Farmers Weekly technical editor Charles Abel spent yesterday at the Sentry Farming conference. And now he asks: Can we learn from the East?
What future farming? How about an 86,000ha integrated farming business? That was one stark image to emerge from Wednesday’s packed Sentry Farming conference near Cambridge.
This monstrosity of a farming operation is managed by a Brit and backed by Russian oil tycoons (see Crops 10 Feb). Each of Agrico’s farm units in southern Russia spans 10,000ha, with 150ha fields, low-cost labour and the “Mother of all machinery toyboxes”, including 90 tractors, 90 combines and 11 self-propelled sprayers – all brand-spanking new from John Deere.
Crops are established at the rate of 284ha/hour, and harvested at 240ha/hr. It’s ugly to look at, but yields well and best of all is cheap. Milling wheat yields at least 4.5t/ha, well up on Russia’s 1.8t/ha national average, and costs just £205/ha to grow, covering everything from seed to depreciation, labour and finance.
It’s not a unique enterprise. Investors around the world reckon farm commodities are a rising market, on the back of surging demand for biofuel and food, and are creating colossal low-cost businesses to pursue the anticipated rewards.
So what’s the message for UK farmers? Head east? Hardly – the hassles are immense. Beware the onslaught? Hopefully, not, if we can differentiate our produce. Emulate the pioneers? Yes, almost certainly. Their mantra is clear – scale matters.
UK farmers have just one chance of competing head-to-head, and that is through a whole new round of collaboration. Those who think UK farming has already done its restructuring should maybe think again.
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