The contracting sector has a vital role to play in helping secure the future of British farming, the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) heard.
The event looked to unite the agricultural contracting sector together in order to defend and uphold their role in the coming years, and highlight the importance of their role in the wider farming industry.
The use of agricultural contractors in the UK has increased in recent years. NFU President Meurig Raymond, who spoke at the event, highlighted some of the reasons for this.
This included the increasing prices of farm equipment, farmers’ inability to access the required capital sums and loss of labour.
'Structural shift'
Opening the event, which took place on Thursday (14 December), Mr Raymond said there has been a "structural shift" in British agriculture in recent years with farmers moving away from doing everything themselves and contractors are becoming increasingly important to farming businesses.
“Farm equipment is becoming more expensive and there is a question mark over access to labour, so more and more farmers are using contractors for both specialist operations and complete ‘stubble to stubble’ operations,” Mr Raymond explained.
“With the help of the contracting sector British farmers and growers produce around 60% of the nation’s food requirements, but with a growing population and our forthcoming department from the EU we must improve our self-sufficiency even further.”
'Right conditions'
The NFU President explained that although there are many farmers who still do everything themselves, it is "essential" that both the farmer and the contractor take the opportunities provided by Brexit.
He said both are needed to create the right conditions for a competitive, sustainable and profitable UK agricultural industry for all.
The agricultural contracting sector helps farmers contribute to the UK’s food and drink industry which is worth £112bn to the economy, as well as caring for a thriving environment and delivering for our rural communities.
