2002 AND BEYOND

26 October 2001

2002 AND BEYOND

TAKING STOCK, TAKING ACTION

TWELVE months ago, opinion was growing that the recession that had tightened its grip on UK farming may have finally bottomed out.

For some, that may have been true – milk prices have risen since then and grain markets have also made useful gains – but few farmers in either sector are making much money.

However, all that has been overshadowed by the horror that is foot-and-mouth. Nobody at last years conference would have dreamed that this terrible disease would be the dominating issue in 2001. Since February this year it has rarely been out of the headlines and it has had such a devastating impact that the industry now has to find a way to get up off its knees.

Markets for pigs, cattle and sheep have barely showed any signs of recovery all year. The gravity of the past 12 months has caused many farmers to question their future. They need facts, not forlorn hopes.

From this conference you can take away real market information, to help you restructure your businesses and meet the challenges of next year.

Deloitte & Touche start the ball rolling by taking stock and unveiling its latest annual Farm Incomes Survey data. This will be one of the first opportunities to hear the details that lie behind the headlines.

Based on accounts representing 100,000ha (247,000 acres), this is an ideal opportunity for farmers to compare their own business performance against these benchmarks.

HSBC speakers will look forward to the factors that will influence UK businesses and markets in the next 12 months, and how farmers can take action to meet these challenges head on. The speakers will focus on key areas that should be addressed, backed up by farm data, so delegates can take away effective business management tools.

We end with three farmers viewpoints and although all are well known, they are mud-on-boots style business managers. They all run successful farm businesses and will explain how they have taken stock and taken action to combat the challenges of farming in 2002 and beyond. &#42

2002 AND BEYOND: TAKING STOCK AND TAKING ACTION

&#8226 Tues, Oct 30, East of England Showground, Peterborough.

&#8226 Wed, Oct 31, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester.

&#8226 Thurs, Nov 1, Exhibition Centre at the Racecourse, Doncaster.

Conference programme

4.00pm Tea.

4.30pm Chairmans Welcome

4.35pm Taking Stock – Deloitte & Touche. Richard Crane (Peterborough); Mark Hill (Cirencester); Richard Crane (Doncaster).

5.10pm Forward Planning – HSBC. Steve Ellwood (Peterborough); John Colley (Cirencester); Allan Wilkinson (Doncaster).

5.45pm Taking Action – Farmer speakers. Mark Means (Peterborough); Richard Burtt (Cirencester); Ken Shipley (Doncaster).

6.05pm Questions.

6.30pm Buffet Supper.

Look whos talking

&#8226 Mark Hill FCA is head of the Deloitte & Touche Food & Agriculture Group, which provides accountancy and business advice to leading farmers and agribusinesses across the UK. A partner since 1990, Mark is based in Bristol and covers the south and west of England.

&#8226 Richard Crane FCA is responsible for the Deloitte & Touche Food & Agriculture Group in East Anglia and East Midlands. Richard is based in Cambridge and advises many food processing businesses.

&#8226 Steve Ellwood is head of agriculture at HSBC. Steve heads a team of seven regional agriculture managers and over 50 agriculture banking managers, providing a specialist service to HSBCs farmer and grower customers.

&#8226 John Colley is a senior agriculture manager at HSBC. Based in London he is responsible for liasing with key industry

representatives and farmers, and guiding the bank on

agricultural issues.

&#8226 Allan Wilkinson is a divisional agriculture manager for

HSBC, based in Leeds. He now heads a team of 17

agriculture banking managers across the north of England

and Scotland.

&#8226 Richard Burtt farms 2000ha (4942 acres) in Worcestershire. In addition to growing combinable crops, Richard lets some of his better land for high value salad crops. He is also a director of Acorn Arable, an independent trading company. He was a Nuffield scholar in 2000.

&#8226 Ken Shipley is a farms director with Velcourt Ltd. He is responsible for 6500ha (16,000 acres) of land in the East Midlands and Yorkshire consisting mainly of combinable and root crops.

&#8226 Mark Means farms 312ha (770 acres) of fen in Norfolk on a six-course rotation that includes three first wheats separating potatoes, sugar beet and vining peas. He won this years

farmers weekly/BASF Unit Cost Challenge with a variable and operational cost of just £24.89/t for growing Equinox wheat.

2002 AND BEYOND: TAKING STOCK AND TAKING ACTION

I would like to attend the conference on: (please tick)

Tues, Oct 30, in Peterborough. With ……… farming guests

Wed, Oct 31, in Cirencester. With ……… farming guests

Thurs, Nov 1, in Doncaster. With ……… farming guests

Guest names ………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Conference fees: Farmers, £20 plus VAT (£23.50); farmers farming guests, £10 plus VAT (£11.75); non farmers, £40 plus VAT (£47.00).

I enclose a cheque for the sum of £………………payable to: CPL Conferences

Name ………………………………………………………………………………………..

Address ……………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Postcode ……………………………….Tel ………………………………………………

Please return to: Emma Hetherington, Chamberlain, 4 The Forum, Minerva Business Park, Peterborough, PE2 6FT.