Farms & Rural Business Review of the Year 2022

“With so much uncertainty surrounding farming at present,” says Steven Rudd, Larking Gowen’s Head of Farms and Rural Business, “it’s easy to get side-tracked by the range of ‘what if’ scenarios facing farming businesses. So,” Steven continues, “instead of worrying about things we can’t control, we must focus on those we can.”

What farming desperately needs is a consistent framework which gives businesses the confidence to invest. Steven asks the government to focus on long-term, cross-party investment; after all, what’s more important, especially in the current climate, than securing the nation’s food supply? He also discusses the benefits of direct seeding, explaining that this method has the ability not only to reduce production costs by lowering fuel use, tractor hours and labour requirements, but also improve timeliness, soil health and other aspects of crop establishment. 

Steven expresses his concern about the impact that the tapering of the Basic Payment Scheme to zero by 2027 will have. The effects are already evident, yet many farmers have a head-in-the-sand mentality and are ignoring the reality of the situation.

To read Steven’s article in full, and the rest of the Review of the Year, click below.