Book highlights importance of staying on top of Brexit wrangle

While the continued uncertainties surrounding Brexit leave farm businesses around the country struggling to know which way to jump, many might adopt the old “plan for the worst and hope for the best” maxim.

But the emphasis has been placed firmly on the planning part in the latest edition of Scotland’s Farm Management Handbook, which was published this week.

Produced by SAC Consulting, part of SRUC, the book highlights the importance of producers being able to swiftly and effectively monitor the effects which the developing picture will have on their businesses.

“Farmers face the risk that a no-deal Brexit or a deal that is very different from our current EU membership could be upon us soon,” said Julian Bell, a senior consultant at SAC.

“The priority for farmers is to think about how their business would fare in such a situation and how the timing of this would impact on their business.”

He said farmers should have a reliable forward cashflow budget in place which would allow them to monitor month-by-month and to react to events as they unfolded – and the handbook could provide baseline information to do this.

He also advised that the timing of sales and purchases of stock and crops should be assessed in order to miss any period of greatest risk of disruption.

“In such uncertain times, all businesses will benefit from forward planning of enterprise mix, budgets, business structures and cash flows,” he said, adding that the handbook was a comprehensive source of information which would help Scottish farmers to take control of what they could.

• The online version is available free of charge while the print version will be available shortly, priced £28.