News that land is expected to reach almost £50,000/hectare (£20,000/acre) by 2020 is a double-edged sword for the farming industry – and for our PR beyond it.
Focus on using diesel more efficiently
SOUTH West arable farmer John Tingey, who grows wheat, rape and beans on 303ha (750 acres) outside Cirencester, said the fuel cost increase was going to have a significant impact on farmers’ businesses in terms running machinery, other vehicles and such things as grain drying.
Mr Tingey, chairman of the NFU’s Gloucestershire county branch, added: “It will also have a dramatic effect on the general running costs. By definition farmers live in rural areas, where there is not much public transport, so they have to use their own vehicles, and also there is a knock-on effect as everything they buy is transported on to the farm.
“It may not be generally recognised the impact the fuel increases could have on general everyday goods, as everything sold by retailers has to be transported.
“It will make us focus even harder on the cost of fuel in everything we do. We may have to consider combining from mid-day to midnight instead of 10am to 10pm because there’s more chance of the grain being dried naturally, rather than us having to dry it.”
Also in: A triple whammy for the industry
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