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MHA MacIntyre Hudson Agricultural Insight from LAMMA
Recently, Sarah Dodds, Head of the Agricultural Sector at Peterborough based accountancy practice MHA MacIntyre Hudson, and her Agricultural team talked to over 100 farmers at this year’s LAMMA Show – held for the first time at The East of England Showground in Peterborough. Several key themes emerged from those with whom they spoke:
- Despite concerns about the impact of the weather, optimism remains high with 64% anticipating growth and 31% expecting growth of 10% plus over the next 12 months.
- 53% are planning on increasing their acreage in 2014 but many mentioned that a lack of available land could be a limiting factor.
- Succession planning is a concern for 40% of those we spoke to, a high proportion given the family nature of farming businesses.
Sarah Dodds commented “It was good to hear that Farmers are feeling optimistic about their growth but a little more worrying about the numbers who raised concerns about succession plans – or lack of them. Clearly, this is a sensitive topic but one which is often ignored and only considered when a disaster occurs. With a little forward planning so many unfortunate and costly outcomes could be avoided.”
If you would like to discuss any aspect of your agricultural business we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact us: 01733 568491 or email tammy.tushingham@mhllp.co.uk
A second agricultural insight will be available following our involvement in Cereals 2014, in June. We will be on stand G-736-7 and would love to see you there.