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Picture: Tim Evans



Over the next 12 months farmers face their biggest change since the start of the Common Agricultural Policy - the Mid-term review. This review will mark a huge reform to farming subsidies.

From 1 January next year subsidies will no longer be paid dependent on the level of production, i.e. the more a farm produced, the more the farmer received in subsidy. The Mid-term review means that any subsidy will be issued as a one-off payment per farm, based on historical returns. Anything that is grown or produced will have to show an economic return of its own.

To help farmers prepare, or even change their businesses for this huge reform to policy, Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire (BLBW) [1] is able to offer a specific advisory service to agricultural businesses in Wiltshire. The Farm Business Advice Service (FBAS) will fund the full cost of a specialist agricultural consultant to provide an honest, open, face-to-face advice session for those farmers affected.

"Farming levels are likely to decline over the next eight years, and farmers need to look at their market to determine a way to replace revenue lost by changes to their subsidies, " says Tim Evans, rural adviser at Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire." Some may be able to expand their output to reduce the unit cost of production. Others may choose to specialise and concentrate on one main enterprise. For some members of the farming community the solution may be to release some or all of the capital from their land or property in order to pursue other options."

Tim continues; "The next year will prove a critical time for farmers. Farming generally will have to make some very hard decisions about how viable present farm systems are and how they should continue. There is more need than ever for good independent advice on how best to proceed."

Case study - Nigel Cole, Willowbrook Farm, Calne

Nigel Cole is the second generation of his family to be sitting tenant at Willowbrook Farm, Calne.
Initially they used the farm for dairying. However, in 2001 Nigel made the decision to purchase the farm from the landlord, financed by the sale of his dairy herd of 400 cows and sale of the milk quota.

"When we looked into taking the farm forward as a dairy producer, we quickly realised that we would need to make a sizeable investment to make it work," says Nigel. "We also need to consider the issue of succession, as we have three daughters, none of whom expressed any interest in talking a dairy business forward. We made the decision to bring in an external specialist to guide us on what to do for the best. As a result we approached the FBAS for some much needed advice."

Nigel was introduced to Max Sealy of the Farm Consultancy Group, Max is one of the FBAS representatives in Wiltshire. He helped Nigel draw up a business plan and budgets for an equestrian centre on the farm, to be managed by one of Nigel's daughters who has been a qualified riding instructor for the past five years. "Max took us
through the plan step by step and encouraged us to really think about everything we would need to do to get the idea off the ground," says Nigel.

"With ten years in the industry, we appreciate that farming is most often a family-orientated business. Therefore, it is important to include all members of the family involved to ensure that any decisions made are the best-fit," says Max. "The most important part of the service we provide is to offer support and reassurance, while also taking an objective look at all available assets."

The Farm Consultancy Group also helped Nigel complete a Rural
Enterprise Scheme (RES) grant application. The application was successful, resulting in a 30% grant (approx £95,000) on all capital costs involved in establishing an Equine Training and Competition Centre. The centre is nearly complete and due to open to the public at the end of October this year, with between 14 and 20 resident horses.

But Nigel isn't sitting back on his laurels; he also has plans to
open a cross-country course as part of the training facility. "The advice we received from the FBAS was truly invaluable," he says. "It was very reassuring to talk through all our plans with someone who we knew could help us make them work.

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