Assurance savings for mixed farms

By FWi staff

FARM assurance costs are set to fall from next month on mixed farms.

Farm Assured British Beef and Lamb and Assured Combinable Crops have agreed to offer farmers joint membership of the two schemes.

This, they say, will result in “considerable savings” compared with the cost of paying two separate fees.

It will also mean both livestock and crop systems can assessed in a single inspection. Fees will be announced shortly.

But the two outfits will compete to offer the same service. FABBL will use its current partner EFSIS certification to carry out assessments from 01 July, and ACCS will continue to use it assessors Checkmate International, though it is yet to set a start date for the combined scheme.

Ian Frood, chairman of FABBL, says: “The industry has been calling for a simplification of farm assurance bureaucracy for some time.

“FABBL is now in a position to offer cereal growers a credible, cost-effective alternative which will save time and paperwork.”

ACCSs Robin Pirie says farmers and NFU have been pushing for more competition.

“Thats why we have come up with this cross-licensing agreement. We will be ready in plenty of time for harvest 2002.”

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