Need a bit of a breather after the fluster and bluster of the election? Well, this weekend sees the return of LEAF Open Farm Sunday, an annual celebration of the UK's farming industry in which more than 1,500 farmers open their gates and welcome 1.8 million people onto their farms. It's a great chance for the politics-weary public to get some fresh air and enjoy a unique insight into what it's like to be a farmer in the 21st Century.
That said, this year it might be slightly harder to distract the farmers themselves from their politics. After all, the election may be over but Brexit negotiations are about to begin, with recent reports suggesting that farmers' confidence levels have fallen in the past year [insert link], in no small part due to the lack of clarity over what will happen once EU farming subsidies are eventually withdrawn.
The farming sector has long been renowned for its efficiency and its embrace of new technology to try and protect already squeezed margins in light of ever-increasing supply chain pressure. Alongside this, many farms have also integrated tourism in a bid to diversify revenue sources – hence why initiatives such as Open Farms Day have grown so considerably in the past decade. The latest data suggests that tourism – from holiday lets to offering tractor rides for children – is now worth more to the rural economy than farming itself, both in revenues and employment. Whatever the impact of Brexit on their core businesses, it's highly likely that this trend towards farms as local amenities will continue unabated, particularly given the depreciation of sterling is now leading to an increase in staycations, a somewhat ironic benefit of last year's referendum.
One thing this trend means of course is that farmers need to think carefully about how their liabilities may be changing and any insurance ramifications. A tractor being used to drive children around a farming estate is likely to require a different level of cover to a tractor being used by a small number of skilled employees. Another issue to consider is whether the public will be in close proximity to any potentially dangerous machinery Farmers need to balance the potential gains of opening up their farms against the challenges of running their existing farming business alongside these extra activities.
Despite Brexit uncertainties and the current lag in confidence levels, the future for the farming sector still looks rosy, and farmers looking to seize the Open Farm initiative would be wise to bring in their broker sooner rather than later for a quick chat to ensure that they're safeguarded and set for success.
