Adviser - Summer 2016

A few of years ago it became apparent to James Foskett if he was going to keep up with his outgrown the existing buildings and staff welfare was becoming a primary concern as 15 tractor drivers and up to 30 staff were having to share limited facilities, some of them working up to 35 miles away from the farm. Although renting two satellite facilities helped with storage space and workshops, the distance between the main site and the overflow buildings meant that James could not control storage conditions as closely as was needed to ensure that he was getting the best from his harvested crops and he quickly recognised that to meet health and safety requirements he was going to have to expand his main site facilities. Completed in May 2016, the largest of these new units is a 1500 ton cold bulk onion store which proves invaluable twice a year, once with onion sets, then later in the year with maincrop onions. Investing in new building technology has allowed the site to become increasingly efficient in that the sheds can be used for different purposes at different times of year, for example the onion store can be used to dry cereals in a wet year. As with many farms, storage for crops like potatoes is a continual problem, but one which James has now helped solve by factoring a 1000 ton store into his new development, half of which is designed as cold box storage with blast chilling facilities, the other half has been designed as an accumulator store for seed potatoes. The former increases shelf life of the vegetable crops by taking the field heat out of the crop overnight before despatch to the customers, meaning potatoes harvested in the afternoon can be chilled down from 20°C to 3°C before leaving the yard. The latter part of the store with the accumulater system enables 500 tons of seed to be sealed in the store from November to April and have so many parts per million of ethanol released in to the atmosphere which makes the seed multisprout, fooling the seed into producing more tubers per hectare which is essential when growing valuable salad potatoes. Whilst this technology isn’t new (it’s been used for years to ripen green bananas as they are shipped from the Caribbean), the installation of new on-site facilities on his farm has allowed James to use the technology much more efficiently. The ‘store within a store’ creates a seal which prevents gasses being leaked when the doors are opened, as is the case within more traditional units. The development project has taken many months: there is no point, says James, in trying to cut corners. Whilst the contractors were on site for almost a year, the end results are impressive; not just the new farm buildings but the farm now benefits from new office facilities and even a dedicated meeting room which is necessary to create the right impression when meeting buyers from their main retail customers. It is not only his conventional enterprise that has reaped the rewards of his investment. James also has a sizeable organic component to the Deben Valley farm, and part of his development plan includes a building designed specifically as a packhouse for organic produce. This may sound straightforward enough, but with strict regulations surrounding organic produce production, the white-walled unit had to be properly ventilated and insulated to enable the business to pack food on site. He went even further with the addition of a canopy outside which enables his produce to be loaded in all weather conditions without unnecessary spoilage – providing increased efficiencies in the farm’s processes. James first began converting some land to organic chemical-free businesses growth that he was going to have to invest in the intensive vegetable business covering 2000 acres he farms in Suffolk. Volumes of production had

farming in 2007, a process that involved an entirely different crop management system to conventional farming. Currently there are three blocks of organic land including areas at Kirton, Martlesham and now the family Farm at Bromeswell is being converted. With a strict crop rotation system based on six or seven years between the same crops, James has to closely manage the cultivation of his potatoes, carrots, onions, sweetcorn, green beans, beetroot and butternut squash. Indeed, to meet organic standards at least 20% of the field acreage is in fertility building crops such as vetch and clover at any one time. And there is the small matter of hand weeding and hand harvesting, a process which requires a small army of up to 60 casual labourers who come to Suffolk each summer, many of whom return to the farm each year. Despite the recession in 2009 seeing the organic market almost collapse, and many producers going out of business, for James Foskett, maintaining an organic side to his farm has paid dividends. 2015 was his best organic year to date with 350,000 cobs of sweetcorn, 900,000 bunches of carrots and 120 tons of green beans, all handpicked and sent to supermarkets and veg box suppliers across the country. With the recent investment in the site, James is positive that his organic produce will continue to thrive to the extent he is now converting some of the family farm at Bromeswell to organic. As the main harvest on the Deben Valley farm remains potatoes, the introduction of the new storage facilities sees James anticipating an increased capacity for storing up to 4000 tons of potatoes and 5000 tons of green onions in cold store, thus improving cash flow which is not only music to James’ ears – but also those of his accountant. Another James, James Tucker , Business Advisory Partner at Scrutton Bland worked with James Foskett throughout the recent expansion and advises agricultural clients looking for the most efficient way to expand their businesses. “It is critical that farmers extract maximum value from their assets and understand exactly what the fixed cost base of their business is and what it is doing for them,” says James (Tucker). “Producers like James (Foskett) need to understand and react quickly to market forces, and it is my job, as a professional adviser to help them do that in the most effective way for the long term future of the business.” “I am thrilled to have had an input in helping James develop the farm, and I have no doubt that it is a business that will continue to go from strength to strength – it is a real good news story for the wider agricultural industry.” If you are thinking of expanding a business, no matter what your sector, it is important that you find a team of professional advisers who you can work with and who understand what it is that you are trying to achieve. This is something which James Foskett believes has helped in his recent project: “I really like working with proactive advisers” says James. “In my experience a good accountant doesn’t just ‘do the books’. Having worked with James Tucker, and previous Partners at the firm before him, I have become accustomed to being challenged and being asked by my accountant, ‘Have you tried this? Have you thought of that?’ Getting that outside view is imperative to helping anyone thinking of expanding their business like I did, to make the right decisions.” James Foskett Farms can be contacted at 01394 461130 www.jamesfoskettfarms.co.uk If you are thinking of expanding your business or looking for professional accounting advice James Tucker can be contacted at james.tucker@scruttonbland.co.uk or by calling our Ipswich office on 01473 267000 .

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