Archive Article: 2001/06/01
ITSTOUGH…BUTHOPETOSEEYOUIN2002
HAVING suffered a seismic shift in financial fortunes over the past four seasons, the last thing the UK cereals sector needed in 2001 was to be battered by some of the worst climatic conditions in recent memory and suffer the spin-off from foot-and-mouth.
Little wonder that in the recent Lloyds TSB Survey – Focus on Farming 2001 – farmers expectations for their own businesses and the future competitiveness of the sector were at a low ebb.
In that context the loss of Cereals 2001 was a setback. But by the same token Lloyds TSB is determined its continuing support of the event in 2002 will help maximise the transfer of technology and knowledge, to help arable farmers nationwide increase their competitive strength.
Recent years have seen a quiet exodus from the sector that has gone little noticed, as many farmers have effectively exited by letting their farms on whole farm contracting arrangements or FBTs.
The reduction in farm businesses has been greater than the reduction in farm holdings. Although size alone will not define business success, it is a fact that a number of farmers are growing their businesses. Today, around 20% of holdings account for 70% of output.
Such change brings opportunities. But anyone seeking to take up the challenge of growth will have to plan and be ruthless with their analysis and forecasting. They will also need to be certain that their management resources can cope with a bigger business and confident that costs can be reduced and kept low. Their planning must be robust, their foundations for growth must be sound.
The business and technology providers who will support Cereals 2002 have a massive role to play in helping UK Agriculture meet future challenges and maximise prospects.
New ideas, techniques and approaches to producing and marketing the crop will be required. At Lloyds TSB we are confident that the 2002 programme will come back refreshed and revitalised. Our partners in the event will bring forward those new ideas, many emanating from research, such as that funded and fostered by the levies contributed by growers to the HGCA.
Looking to the future, it is a case of when the industry recovers, not if. There are reasonable expectations that trade will expand, world prices firm and currency stabilise. UK producers will hope to participate in these emerging world markets. But they will have to be internationally competitive to succeed.
We have world-class producers and more will emerge from the reshaped cereals and oilseed sectors, ready and able to prosper in these new markets.
Inevitably, that prosperity will be built on best practice in management and an ability to exploit latest technologies. That is the route to cost efficiency and world class performance.
So, for all of us involved, Cereals 2002 can not come soon enough. We look forward with enthusiasm to playing our part in staging a bumper event and helping to inform, enable and assist the industry to meet the challenges and prospects that lie ahead.
Bruce Clark,
Senior Agricultural Manager, Lloyds TSB