Sustainable Systems: Financial Health
Information on farm business economics and business resilience
Whole Farm Benchmarks Tool 2020-21
The Scottish Farm Business Survey is completed annually to accurately measure the performance of the main farm types found in Scotland. Check how your own business compares to the benchmarks…
Select by an area of interest
Energy Bill Support for Farm Businesses
March 10, 2023The energy market has been in a volatile state for some time now and this article aims to explain the current support that is available...
Read more >Eye-catching Agricultural Job Adverts: How To Create Them
March 3, 2023In a time where it is getting increasingly harder to recruit staff into the agricultural industry, it is important that you can stand out from...
Read more >
Keeping Control of Costs – Financial Planning for Livestock Farmers
February 10, 2023Livestock farmers are experiencing unprecedented input costs, and while there are no silver bullets, good cost control and cashflow management can help to ensure that...
Read more >
Agribusiness News February 2023 – Milk
February 2, 2023UK production increase puts more pressure on prices UK milk output has been rising since September 2022. EU milk production has also been rising recently....
Read more >
Agribusiness News February 2023 – Sheep
February 2, 2023The prime lamb trade has been depressed for the start of the year, showing values well behind that of 2021 and 2022. January has been...
Read more >
Agribusiness News February 2023 – Beef
February 2, 2023Prime cattle price lift in January Retail demand for red meat remains high, which has led to several processors increasing prices in January to source...
Read more >
Agribusiness News February 2023 – Cereals and Oilseeds
February 2, 2023UK market looks to US weather events The UK began 2023 with a sizable exportable surplus of wheat following higher initial carry-in stocks and a...
Read more >
Agribusiness News February 2023 – Policy Brief
February 2, 2023Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) Update With the majority of farmers having now been notified whether or not their 2022 AECS application has been successful. From...
Read more >
Seaweed
November 24, 2022In this water episode of our Natural Capital Series, we discuss seaweed and its wider benefits to the farming community, it’s important ecosystem services and...
Read more >
Thrill of the Hill – Natural Capital
October 14, 2022Thrill of the Hill is back! Season 3 #6 – Understanding Natural Capital. In this episode we hear from SAC Consulting’s Rachel Smillie & Paul...
Read more >
Farm Management Handbook 2022/23
October 7, 2022The 43rd edition of the Farm Management Handbook is an essential tool for any progressive farm business, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date source of information...
Read more >
Marketing the Crop – Getting the Best Outcome for Your Crop
September 15, 2022This year’s harvest has been both rapid and relatively cheap in terms of drying costs; all good news. The downside however is that stores will...
Read more >
What is Natural Capital?
August 12, 2022The Earth’s soils, rocks, air, water, plants and animals are all valuable resources that provide a wide range of services and benefits. These resources need...
Read more >
Natural Capital: Reasons for Measuring the Baseline of Natural Capital in a Landscape
December 4, 2021Natural capital has finally been given economic value – the combination of soils, species, communities, habitats and landscapes are now recognised as ecosystems services, with...
Read more >
Capitalising on Assets: Carfrae Farm
November 26, 2021Taking on a farm or croft for the first time is an exciting opportunity but as New Entrants there can be challenges along the way....
Read more >
Future Applications of Insect Protein for Agriculture
November 10, 2021Janette Sutherland SAC Portree interviews Zero Waste Scotland’s Dr William Clark about a new type of farming – insect farming. The podcast covers a wide...
Read more >
Funding Your Dream (webinar)
September 28, 2021Looking to fund your dream piece of farm machinery or invest in livestock but don’t have the luxury of cash at hand? Heard of HP...
Read more >
Starting Out In Arable Agriculture – Variable Costs And Creating A Budget Fact Sheet
September 21, 2021This fact sheet will provide readers with an overview of variable costs, before providing a worked example of how to prepare a budget for their...
Read more >
Writing A Marketing Plan
September 14, 2021A marketing plan is an operational document that outlines the marketing activity that a business plans to implement to generate leads and reach its target...
Read more >
Business Planning Fact Sheet
August 31, 2021Whether you are starting up a new business, looking to invest in or expand your existing business, want to consider your options as you approach...
Read more >
Supplying The Buyers Fact Sheet
August 31, 2021This factsheet aims to highlight what buyers of cattle and sheep are looking for in the animals coming from farms in the West Coast of...
Read more >
How should I sell my grain?
