Forward-thinking farmers and agricultural professionals will examine how best to navigate farm businesses through the current financial squeeze at the Future Farmers of Yorkshire’s Autumn Debate at the start of December
Free to attend for anyone with a stake in the future of British agriculture, attendees will hear from a knowledgeable and high-profile panel of speakers as they pick through the topic of ‘Ploughing on Through High Inflation’ at Pavilions of Harrogate, the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate on Thursday 1st December.
The Future Farmers of Yorkshire inspires and develops the very best to lead Yorkshire’s agricultural industries to a thriving future. This nationally recognised network is supported by farming charity, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society to champion the personal and professional development of those working in agriculture in Yorkshire.
The Future Farmers of Yorkshire’s annual Autumn Debate is equally about inspiring those working in the industry to seize opportunities, as it is about bringing likeminded members of the community together for a sociable evening of friendship and networking.
This year’s debate opens with a hot supper from 7pm, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A, and is sponsored by AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), and HSBC UK Agriculture. All are welcome to attend for what promises to be a fascinating evening exploring a financial climate that many Future Farmers will have not previously experienced during their time in the industry.
Among the speakers will be Mark Berrisford-Smith, Head of Economics at HSBC UK’s Commercial Banking business, who summarised how inflation is currently affecting farming businesses.
Mark said:
The war in Ukraine has unleashed twin inflationary shocks in the form of higher food and energy prices. For farmers in the UK, annual input price inflation is now running at 30 per cent, while output price inflation stands at 21 per cent.
Although many businesses have been able to absorb higher costs thanks to better prices, this is not universally the case. Prices for some cereal products are up by more than 50 per cent compared with a year earlier, while poultry and lamb prices have hardly increased at all.
Future Farmers of Yorkshire Management Board member Isobel Eames, who will Chair the panel, hopes that a close look at the causes and impacts of inflation will prove useful for those looking to plot a course through this testing period.
Isobel, who is AHDB’s Knowledge Exchange Manager for Cereals and Oilseeds said:
At our Future Farmers Autumn Debate, we will discuss how agricultural businesses can ‘plough on’ through this challenging period, learning what is currently influencing the market dynamics, if business leaders have any tactics and understanding whether there are any lessons to be learnt from previous periods of high inflation.
Unique perspectives will be provided by Mark Berrisford-Smith, as well as farmer and Great Yorkshire Show Director Charles Mills, Farmers Weekly Young Farmer of the Year Matthew Nichols and Andrew Hardcastle, Director of Hardcastle Rural Surveyors.
Between them, Charles and Matthew will offer a view on living and farming though inflation in the past and what it is like to be experiencing this for the first time. They will also explain how they are tackling the challenge in their own businesses.
Mark will explain how inflation took hold so quickly over the past 18 months, and what needs to happen for this to ease, while Andrew will be telling us how he is helping his clients to lessen the impact of high inflation on their businesses.
To register for a free place at the Future Farmers of Yorkshire’s Autumn Debate 2022, please visit yas.co.uk/ffy-inflation-autumn-debate
Future Farmers of Yorkshire is an enterprising network of more than 1,000 younger farmers, vets and industry professionals, and is free to join. For more details, see yas.co.uk/futurefarmers where you can sign up to receive all the latest information about the network’s future events, and training and bursary opportunities.
