In the face of CAP reform and anticipated reduction in direct support payments, Scotland’s farmers are being encouraged to engage with a free initiative designed to help future-proof their farm businesses.
The Planning For Profit initiative has been hailed a “great example of a collaborative and partnership project”, supported by the Scottish Government’s Skills Development Scheme, NFU Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland.
Building on a year of research by QMS, it is designed to help farmers focus on profit and competition, and react to the overarching challenge that faces industry as a whole to grow.
It will be rolled out Scotland-wide over the next 18 months.
Behind the scheme, a development team of Iain Riddell and Dougie Bell from SAC Consulting, agricultural consultant Peter Cook, and Jim Booth and Bob Yule from SAOS were tasked with taking an original concept from around eight or nine years ago (profit without subsidy) forward to the next level.
“There’s a real need to improve our farm productivity to increase our competitiveness, and Planning for Profit will provide farmers with the opportunity to replan their businesses,” Jim Booth commented.
Although officially launched on Monday, the Planning For Profit scheme really gets going with a series of free roadshows across Scotland.
Iain Riddell, principal consultant and the regional manager of SAC Consulting, said: “The programme has been designed to inform, inspire and challenge farmers to implement changes to the way they manage their businesses, and has at its core a series of practical and thought-provoking farmer case studies.”
Also key to the project, attendees will be provided with free reference guides engineered to provide examples of best practice including practical, workable case studies and ideas about what is possible to adapt systems and plan for the future.
The roadshows will be followed by a series of free farm visits and workshops at farms which have successfully been subject to changes geared towards improved profitability and performance.
Amidst concern that the decoupling of payments will lead to an overall reduction in cattle and sheep headcount, livestock and mixed farmers will count themselves amongst the primary targets of the scheme.
However, those with arable enterprises will be able to glean invaluable information from the project’s roadshows also.
At the launch of the project outside Perth, QMS chairman Jim McLaren said: “If we have a weakness at the moment in our agriculture in Scotland, it is in a lack of innovation on some farms.”
Meanwhile, commenting on the reopening of the US beef export trade, Mr McLaren said: “The reopening of this valuable market sends a further clear message to the Scotch Beef industry of the growing global opportunities that exist for our high quality products.
“The greatest threat facing the sector remains the availability of stock to take full advantage of these opportunities, and I would reiterate my encouragement to Scotland’s livestock farmers to increase production in an effort to meet the demand.”
There will be a Planning for Profit roadshow at Dewar’s Ice Rink, Perth, on Thursday January 23 starting at 10.30am. Places are free, but booking is essential by contacting Kirsty at QMS on 0131 472 4040.