Get fit for challenges ahead

Businesses need to be fit to withstand the rigours of volatility. With net margins from production very thin in many farming sectors, cash flows are coming under strain.

Many businesses are finely balanced and lack the sort of resilience needed to deal with, for example, crop failure. Constantly running on the treadmill cannot be the long-term answer – lack of reinvestment and working harder to stand still can only lead to breakdown.

In a business sense, it is imperative to understand anticipated profitability and cash flow at given levels of output value. If the budgets are negative, how long can the business stand the negativity and is it really a way to go forwards?

Proprietors need to be physically and mentally fit for the challenge and make rational decisions, working sustainably and not damaging personal relationships – breakdowns which are more expensive than the worst that can happen to a tractor!

For businesses that are fairly fit already, incremental changes may be required. For those working harder on the treadmill, more substantial issues may need to be addressed. Either way, external help could be an invaluable way to build resilience.

Will Davies of Berrys