lamas also debut in the 40th edition, as do farm shoots, log cabin rentals and coarse fishing. It seems the new Pocketbook is as thorough as ever.
I'm still not going to take a copy with me as I head for Gatwick airport in a few hours' time. But there will definitely be a copy on my desk for when I get back. In my line of work it's sometimes hard to manage without it.
* For more details, visit the Nix Pocketbook website. Or phone 01664 564508 to reserve a copy. And for more blog postings, click here
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