We have achieved 13% growth this year, despite the ongoing uncertainty around Inheritance Tax and the challenging trading environment.
That may sound counter-intuitive. But in practice, the uncertainty itself has been a catalyst. We are seeing more open, more honest multi-generational conversations than we have in years, particularly where the next generation is returning to the business.
One comment has come up more than once: “I’m happy to get involved in the business but I’m not going to milk the cows.”
Behind the humour is something important. Younger family members are often keen to contribute skills, energy and ideas, but not necessarily in the same way as the previous generation. The current climate has given families permission to talk about that openly about roles, direction and what the business could evolve into.
Alongside this, there is no shortage of anxiety in the wider industry. We are hearing genuine concern about the impact of the Iran war on sentiment, on input costs, and on the risk of future inflation. Those concerns are credible. But it is also worth recognising that talk itself can suppress confidence, and confidence matters.
Farmers know better than most that uncertainty is nothing new. We operate in an environment shaped by forces well outside our control: weather, markets, regulation and, increasingly, world events. That has always been the case.
What has changed is the range of options available to us.
Diversified income gives farming businesses the chance to set their own prices, rather than simply accept them. It allows a move, at least in part, from being price takers to price setters. That shift matters. It brings back a degree of control over business fortunes, rather than having outcomes imposed from the outside.
It doesn’t remove risk. Nothing does. But it can rebalance it.
My father has an old farming saying: opportunities often arise during periods of adversity. Warren Buffett is often credited with a similar sentiment; “When markets move strongly in one direction, it can pay to look the other way.”
Periods like this can be paralysing. Increased uncertainty has a habit of slowing decisions to a standstill. And while good research is essential, it will never deliver 100% certainty. There is always a degree of chance involved.
As humans, we are also programmed to dwell more on the negative than the positive. We naturally overweight downside risk. What we often forget is that chance can work in your favour. Outcomes can exceed expectations as well as fall short.
Across the farms and estates we work with, the more resilient businesses tend not to be the ones that rushed headlong into the latest idea. Nor are they the ones that waited for perfect clarity. They are the ones that took time to understand their options, tested assumptions, and moved forward in a structured way.
So don’t let the current climate hold you back.
Do the research. Pressure-test the numbers. Talk openly across generations. Evolve the plan so it fits both the assets you have and the people who will run the business next. Then, when the logic stacks up, take the plunge.
Uncertainty isn’t going away. But neither are the opportunities it creates for those prepared to look at their businesses a little differently.
If your family is discussing the future of the farm, considering diversification, or trying to navigate the current uncertainty, now is the time to explore your options with clarity.
We work with farms and rural estates to assess opportunities, test ideas, and build practical strategies for long-term resilience and growth.
If you’d like an informal conversation about the next chapter for your business, we’d be pleased to help. Get in touch to start the conversation.