1.

0 Summary

During this report the mandatory and voluntary record requirements for
Home Farm have been identified and the requirements within these
records discussed and it was found that as much information if not all
should be official recorded for at least the benefit of management, also
that the best way to record data is with computers due to the wide range
of useful software.

2.0 Introduction

Westmere Estate is situated in south Cheshire and it is spread over a large

10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) and in that it comprises of a many let farms
one of which is a 500acre (200hectare) farm called Home Farm, this is an
arable farm and it also has a 300 sow pig breeding and finishing
enterprise.

It has been required that the responsibility of the management be handed

over, the following report will discuss the matters concerning
management and how it will be possible to go about dealing with these
matters in the most detailed and efficient way.

Running a farm efficiently is very important in order to create a profitable

enterprise, to do this it is again extremely important for the farmer to
keep accurate, simple and up to date records of every aspect of the day to
day running of the enterprise even though this may be a real chore. It is
also important to keep past records in order to show the past performance
of the farm which can be extremely important in making decision in the
present and also helps plan for the future. They can also be required for
legal purposes.

3.0 Management records

Records for the purposes of management are designed are not statutory
but instead are there to help the prosperity of the farm.

On type of record keeping is that of livestock. Keeping records of

livestock is going to be very important in order to receive payments from
CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and it also provides a good overview
of the performance and whether livestock is missing or even perhaps
stolen.
In order for these records to be relevant for payment there has to be
intricate and detailed information on the livestock including purchases,
births, deaths, sales, transfers, stock at the beginning and stock at the end.
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The majority of farmers will record their livestock every month, however
some farmers will do this every week and others may do it on an annual
basis. The records for the pig enterprise at Home Farm will be done every
week in order to have the best information for use as possible.

Farm maps are also very important and so there will be a new one drawn
up if the previous map is not up to date as there may have been changes
over the years. On this map it will indicate such items as precise
boundaries including fences and hedges, public rights of way if in deed
there are any, electricity and telephone wires and importantly whether
there are any water or gas pipes and anything alike so as to make sure that
no damage can be done if there are any activities that require excavating
the land in any way.

As feed costs are a large cost in producing pigs it is very important that
the feed is recorded every day to keep track and allocate the cost with the
exact detail of the type of feed used with the exact mix, the amount of
tonnage of feed and then the date at which these records were recorded.
These are known as barn records.

Arguably one of the most important records which will be implemented is

to keep a daily diary which will include all the day to day changes that
occur on the farm including the movement of all the groups of pigs and
then allocate the costs, this can also be used to correlate with the records
taken for the livestock records. A record of the arable sales will also be
taken and all the activities that are associated with crops such as spraying
or ploughing.

The final sets of records that will be taken and maintained regarding the
management area are that of the individual fields. This will involve
keeping track of all that happens in each field including animal
movements, spraying, cultivations and crops that have been harvested;
this will then be integrated with previous records if there are any. This
will ensure that no mistakes are made with putting too much fertilizer or
pesticides on the crop and it may also help in deciding the rotation of
particular fields. It can also when applying sprays be compared with the
budget to check whether the right amount is used.

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4.0 Statutory records

These are records that need to be fulfilled by law.

The movement of disease particularly over the last few years has been a
major issue since the foot and mouth issue and so any movements of the
pigs will have to be recorded, they will be given tags so that they may be
traced back to the origin, this is necessary because in case of disease it is
likely to help contain it if it is known where is started, the legislation
behind this originates and is maintained by the EU.

Wages must and will be recorded for the Agriculture Wages Board and
this is policed by MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries)
who will send inspectors round to check things like National Insurance
and tax deductions. For income tax returns it is necessary disclose any
profits made by the farm, this will be done by sending off a statement to
the Inland Revenue which in this case will be in the form of a profit and
loss account.

Under the common agricultural policy reform that has been in place since
1993 IACS payments can be received and so in order to claim this, a
record of the set-aside and stocking rate will need to be recorded.

As Home farm will require farm labourers who will constantly in some
degree of danger from either machinery or chemicals it is in accordance
with the health and safety act to thoroughly asses the risks and record
them. This will then lead to needing to be put into a written health and
safety policy where emergency procedures can be organised, this will be
presented in and easily understandable manor to which the employees can
comply to. The employees are also required to be train in such a way that
is considered to be adequate for the jobs they are required to do. An
accident report needs to be kept and also a report on the machinery which
will entail all services on them and problems that may occur to make sure
all equipment is kept safe and in good running order.

Reports on VAT will be kept on all items sold and bought as it may be
possible to claim it back on VAT exempt items such as sprays and
fertilizer this may in turn improve the farms cash flow. Also records of
journeys and petrol consumption are required to be divulged. Cash and
cheque payments are also required to be recorded.

All registered agricultural holding require to fill in a census returns form

which is used to create useful information and statistics that will be
published.

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5.0 Audited Accounts

All money transactions have to be recorded for both the managements

benefit and for legal requirements to the Inland Revenue. These will be
recorded in throughout the year and then it is required to present a profit
and loss account at the year ending in the form of a profit and loss
account and balance sheet. This requires information on all the financial
information gathered throughout the year including costs such as wages,
petrol, sprays and others which are associated with the running of the
farm; it will also include the income from selling products such as the
pigs and crops. Also the value of land, income from IACS and other such
sources of income will be included in these audited accounts as it is a
broad view of the financial situation of the farm.

6.0 Farm information systems

Most farm managers nowadays keep all their records on computer as this
can if used correctly be a time saving device as well as being easier. Not
only is it quicker and easier, essential records are less likely to get lost.
With appropriate knowledge it also allows managers to create a more
efficient management system as they are able to quickly and easily
manipulate figures to give them any information that they require
providing that they have the data in the first place. They are able with a
click of a button using the Excel program to predict future crop prices for
example or allocate costs more accurately, allowing them to predict
necessary changes perhaps in future management techniques. It is
particularly useful for budgeting where as if the records are done in hand
it can make the process a long and painstaking affair.

7.0 Conclusion

In order to maintain an efficient and profitable farm it has been concluded

that it is absolutely necessary keep as many accurate records as is
possible for all the financial and physical activities that occur at least to
start with, but should any of the management records deem to be not
useful in any way then they will cease to be recorded.

It has also been concluded that although not completely necessary it

would be wise to store all records if possible on computer due to the
many advantages that it has for the running of the business.

Word count: 1,532

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8.0 Bibliography: Jonathan Turner and Martin Taylor/Applied Farm
Management/second edition 1998.