Young people question their future in farming

“​The economic and other pressures weighing down on many farming families right now are immense,” added Omagh-based Seamus McCaffrey.

“Looking at the finances of farming alone gives a very clear picture of the challenges that are now facing large numbers of farm businesses.

"Even a cursory analysis of accounts for 2023/24 confirm that profits have reduced, year on year.”

He added: “Major contributory factors here were the drop in milk price and the continuing upward pressure on energy costs.

"But other challenges abound for farming families across Northern Ireland. Responding to the green agenda is one: the tremendous difficulty in getting planning permission, in order to develop businesses is another.”

According to McCaffrey, responding to changing weather patterns and meeting the

requirements of the new green agenda are additional pressures that now confront family farms in Northern Ireland.

“Getting access to adequate working capital is another issue,” he commented. “And planning has come sharply into focus in this context.

"It is now almost impossible to get planning permission in the case of a farm business wanting to invest in a farm building or to expand the scope of other enterprises.

"And without planning permission, the banks will not consider supporting initiatives of this kind,” Seamus added.

“The end result of all this is a build up of stress levels within farming families, so much so that many young people are looking at options for farm diversification or a career outside agriculture for themselves.

“This is a very worrying issue when one considers the potential impact this trend may have on the future of the entire farming sector.”

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Seamus McCaffrey points to a number of fundamental steps that farm businesses can take to address the financial challenges that many now face.

“Keeping up to date records is crucially important,” he commented.

“This allows the completion of accurate cash flow projections for up to six months ahead. Armed with these figures farmers can talk with a degree of confidence to their banks in order to secure the additional working capital they may need.”

Seamus continued: “Farm accounts now available for 2023/24 are highlighting the impact of high energy and forage costs across many businesses.

“As farmers look to the future, they must seek to identify ways by which they can reduce these input pressures.”

The Omagh-based accountant also highlighted the impact that merchant credit can have within a farming business.

“Paying bills on time is crucially important,” he stressed. “When cash flows become tight, going to the bank for assistance may well be a more cost effective option than delaying the payment of key inputs, such as feed and fertiliser.”