The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Claas combines now on speaking terms with John Deere tractors
Growers who run Claas combines but prefer to operate John Deere tractors can now see telematics data on either of the manufacturers’ online digital platforms.
Incoming data is formatted through a bridge platform – 365FarmNet – into a form suited to the user’s preferred Cloud-based website.
It means growers can see where all of their telematics-equipped Claas and John Deere equipment is located, view movement trails for each machine, check the fuel tank level, the machine’s current status – whether static or working, for example, and its speed when working.
Each machine is displayed either with icons in the respective brand’s colours or are visible in the icon’s information panel.
Further partners functions will follow.
Meanwhile, the DKE Agrirouter data exchange platform can boast a growing number of machinery manufacturers and cloud-based farm enterprise management platform providers.
Agrirouter is a Cloudbased interface that allows digital machine control instructions (such
and
as application maps) and work-done records to be communicated between enterprise management platforms and machines of different makes.
The aim is to make life easier for growers with mixed fleets who want to embrace digital technologies.
A number of tractor and combine manufacturers are signed up.
Farmers who grow malting barley for Simpsons Malt of Berwick-uponTweed are getting assistance from the firm to gain sustainability accreditation.
More than 400 of Simpsons’ farmer suppliers across Scotland and Northern England have already achieved a gold level through the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) which has bronze, silver and gold tiers.
Simpsons say the accreditation means growers can demonstrate they use first class sustainable farming practices, while it helps provide them with secure market access to global companies that are interested in sustainable sourcing.
Simpsons commercial director Andy Hindhaugh said: “We’d like to acknowledge the efforts and co-operation of all our malting barley growers towards the FSA, the result of which will provide many benefits for them, including their alignment with a global industry benchmark for on-farm sustainability and continuous improvement.
“As for us, with our malting division continuing to grow overseas, it is important that our certifications are recognised on a global level, and FSA Gold does just that.
“It also shows our end user customers in the brewing, distilling and food industries that they are receiving 100% sustainable barley from our contracted growers, which is becoming ever more important to many of them as part of their own sustainability objectives.”
Simpsons, which completed the acquisition of W.N. Lindsay Ltd in January, said they would also be helping many of their new contracted growers of malting barley and wheat achieve FSA Gold standard.
Simpsons Malt now owns the grain stores of Gladsmuir in East Lothian (60,000 tonnes), Keith in Morayshire (65,000 tonnes), Stracathro in Angus (110,000 tonnes) and Sidlaw in Perthshire (20,000 tonnes).
Guy Moor, whose farm near Wooler was fully audited as part of the FSA assessment process, pointed out that all farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to adopt more sustainable practices.
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Benefits for them
The Budget on Wednesday will be interesting. Rishi Sunak must walk a tightrope. On one hand, the government will be hoping that the billions of savings built up over the past year will be spent in shops, restaurants and on holidays in the UK which will be good for VAT revenues, and therefore it is unlikely he will raise income tax which will reduce spending power. He also needs to encourage business investment, leading to job creation.
On the other hand, the UK’s balance sheet doesn’t make good reading and therefore generating tax revenues is critical. It has already been said corporation tax rates will increase and I could speculate about other potential tax changes, but that seems futile days before a Budget.
Raising tax rates doesn’t always increase tax revenues. You don’t necessarily need to make big taxation changes to bring more in, you need to improve the system. Many businesses will recall having to digitise their bookkeeping systems in 2019 to comply with Making Tax Digital. This is just the start. The government is looking at ways of ensuring every penny of bank interest, investment income and gains, pension incomes and contributions, and gift aid appears in a digital tax account. We have had a big shift away from cash during the pandemic and, with the increase in usage of cards, more transactions are visible. So there is a slow creep of HMRC into every aspect of our lives and with more digitisation that is going to continue.
Online shopping continues unabated. Consumers’ expectations have shifted, two days to receive your online goods is normal, or even same day. You can’t argue with online businesses’ ability to service customers, they employ people, pay employment taxes, VAT, business rates and provide a route to market for businesses. However, I constantly read how little corporation tax they pay relative to their size.
I have no doubt they will be complying with the system, but we need to
make sure the system is capturing a fair amount of tax, even if increasing their tax cost is ultimately passed on to consumers. I am sure high street traders would not disagree.
As large corporate businesses grow, so does their carbon emissions and there is growing pressure to minimise their environmental footprint. Some of the targets to achieve net zero by a future date are ambitious, but for rural businesses, particularly those with uplands, heather hill, peatlands and rough
grazing, I think opportunity.
Natural capital is en vogue, being the term used for the stock of renewable and non-renewable resources such as plants, animals, air, water, soils and minerals that provide a benefit to the public. However, natural capital is in its infancy. Whilst its value is being debated there is a general acceptance there will be an ability to derive financial benefit – if a consistent benchmark can be created to measure it. I know some businesses are already looking at habitat
there
is
surveys and ecology on their land, not only so they can improve their own environmental credentials, but also so they are well positioned to partner with corporate businesses as they seek to offset their carbon use.
Hopefully as we return to more normality we will be able to get away for a break. I am not convinced foreign holidays will return quickly. You would therefore expect the staycation market to grow, and rural businesses with the right mindset may capture the opportunity. We all know farms and
estates who have already done it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for more, particularly if it’s something different and a quality experience. As we move forward and government budgets come under the microscope, businesses need to think about the reality of what a cut in subsidy will mean and what actions they could take.
I look forward to coming to inspect the many shepherd huts and peat bogs soon.
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