UK horticulture is a far stronger user of benchmarking in comparison with the agriculture sector, according to David Douglas, regional agribusiness manager with the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.
It is this willingness to compare, which in turn raises levels of management skills, that will stand it in good stead if farmers decide to use the single farm payment to switch into fruit and veg.
Douglas believes that farming is moving into new territory. “While this can create opportunities, it will mean the potential for disaster will also increase.”
One reason is that while farmers may scale back their current business, overheads will remain high for far longer than most businesses expect. This in turn may mean companies will be attracted into horticulture, which, over the farm gate, often appears to be more profitable.
Douglas feels horticulture does well because growers are far more open minded, aware of competition and supported by industry organisations.
He expects some switches to come, but says these will be “geographically specific” when single payments start to come through. Registration must take place by May 15 but could take as long as 18 months to arrive.
In anticipation, for the first time, Clydesdale has established a presence in the south west of England, by expanding its agribusiness team there to 12.
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