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HGCA s Amie Burke reports on the 11th Borders Arable Monitor Farm meeting

HGCA’s Amie Burke reports on the 11th Borders Arable Monitor Farm meeting 

“The eleventh HGCA Arable Monitor Farm meeting in the Borders attracted 25 farmers from the local community and marked the halfway point for the project.

“The meeting started with an update from Alistair on the Monitor Farm before the group fed back on their experiences of harvest, including an exploration of ‘lessons learnt’.

“After lunch, everyone got involved in the Grain Marketing Challenge, an ongoing activity where teams compete to market a fictional 850t of wheat and 100t of barley for the highest profit.

“For me, this was a great opportunity to join a group and have input into their marketing plans. My team had not sold anything to date as they were forecasting prices to keep increasing – this was a gamble but had so far turned out to be a good option, putting them at second in the competition. I questioned whether their cashflow would survive this strategy and the group considered putting a trigger in, so if the price hit a certain point they would sell. To decide on the trigger price we looked at costs of production and what was considered a suitable profit.”

“In another development, Alistair has been given a grant to cover 50% of the cost to install a new grain store with floor dryers. The decision as to where the new grain store will go and how it will look will be done with the help and advice of the community group.

“The Arable Business Group, attached to the Monitor Farm community forum, is now looking at costs for harvest 2012 in comparison to last year.”

The next meeting, which is open to all, takes place on 4 December at Whitsome Ark Hall, Main Street, Whitsome.

For more information on HGCA Arable Monitor Farms visit the Monitor Farm page 

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