Farm Management companies..... the way forwards?
- Thread starter BazzerT
- Start date
Courier
Member
- Location
- M62 - M1 - M18 triangle
And is "Best Practice" actually the best practice or is it just creating another level of parasitic management ?
ollie989898
Member
What do you mean by asset stripped, precisely?
Every thing that wasn't screwed down, and some bits that were, dairy went, right down to the water heater, every trailer incl the shepherds, tried to run for a year borrowing lamb creeps! and a trailer for the sheep from another estate they ran locally. No infrastructure left.
ollie989898
Member
Oh, you mean it was all done away with, in their great wisdom?
- Location
- Angus
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
You mean they released capital tied up in depreciating assets?
Would these be the same farms that have been running all arable for a few years, got into trouble with blackgrass and now will have to spend a fortune if they want to get back into mixed farming with livestock? I'm sure a wise consultant will be able to advise them how to do so shortly.
Adam@Rumen
Member
- Location
- Nantwich/Rishton
A friend of mine who is a farm manager for one of the big ones said they're far from profitable and looking to cut back on the farms they manage
ollie989898
Member
You mean they released capital tied up in depreciating assets?
Would these be the same farms that have been running all arable for a few years, got into trouble with blackgrass and now will have to spend a fortune if they want to get back into mixed farming with livestock? I'm sure a wise consultant will be able to advise them how to do so shortly.
You can't possibly want any more livestock re-entering your marketplace though Neil? Those days are gone, surely, they will never find the labour today?
- Location
- Fife
Maybe they could use a contract shepherding business?
ollie989898
Member
I think you might be right, strange how the 'company' got to fly around in a helicopter, who pays for that?, A whole new type of harvest. However in this case there was a flock which stayed, and much to the shepherds surprise the flock was running at a loss and would also have to go, only to find out that there had been an £18/ewe management fee being collected for absolutely no Input, oh how he laughedYou mean they released capital tied up in depreciating assets?
Would these be the same farms that have been running all arable for a few years, got into trouble with blackgrass and now will have to spend a fortune if they want to get back into mixed farming with livestock? I'm sure a wise consultant will be able to advise them how to do so shortly.
recently tendered a contract farm against such a company and above is exactly what they are doing !
- Location
- Fife
That sounds expensive....
Well, I don't work for free... But compared to the hassle and expense of an employed shepherd (with the dramas of accommodation, holiday cover, vehicles/plant, yards etc) I like to think I'm competitive.
Tractor drivers to do the lookering then contractors to the management tasks and lambing etc? I reckon that would be a very cost effective method of running a large flock. Especially if it was a closed self replacing flock bred along low input lines.
They have well trained managers. Expect good budgeting and technical agronomy. Centralised buying means good pricing on inputs and machinery, with access to grain contracts not always available to everyone else. Depending on the company you may or may not be funding layers of regional line managers and support staff.
Where these guys catch a cold is in their expansion programme - paying top dollar for land rents and profit shares will leave them squeaking over ever smaller margins in the hard times. Short term contracts with landlords known to change contractors regularly hardly encourages a long term view.
Well I could be very wrong!
Velcourt pulled out if a farm near here last year, just like the company before did. Albanwise also pulled out of a large farm near here recently aswell