Rodney Cordingley, Partner at StephensonsRural, looks at the Government’s focus on economic growth, and what it means for farming.
A key part of the current strategy of the Labour Government is to focus on growth.
Growth generates more Gross Domestic Product (GDP) helping us all to feel better off, and generates more tax revenue which the Government needs to fulfil its spending commitments.
With growth in the last quarter at just 0.3%, we are nearly static and effectively running to stand still.
The services sector accounts for 79% of GDP, and agriculture just 1% of GPD, showing why farming is low on the Chancellor’s current priority list. That means that as farmers and landowners you need to find your own ways of increasing productivity, and growth, and as surveyors we need to help you achieve that goal.
Our surveyors are all members of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, which is currently running a recruitment campaign under the banner 'Route to Rural' to increase the membership of that organisation.
As the President of CAAV, Jeremy Moody, recently pointed out: “We have more Fellows than we have ever had, more probationers than we have ever had and still look for more to meet the work now."
Unless you think legislation around property ownership is going to be radically simplified, then it is perhaps the time to concentrate on the fundamentals of what you are best at as a farmer, production. To improve your productivity let someone who specialises in dealing with the technicalities of property ownership deal with the other problems, be that capital taxation planning, residential lettings, stewardship schemes, development land options etc etc.
With our practice firmly based in Yorkshire - and with 17 surveyors and advisors in different specialisms in rural property - we believe we can help you be more productive and achieve what you do best... farm.