August 26, 2021How should I sell my grain? When selling grain, growers have a range of different options – with much depending on the individual’s attitude to...
Read more >
Co-operation and Collaboration – Co-ops Across the World (their future role) (webinar)
August 24, 2021The benefits of co-operation are well-evidenced. Co-operation involves farmers and others, working together to achieve a commercial objective, which they cannot achieve independently and individually....
Read more >
An Introduction to Buying Groups – Formal and Informal
August 19, 2021Purchasing agricultural inputs and equipment is a significant outlay for most crofters and farmers. Every purchasing decision needs careful consideration on the basis of not...
Read more >
The Different Types of Co-ops and Collaboration (webinar)
August 13, 2021The benefits of co-operation are well-evidenced. Co-operation involves farmers and others, working together to achieve a commercial objective, which they cannot achieve independently and individually....
Read more >
Setting Up A Carbon Neutral Business (webinar)
August 12, 2021In this webinar, we hear first hand from two speakers who have got low carbon and regenerative farming practices at the forefront of their businesses....
Read more >
Business Planning (webinar)
August 10, 2021Time to plan for the future? Where is your business now? Where do you want your business to go? How do you get there? Planning...
Read more >
Webinar: Opportunities in the Halal Sector for Farmers
July 28, 2021Halal consumers eat more meat per capita than the remainder of the population and despite accounting for just 5% of the English population consume approximately...
Read more >
Grain Contracts – making them work for you.
July 20, 2021Well sown, half grown is an adage often used when discussing crops but growing a good crop is only part of the job. Looking after...
Read more >
Supplying the Buyers (webinar)
July 7, 2021Do you know what the buyers want to see in your store cattle and lambs? Selling your livestock is an important part of your business...
Read more >
Natural Capital and Rural Businesses
June 30, 2021In this episode of the podcast, we are exploring the subject of Natural Capital, what this term means: how does it differs from Environmental Goods...
Read more >
Benchmarking Boost For Profits
April 26, 2021A free online resource could help farms to boost profits as well as build a more sustainable business. Created by the Farm Advisory Service, the...
Read more >
Winter Agronomy Digital Roadshows – Business Resilience and Markets
February 1, 2021Arable businesses are seeking ways to improve their resilience what-ever the future brings. The uncertainty of an EU-UK trade deal may now be behind us...
Read more >More in FAS Problem Solver
Select by an area of interest
Energy Bill Support for Farm Businesses
March 10, 2023The energy market has been in a volatile state for some time now and this article aims to explain the current support that is available...
Read more >Eye-catching Agricultural Job Adverts: How To Create Them
March 3, 2023In a time where it is getting increasingly harder to recruit staff into the agricultural industry, it is important that you can stand out from...
Read more >Keeping Control of Costs – Financial Planning for Livestock Farmers
February 10, 2023Livestock farmers are experiencing unprecedented input costs, and while there are no silver bullets, good cost control and cashflow management can help to ensure that...
Read more >Agribusiness News February 2023 – Milk
February 2, 2023UK production increase puts more pressure on prices UK milk output has been rising since September 2022. EU milk production has also been rising recently....
Read more >Agribusiness News February 2023 – Sheep
February 2, 2023The prime lamb trade has been depressed for the start of the year, showing values well behind that of 2021 and 2022. January has been...
Read more >Agribusiness News February 2023 – Beef
February 2, 2023Prime cattle price lift in January Retail demand for red meat remains high, which has led to several processors increasing prices in January to source...
Read more >Agribusiness News February 2023 – Cereals and Oilseeds
February 2, 2023UK market looks to US weather events The UK began 2023 with a sizable exportable surplus of wheat following higher initial carry-in stocks and a...
Read more >Agribusiness News February 2023 – Policy Brief
February 2, 2023Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) Update With the majority of farmers having now been notified whether or not their 2022 AECS application has been successful. From...
Read more >Seaweed
November 24, 2022In this water episode of our Natural Capital Series, we discuss seaweed and its wider benefits to the farming community, it’s important ecosystem services and...
Read more >Thrill of the Hill – Natural Capital
October 14, 2022Thrill of the Hill is back! Season 3 #6 – Understanding Natural Capital. In this episode we hear from SAC Consulting’s Rachel Smillie & Paul...
Read more >Farm Management Handbook 2022/23
October 7, 2022The 43rd edition of the Farm Management Handbook is an essential tool for any progressive farm business, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date source of information...
