FARM BUSINESS ADVICE SERVICE
GSC Grays are offering FREE business advice to farmers across the North of England to help them find the most profitable and sustainable solution for their business.
“We designed this bespoke scheme with our clients in mind, to provide a service tailored to individual farmer’s needs and to develop businesses which are profitable and sustainable without support.”
GUY COGGRAVE MANAGING DIRECTOR
FBAS SERVICE SUMMARY
GSC Grays are providing FREE and independent farm business advice to farmers in the North of England. The Farm Business Advice Service (FBAS) is funded by DEFRA’s Future Farming Resilience Fund, created to support farmers and land managers during the early years of the Agricultural Transition.
The free on-farm business review with one of our Farm Business Consultants is the cornerstone of FBAS. As part of the review, businesses will have the choice to either focus on their financial performance, or on the opportunities that SFI and other environmental schemes can provide. The report that follows will include recommendations and key actions arising from the information shared during the review and will outline the next steps which will move the business forward.
Further details on the business reviews can be found on the following pages.
For some businesses, this may be all that is required, an additional pair of eyes to review existing plans or provide some suggestions to consider. Others, whose farms are especially vulnerable to the loss of BPS, or those looking to make substantial changes, will be recommended for further specialist consultancy support. A summary of the funded consultancy services we offer through FBAS can be seen on page 6.
In addition, we have created an online resource centre which provides useful insight into the common issues identified in the initial reviews, as well as more in depth information on our specialist consultancy services.
THE HALF DAY BUSINESS REVIEW (FINANCIAL FOCUS)
In order to fully understand your business, one of our consultants will come and visit you in person, on farm. The focus of the on-farm business review is to understand the goals of the business, to ensure recommendations are tailored towards the individual business needs and those of everyone involved.
We encourage everyone with an interest in the future of the farm to be present at the meeting. This is a key opportunity to have a round table discussion on the aims and objectives of your business. Acknowledging strengths and weaknesses and interrogating financial information will help to make informed decisions moving forward.
The review of financial information includes a high-level accounts analysis to understand the financial position of your business and how this will link into creating recommendations that are achievable. Submitting the accounts for analysis in advance of the review meeting will enable our consultants to add real value to these discussions.
You will be issued with a concise action plan following the meeting, with a summary of the discussion and outcomes, and targeted recommendations outlining the next steps for you to move your business forward.
The report will contain the following information:
1. FARM SUMMARY
A brief overview of the farm, enterprises, and people within the business.
2. FARM OBJECTIVES
A summary of the main objectives outlined by the attendees. These will include personal and business objectives.
3. BPS REDUCTION CALCULATOR
A visual representation of the likely payments that the business can expect to receive, and use for budgeting purposes.
4. FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
A high-level overview of the farm accounts, highlighting any areas of strength/concern.
5. SWOT ANALYSIS
A summary of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats discussed during the review.
6. ACTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The consultant will provide recommendations and key actions from the information shared during the review. These will be specific to the farm and aim to incorporate the business objectives.
The recommendations in this report will determine whether any funded follow-on work will be offered.
“Thoroughly professional and helpful. A great help with dealing with the bank and making the plans into a reality. Reassurance for the bank and personally that it was the right thing to do.”
FARMER FEEDBACK
“Every business should do it. It’s free and there’s never any harm in getting a fresh perspective. You’ve nothing to lose.”
FARMER FEEDBACK
THE HALF DAY BUSINESS REVIEW (SFI FOCUS)
Following the launch of SFI in September 2023, for some businesses, maximising returns from SFI will be their primary objective. The half day SFI review is specifically designed to help you understand the SFI options available to you and identify which actions work best for your farm taking into account the business objectives and current farming practices.
We encourage everyone with an interest in the future of the farm to be present at the meeting. This is a key opportunity to have a round table discussion on the aims and objectives of your business. In some cases, SFI funding can be used to facilitate significant changes to the farming model therefore involving all appropriate parties at an early stage can be beneficial.
You will be issued with a concise action plan following the meeting, with a summary of the discussion and outcomes, and targeted recommendations outlining the next steps for you to move your business forward.
