Future Farming Plans
The results from a five-year survey of farmers, conducted by the National Farm Research Unit (NFRU), reveals that, whilst an average of 65% of farmers expected their farm to remain in family control, the trends were for fewer farmers to progress down this route and for more farmers to be uncertain of their future succession plans.
The National Farm Research Unit asked around twenty-eight thousand farmers over a five-year period whether they expected the farm to stay in family ownership in the long-term. “In 2001 and 2002, 67% of farms thought that their farm would remain within family ownership or management and in 2003 and 2004 this increased slightly to 69%. The following year, 2005, which coincided with the introduction of the MTR, saw a significant decline in this figure, with just 56% of all farms thought to be staying in the family. This year, so far, around 62% of farmers are hoping that the farm will remain in the family. The introduction of the MTR has changed farming outlooks and has resulted in many farms considering the possibility of restructuring. This may have coincided with or be responsible for the next generation looking further a field at alternative career paths away from the farm,” says Jim Williams of the NFRU.
In 2005, which was the last full year of interviews, the most pessimistic region with regard to family succession was the North East, with 51% of farms expecting to go down this route, followed by the Eastern Region, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, each with 54% of farms expecting to remain in family control. MORE………………….
The most optimistic areas with regard to family succession were Wales and East Midlands (61% of all farms).
“The survey also indicated an increasing measure of uncertainty. Over the five year study period, an average of 14% of farms interviewed did not know which succession route they would take. In 2001 only 8% of farms said that they did not know if their farm would remain in the family. In 2003 this had risen to 13% and this year, 2006, it had risen as high as 27%, reflecting the increasing uncertainty that some farmers are expressing in this period of substantial change,” notes Jim Williams.
Farms in Yorkshire and Humberside together with those in the North East appeared to be less certain about passing the farm along the traditional family route. In 2005 29% of farmers in Yorkshire and Humberside did not know if the family would carry on farming and for the North East the figure was 28% of farms.
The National Farm Research Unit also asked farmers how they saw the position of their farm in the next few years. “Over the last three years, four out of five farmers interviewed envisaged no major changes to their farming business, with a further 11% saying that they did not know as yet. Only 4% of farms said that they were definitely planning to expand, with a corresponding 3% ceasing farming, selling or reducing the farm size. The survey revealed a trend for more farms planning to embrace change. In 2004 only 13% of farmers interviewed said that they saw major changes in their farming enterprise. By 2005 35% of farmers expected major change.”
“This year, to date, 47% of farmers said that they were anticipating major change. We expected this figure to increase as the implications of de-coupling and the Single Farm Payment Schemes became clearer for each farm business. UK farmers, particularly those in the higher echelons, are well-versed and well able to adapt to change and this survey shows that they were actively doing so,” says Jim Williams of the NFRU.