Read more >Marketing the Crop – Getting the Best Outcome for Your Crop
September 15, 2022This year’s harvest has been both rapid and relatively cheap in terms of drying costs; all good news. The downside however is that stores will...
Read more >What is Natural Capital?
August 12, 2022The Earth’s soils, rocks, air, water, plants and animals are all valuable resources that provide a wide range of services and benefits. These resources need...
Read more >Natural Capital: Reasons for Measuring the Baseline of Natural Capital in a Landscape
December 4, 2021Natural capital has finally been given economic value – the combination of soils, species, communities, habitats and landscapes are now recognised as ecosystems services, with...
Read more >Capitalising on Assets: Carfrae Farm
November 26, 2021Taking on a farm or croft for the first time is an exciting opportunity but as New Entrants there can be challenges along the way....
Read more >Future Applications of Insect Protein for Agriculture
November 10, 2021Janette Sutherland SAC Portree interviews Zero Waste Scotland’s Dr William Clark about a new type of farming – insect farming. The podcast covers a wide...
Read more >Funding Your Dream (webinar)
September 28, 2021Looking to fund your dream piece of farm machinery or invest in livestock but don’t have the luxury of cash at hand? Heard of HP...
Read more >Starting Out In Arable Agriculture – Variable Costs And Creating A Budget Fact Sheet
September 21, 2021This fact sheet will provide readers with an overview of variable costs, before providing a worked example of how to prepare a budget for their...
Read more >Writing A Marketing Plan
September 14, 2021A marketing plan is an operational document that outlines the marketing activity that a business plans to implement to generate leads and reach its target...
Read more >Business Planning Fact Sheet
August 31, 2021Whether you are starting up a new business, looking to invest in or expand your existing business, want to consider your options as you approach...
Read more >Supplying The Buyers Fact Sheet
August 31, 2021This factsheet aims to highlight what buyers of cattle and sheep are looking for in the animals coming from farms in the West Coast of...
Read more >How should I sell my grain?
August 26, 2021How should I sell my grain? When selling grain, growers have a range of different options – with much depending on the individual’s attitude to...
Read more >Co-operation and Collaboration – Co-ops Across the World (their future role) (webinar)
August 24, 2021The benefits of co-operation are well-evidenced. Co-operation involves farmers and others, working together to achieve a commercial objective, which they cannot achieve independently and individually....
Read more >An Introduction to Buying Groups – Formal and Informal
August 19, 2021Purchasing agricultural inputs and equipment is a significant outlay for most crofters and farmers. Every purchasing decision needs careful consideration on the basis of not...
Read more >The Different Types of Co-ops and Collaboration (webinar)
August 13, 2021The benefits of co-operation are well-evidenced. Co-operation involves farmers and others, working together to achieve a commercial objective, which they cannot achieve independently and individually....
Read more >Setting Up A Carbon Neutral Business (webinar)
August 12, 2021In this webinar, we hear first hand from two speakers who have got low carbon and regenerative farming practices at the forefront of their businesses....
Read more >Business Planning (webinar)
August 10, 2021Time to plan for the future? Where is your business now? Where do you want your business to go? How do you get there? Planning...
Read more >Webinar: Opportunities in the Halal Sector for Farmers
July 28, 2021Halal consumers eat more meat per capita than the remainder of the population and despite accounting for just 5% of the English population consume approximately...
Read more >Grain Contracts – making them work for you.
July 20, 2021Well sown, half grown is an adage often used when discussing crops but growing a good crop is only part of the job. Looking after...
Read more >Supplying the Buyers (webinar)
July 7, 2021Do you know what the buyers want to see in your store cattle and lambs? Selling your livestock is an important part of your business...
Read more >Natural Capital and Rural Businesses
June 30, 2021In this episode of the podcast, we are exploring the subject of Natural Capital, what this term means: how does it differs from Environmental Goods...
Read more >Benchmarking Boost For Profits
April 26, 2021A free online resource could help farms to boost profits as well as build a more sustainable business. Created by the Farm Advisory Service, the...
Read more >Winter Agronomy Digital Roadshows – Business Resilience and Markets
February 1, 2021Arable businesses are seeking ways to improve their resilience what-ever the future brings. The uncertainty of an EU-UK trade deal may now be behind us...
Read more >