The report will contain the following information:
1. FARM SUMMARY
A brief overview of the farm, enterprises, and people within the business.
2. FARM OBJECTIVES
A summary of the main objectives outlined by the attendees. These will include personal and business objectives.
3. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES
A summary of historic and existing public and private environmental schemes.
4. SFI KEY DATES AND INFORMATION
A list of the key dates and information relating to the SFI scheme structure.
5. PROJECTED SFI SCHEME INCOME
Presented in a table format, a summary of the SFI actions discussed within the meeting, the areas available for each action, payment rates per hectare and total payment received.
6. COMPLEMENTARY SCHEME INCOME
Again, presented in a table format, a summary of any complementary schemes to accompany the SFI application such as CS Capital Grants.
7. A CTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The consultant will provide recommendations and key actions from the information shared during the review. These will be specific to the farm and aim to incorporate the business objectives. Any key considerations and intricacies of integrating one or multiple schemes into the business will be explained.
The recommendations in this report will determine whether any funded follow-on work will be offered.
CONSULTANCY SERVICES
1. BUDGETING & FINANCIAL PLANNING
Identifying opportunities to improve cash flow or business profitability through potential investment, production system changes or enterprise efficiencies.
2. BUSINESS RESTRUCTURING
Conducting an asset and liability audit to identify potential ways to restructure the business liabilities and achieve a more efficient and sustainable operation.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Identifying how legacy and current environmental schemes may fit together and the options that are most advantageous to your farming business.
4. GRASSLAND REGENERATIVE FARMING
Providing practical and technical insight into grassland management techniques and identifying strategies that bring efficiency gains to livestock businesses.
5. ARABLE REGENERATIVE FARMING
Reviewing the strategies achievable to arable farmers looking for improved soil health, reduced costs and increased profitability through regenerative farming practices.
6. SUCCESSION PLANNING
Identifying the restructuring options available to facilitate retirement by either bringing family into the business or working with third parties through contract or share farming opportunities.
7. DIVERSIFICATION
Reviewing available resources including land, buildings, people, machinery and equipment to identify the most profitable diversification option(s) for your farming business.
8. ON-FARM RENEWABLES
Conducting a business audit and energy profile to understand the viability of a renewable energy scheme for your intensive farming business.
9. CONTRACT & SHARE FARMING AGREEMENTS
Reviewing the farming system, resources and objectives of farm businesses looking to establish a Contract or Share Farming Agreement, creating a recommended implementation plan.
10. PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Providing an overview of the best route to achieve consent for a potential development opportunity on farm, and an evaluation of the anticipated costs and timescales for doing so.
11. BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN
Providing an overview of the best route to achieve consent for a potential development opportunity
Identifying how a potential Biodiversity Net Gain project sits within your wider farm business / land management and the associated risks and benefits of implementation.
12. CARBON AUDITING
Preparing farm businesses to complete a carbon audit using an available on-line tool, or completing a basic carbon audit using historic data already compiled by your farm business.
“The
loss of BPS is one of our greatest concerns. The free advice we received from GSC Grays has been a huge catalyst for conversations within the family business. We are now looking to make positive changes to the farm that will undoubtedly support us for years to come.”
Scan for further detail on our funded consultancy services.
FARMER FEEDBACK
WHO QUALIFIES FOR THE FREE SERVICE?
The FBAS service is available to all farmers and land managers, across all farming sectors, who receive BPS in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the North Midlands. As such you MUST have an SBI number.
In addition, as you are only permitted to sign up to the services of one of DEFRA’s funded providers, if you have already given your SBI number to another service provider since October 2022 you are unfortunately not eligible to sign up to ours.
REQUEST A CALL BACK
If you would like to discuss FBAS with one of our team, scan the QR code below to request a call back:
SIGN UP NOW
Scan the QR code below to sign up:
Or, visit www.gscgrays.co.uk/fbas-sign-up 03333 059 059 | FBAS@GSCGRAYS.CO.UK
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WHERE WE CAN HELP
We offer FBAS to farmers in the area shown below.
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GSCGRAYS . CO . UK / FBAS
