Farmcare to cease 'operational farming' by September 2018

The Board has decided that Farmcare will cease operational farming before September 2018
The Board has decided that Farmcare will cease operational farming before September 2018

Farmcare, one of Britain’s largest agricultural businesses, has announced it is quitting "operational farming" and instead turning to partnerships with agricultural businesses.

Following a lengthy review of its business, Farmcare, which farms 13,000ha, has announced a restructuring plan that is hoped will increase the economic resilience of its farms and ensure their long term prosperity.

As part of this plan, it will enter into a series of partnerships with leading farming businesses who will take over the operational management of the farms. The Board believes a partnership structure will continue to improve the productivity and performance of the farms.

The Board has decided that Farmcare will cease operational farming before September 2018.

The changes will also see Farmcare closing its central office in Barnsley and selling its fruit business as a standalone entity.

Farmcare Chief Executive, Richard Quinn, said: “The last three years have seen Farmcare develop a strong team that has put a huge amount of work into modernising and restructuring of the business so that it is able to operate as a standalone entity and I am now confident that it is in good shape and ready for the next chapter of the Farmcare story.

“I am really proud of the work that has been done, but like all industries farming faces many challenges and although the business is now simpler and higher-performing, following a review the Board has decided to take further steps to increase productivity in order to ensure a profitable future for the farms and the broader business.

“These decisions will lead to us partnering with resilient businesses who will take over the day-to-day farming operational management and we are currently in negotiation with a number of potential partners, which would secure our farm-based colleagues’ future. In the short-term there will be no change to operations on our farms.”