In a recent survey of the agricultural sector, Hazlewoods Farms and Estates team discovered that the vast majority of UK farmers consider environment, climate change and weather conditions in their top five concerns for their business in the future.
In the survey, conducted by the Rural Agriculture Group (RAG), 212 respondents out of 255 ranked these elements in their top five concerns, with this finishing as the second most highly ranked concern, only slightly behind the future of subsidies.
RAG is a collection of 11 accountancy and business advisory firms who service the accountancy and taxation needs of agriculture businesses across the UK. The main aim for the group is to share best practice and technical expertise to ensure the member firms are able to provide the best support and technical excellence to their agricultural clients.
RAG members have utilised their contacts to conduct the survey in order to assess the feelings of the agricultural sector and understand the differences across the regions.
Farms and Estates Partner, Lucie Hammond said: “Our survey has provided great insight into the agricultural sector. We have an understanding for many of these elements when we’re talking to clients, but to be able to analyse data from across the country and comprehend how the sector is feeling enables us to provide a much better service in the short and longer-term.
“I think the environment and climate change are high on all of our agendas now, more than ever, so it is no great surprise that this features highly as a concern for UK farmers. The weather, as we know, can dramatically impact the income of farming businesses and so minimising the impact we are having on the planet will become a focus.
“The introduction of the environmental land management scheme (ELMS) later this year for farmers should be welcome to the sector as a step towards making change.”
Read the full RAG survey report below or to talk to the Hazlewoods Farms and Estates team, please contact Lucie Hammond at lucie.hammond@hazlewoods.co.uk or 01242 680000.