Survey shows more farmers record costs and benchmark

Approaches towards risk management are improving too
Approaches towards risk management are improving too

The percentage of farmers actively recording their costs has increased as more farm businesses look to managing risks.

Of the 312 respondents to the AHDB-run survey this year, 80 percent say they are recording their costs, compared with 78.6 percent in 2018.

And of the farmers who record their costs, the percentage of farmers benchmarking their businesses against others has almost doubled, from 46.6 per cent in 2018 to 85 per cent in 2019.

Farmers also said that the Monitor Farm meetings, run by AHDB, had helped them improve their businesses decision making more than in previous years, 72.7 per cent for 2019, a five year high.

Approaches towards risk management are improving too, with nearly half (49.3 per cent) of farmers who did the survey agreeing that the Monitor Farm project improved their risk management, compared with 47.4 per cent in 2018.

Tim Isaac, AHDB Head of Arable Knowledge Exchange said: “In an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, the ability to formally identify, assess and manage risks is one of the keys to increasing business resilience.”

It’s been the case throughout the Monitor Farm programme that the scheme helps farmers to make changes to their businesses.

This year the reported changes included reduced establishment costs, reduced horsepower, more attention to detail, better time management and taking more care in soil management.