Farmers taking part in a poll of views at this year’s LAMMA machinery event were found to be feeling generally optimistic, with more than half saying they felt the outlook for farming would improve a little over the next five years, and 10 per cent thinking it would improve a lot.
The survey of more than 50 farmers, carried out by Lloyds Bank Agriculture, found that looking at the next five years, environmental pressure was a major concern but volatility or a potential exit from Europe were cited by equal numbers as a source of both concern and optimism.
Steve Thomas, senior agricultural manager with Lloyds Bank Agriculture in the East Midlands, said this showed that despite recent fluctuations in world prices, many producers were facing the future with a positive mindset.
“Thirty four per cent of those questioned were at the event to look at upgrading existing machinery, and just under a fifth were interested in technology that generated renewable energy,” said Mr Thomas.
“Overall there was a confident attitude among attendees and many of those we talked to were there to do business as well as have a day out. When we asked them to rate their ‘happiness’ out of ten – the average was 7.5 with 16 per cent giving themselves a full ten!” he added.
The farmers surveyed were mostly from the eastern counties of England and East Anglia, but there were also respondents from Wales and even New Zealand. Sixty four percent were involved in producing combinable crops and a fifth had a diversified enterprise of some kind within their business.
