A STRING of poor summers has left many farmers facing difficult financial decisions on how to best safeguard their farms for a future of worsening weather patterns.

Robert Taylor, partner at Galbraith, where he is in charge of AMC finance and rural valuations, highlighted the concerns facing farmers but also offered optimism and encouragement for longer term investments which will better prepare farmers for the challenges ahead.

“In the last seven or eight years we would be lucky to remember even two good summers back to back where the sun has shone daily from June to August allowing farmers to enjoy a healthy harvest and easy silage," observed Mr Taylor. "Spurred on by the recent spell of poor summers, farmers are looking to invest in preparatory measures on their farms in anticipation of further wet summers to come. The impact the weather has had on cash flow is substantial and unlike with salaried jobs which increase in line with inflation, farmers facing a bad summer out with their control, will be experiencing financial difficulties."

As straw prices have doubled, farmers are considering moving away from buying in straw and instead are likely to invest in slatted sheds to cuts costs, despite the initial investment. Slurry store capacity is hugely important just now and despite SEPA rules being extended this autumn to allow farmers to spread later in the season, farmers can’t guarantee these rules will be adjusted year on year if weather patterns continue.

Improving farm infrastructure in preparation for future heavy rainfall was thus a key priority for farmers, continued Mr Taylor: “Farmers need to look at diverting rain water and become more aware of where it is going. Steadings need to be examined and if water is running off sheds and into slurry facilities or straw beds, then straw stores are depleted quicker and if water runs in to slurry facilities then they will reach capacity quicker.

“Farms in the West of Scotland where the poor weather has had the worst impact, there is usually a real mixture of traditional and modern steadings where investment may be needed in drainage within and around the buildings themselves.”

Mr Taylor continued to discuss drainage as a problem not only within sheds impacting on bedding and livestock but also out in the fields where wet land this year may mean livestock won’t be put out to grass as early and heavy machinery will struggle on the soft land.

“There is a requirement for additional drainage works in fields across Scotland where water is sitting where it has never sat before," he said. "Drains will need to be sorted or renewed and this may have an impact on land value. Investing in drainage will set farmers back financially as good quality drainage system could cost as much as £2000 per acre but in the long term could bring greater benefits. In the short term, replacing worn out tiles with plastic drains will suffice but they will have shorter shelf life

“In order to spread the costs at home, farmers could consider sharing machinery more with other farmers such as umbilical slurry systems which could also save on finance costs. As machinery isn’t getting any smaller and land is getting softer, operating machinery is going to become more challenging

Mr Taylor meets with farmers first hand, arranging loans for a wide variety of purposes as an agent for AMC, who take a much longer-term view of farming and in doing so take in to account the impact of the recent years of bad weather on farming incomes. However, Mr Taylor made it clear that not all banks take such a long-term view in supporting farmers financially, often focusing on the recent year’s accounts and making the decision that the risk may be too great for further support.

“It is now becoming the norm that farmers are looking to invest in their farms to protect themselves from worsening weather patterns and in order to do this it will require greater financial investment for the longer term and banks need to get behind this.

“It can be difficult to convince a bank to support a farmer if they have had three or four bad years, but if your bank manager is sympathetic and farmers can prove the reasons behind their poor accounts being due to poor weather which is out with their control for example, then they might be more supportive,” he continued.

Tenants and crofters are facing the same financial challenges as farm owners but worryingly the prospect for them to receive financial support is often reduced as they don’t own the land themselves and find it harder to receive bank backing due to a lack of security being available to the bank

“Sympathy is needed from the landlords themselves if tenant farmers are to survive these poor financial years. Landlords need to realise that if they are expecting year on year increases in rent that this may not be achievable, often because of circumstances out with tenants' control. This is a wakeup call to landlords to take note that the financial loss doesn’t reflect on the ability of tenants to farm, but these outside influences need to be taken into consideration” added Mr Taylor.

Overall, he was clear that Scottish farmers are all facing the likeliness of future changing weather patterns and will need to take steps to prepare accordingly. This will result in financial challenges, but equally, investment will bring long term returns.

He stressed that farmers should not be worrying but instead accepting a longer-term view of their farm income, and with investment from a supportive bank at this stage, they can plan an improved farm infrastructure for the future which will better withstand whatever the changing Scottish climate brings.