Farming families are urged to attend one of a series of meetings planned to make their businesses more resilient.
Farmers and their family members can meet with accountancy professionals and legal experts, as well as farm succession advisors, at the Farm Family Key Skills meetings facilitated by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).
Topics to be covered include an overview of taxation – including the main areas under which liabilities, reliefs and allowances may apply to farm businesses and recent tax changes including land mobility.
The seminars will also provide farmers with important information on succession planning and business resilience and risk management; including financial budgeting, forecasting and the impact of market volatility on farm profitability.
Key Skills
Farm Family Key Skills (FFKS) is an initiative being managed by CAFRE and is a key element of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.
The seminars have been organised by CAFRE in partnership with Rural Support and will be delivered throughout Northern Ireland over the coming months.
A total of 20 seminars will be delivered in local venues across Northern Ireland from November 2017 until March 2018.
The first few dates are:
- Greenmount Campus, Antrim on Tuesday, November 28;
- Enniskillen Campus on Wednesday, November 29;
- Loughry Campus, Cookstown on Thursday, November 30;
- Silver Birch Hotel, Omagh on Tuesday, December 5;
- Seagoe Hotel, Portadown on Wednesday, December 6;
- Magherabuoy House Hotel, Portrush on Thursday December 7.
Further event are planned for the New Year. Doors open at 7:30pm, with the seminars scheduled to begin at 8:00pm.
The programme aims to increase farmers’ awareness of business planning and risk management. Seminars will be delivered by industry professionals from local accountancy and law firms.
John McCallister, programme manager of the newly-launched Land Mobility Scheme, will also be available each night to discuss the challenges of land mobility and succession planning.
The seminars are free to farmers, members of a farm family and employees. Organisers say grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters within farm families would all benefit from attending a seminar.
