Sunny outlook ahead for West farming sector?
WEST agriculture will be a “vibrant, busy, profitable and diverse” industry in the next decade, banking leaders have said, despite the road ahead for many farmers still blurred with uncertainty.
That was the overriding message from Roddy McLean, director of agriculture for NatWest, adding the sector will be diverse not only in terms of agriculture, but the range of ancillary businesses that support farms.
Speaking after addressing more than 100 farmers at a special event staged by the bank at the Padbrook Park Hotel in Cullompton, Mr McLean said he felt the region’s farmers were ready to face the future.
“The vibe in the room today was that they’re relishing the challenge and up for it,” he said at the event last week.
“It [Brexit] is absolutely a catalyst for change. If you look at the Agriculture Bill they’re talking about being able to roll up several years of payments to give farmers a lump sum, allowing them to either invest in their business, diversify or retire, which would then free up land for new entrants.”
He added: “It’s going to be an exciting time and allow people to make strategic decisions.”
A supporter of British farming for more than 200 years, NatWest lent £4.8 billion to farm businesses in 2017 and has a 29% market share.
The bank also has a national network of 150 specialist agricultural relationship managers, 66 of whom are dedicated to supporting corporate and commercial businesses.
Mr McLean, who spoke at the event alongside Ian Burrow, NatWest’s UK head of agriculture and renewable energy, Nick Stamenkovic, NatWest economist and Alex Stevens, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) regional policy manager, urged those who have been reluctant to think about their businesses’ future to do so before it is too late.
He said: “There’s a relatively modest proportion that are still a bit ‘head in the sand’ and trying their hardest to ignore everything that’s going on, so it’s getting through to them that they need to sit up and take notice and start thinking about their own and their business’ future.
“We don’t want people to be, in five or six year’s time, stood on the edge of a cliff thinking ‘the change is here and I’m not ready for it’.”
Chris Preston, NatWest’s regional managing director for the South West and Wales, also encouraged farmers to dedicate some time to spend “on their business, not always in their business”.
“I think that’s a key message to get across,” he said. “If every farmer spends quality time on their business, rather than working hard which they do all the time, that will really help them accelerate and be successful in the future.”
As well as opportunities, there will equally be a combination for challenges to farmers in the region to face. Namely economic in nature and having wide-ranging effects, such as the outcome of trade discussions and the impact they will have on commodity prices and exchange rates, Mr Preston added internal fac-