A few weeks ago in this column my fellow Young Farmer William Tyrrell discussed the prospects of young people starting in agriculture.
With land values ever increasing due to more people investing in it from outside the industry, it is a lot harder to farm without diversifying into other areas. On our farm we did this in 2005 by taking on a recycling franchise for Agri Cycle Ltd.
In the future, without young people inheriting farms/land, I cannot see many running their own farms; simply bigger farms taking on the younger generation as they grasp the newer technologies quicker, which is where agriculture is moving.
For instance, GPS is something a farm will not be without in the next ten years. Efficiency in time, fuel, overlap and reducing wastage are the biggest issues now and the more efficient we can grow crops the more we can produce for an ever growing population.
All our crops are in the ground now and looking well, with one exception – the peas, which the pigeons seem to be dining on daily. Other than that it is remarkable how well land conditions are and crop growth is doing well across the board.
Two weeks ago was our Spalding Young Farmers AGM. I stood down as chairman but still have an active role looking after next year’s programme and as social secretary organising our club ball, race night and Tractor Working Day on Sunday, October 6.