Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual has joined forces with Cornwall’s Rural Business School and the University of Exeter’s Centre for Rural Policy Research in an initiative to help farmers make effective succession plans.
The joint initiative will involve research projects and a series of seminars around the UK to provide farmers with information on the options available to them to hand on their farms while treating all family members fairly. They will also help farmers find ways to broach the delicate topic without causing family disputes.
The need for more information and practical help on farm succession planning was highlighted by recent research commissioned by the insurer in conjunction with Farmers’ Weekly which revealed that 54% of UK farmers have not made succession plans. This equates to more than 40,000 farms nationwide.
Announcing the partnership at the Royal Cornwall Show today, Friday, June 5, Lindsay Sinclair, NFU Mutual Chief Executive, said: “This is the start of a working partnership which we hope will help farming families across the UK hold meaningful succession planning conversations and take the appropriate steps towards putting an effective plan in place.
“Working with Richard Soffe and his team at the Duchy College Rural Business School, and other experts such as Professor Matt Lobley from the University of Exeter, we intend to provide practical tools and guidance to the farming community.
“Together we will be running a series of seminars for farming families around the UK which will take place at the end of this year, and continue into 2016.
“As a mutual dedicated to farming and rural communities, NFU Mutual supports its members on issues of concern and importance. And it’s very clear that in today’s highly competitive agricultural marketplace farmers who plan ahead to make the best of their resources are going to be best placed to thrive and grow.
“However, the daily pressures of coping with whatever the weather chooses to do, the fickle commodity markets, and the hundreds of tasks which farming involves means that taking steps to make long-term plans can easily be put on the back burner. That’s particularly the case on livestock farms where the day to day workload makes it hard to take time out for planning.”
Richard Soffe, Head of the Rural Business School, said: “The Duchy College Rural Business School has been involved in succession planning for some time, working alongside partner organisations such as the University of Exeter.
“We believe our experience in helping farmers plan their finances means we can play a useful role in raising awareness of the issues around succession planning and providing the tools farming businesses and families need to make informed choices. We’re delighted to be able to work alongside NFU Mutual to get the message and practical guidance out to as many people as possible.”
The University of Exeter’s Centre for Rural Policy has a long track record of applied rural policy research involving social scientists focusing on all aspects of the rural economy and society.
Professor Matt Lobley, Co-Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research, said: “Planning for succession and retirement requires much more than addressing the tax and legal issues. It can often involve difficult conversations and is something that many people put off. Our programme of events with farming families backed up with the first UK-wide academic study of farming succession is designed to put the need for forward planning of succession and retirement firmly on the agenda of the UK’s farming families.”
