Joint Ventures

Join us for the November meeting of the Northampton Monitor Farm. Following an update from Northampton Monitor Farmer Rick Davies we'll focus on joint ventures. The meeting will cover how to set up and run a joint venture and the tax and legal implications of doing so. There will be a general discussion and plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

The meeting will close with an optional session of AHDB's Farmbench. Join this session to learn how to use the tool, including how to register and upload data. There will also be a benchmarking discussion group and Q&A session.

Speakers

• Charles Matts, Brixworth Farming
• John Thame, Ellacotts

Programme

• Registration & Refreshments
• Introduction: Judith Stafford, AHDB Knowledge Exchange Manager
• Monitor Farm Update: Rick Davies, Monitor Farmer. To include:
  • Harvest 2019
  • Autumn drilling
  • What is in the ground and how the crops are looking
  •  Plans for winter meeting programme
  • Update on composting and soil health
• Joint Ventures
  • Setting up and running a joint venture: Charles Matts, Brixworth Farming (detailed case study describing)
    • Why three neighbouring farmers decided to set up an arable joint venture
    • Immediate savings it brought to the parent businesses
    • How Brixworth Farming operates a professional risk-based approach to delivering the arable farming for (now) seven stakeholder businesses
    • Business structure
    • Risk management
    • Agronomy
    • Grain marketing
    • Communications
• Refreshments and discussion
  • Tax and legal implications of joint ventures: John Thame, Ellacotts
    • The accountant’s view
    • How to avoid common pitfalls
    • Different types of joint venture
    • Pros and cons of different types
• General discussion and any remaining questions
• Summary and key take-home messages
• Main meeting close
• Farmbench: Becky Brookes, AHDB Benchmarking Knowledge Exchange Manager and Judith Stafford:
  • Optional session for anyone who wants to find out more about Benchmarking with AHDB
  • How Farmbench works
  • How to register on Farmbench
  • How to upload data
  • Farmbench reports
  • Benchmarking with a discussion group - Farmbench feedback meetings
  • Q&A session
• Meeting close

About Northampton Monitor Farm

Rick Davies farms 404ha in partnership with his parents, trading as MTH Davies, between Northampton, Bedford and Milton Keynes. He grows Group 1 milling wheat, malting spring barley and HOLL oilseed rape, adding value where ever possible all for premium markets. The soil is a mixture of sandy loam, corn brash, silt and heavy clay loam. Crops are currently established with a Claydon-based direct drill and Rick is open to looking at other establishment methods. The Davies family have a number of diversification activities from Office and industrial lets to boxed beef and self-storage these other incomes allow the business to be more risk adverse. During the three years of the Monitor Farm programme Rick hopes to increase his business resilience, reduce fixed and variable costs while maintaining yields and improve soil health for a sustainable future.

Find out more by visiting the Northampton Monitor Farm page.

About Monitor Farms

AHDB Monitor Farms bring together groups of like-minded farmers who wish to improve their businesses by sharing performance information and best practice around a nationwide network of host farms. AHDB organises and facilitates Monitor Farm meetings for farmers, who own and operate the scheme – by farmers, for farmers. Monitor Farms are part of the AHDB Farm Excellence Programme. Each Monitor Farm project runs for three years.