News Agricultural Congress 2019
'Feeling in the market is extremely important'
The only constant of the agricultural sector is that farmers have to change constantly. How can you keep your head above water in those times? Jos Verstegen, Alfons Beldman and Jan Willem van der Schans (from Wageningen Economic Research) answered this during the National Economic Agricultural Congress.
In 2019, farmers have to do business in a new reality, in which changing laws and regulations seem to have the upper hand. The farmers must be green. But, how does he provide himself with a fair income in this new reality? "That remains important, because you can only go green if you are not red," says Verstegen.
For this it is important that farmers don't get too caught up in the politics. "It is important to have a good position with consumers and chain parties. The market is extremely important," says Verstegen.
Good feeling at the market is important
This market is often far removed from the individual farmer. According to Beldman, it is important that farmers have a feeling for what is happening in the market. He also states that the focus should not only be on scaling up, but also on improving returns within the current company size. "Growing by following the traditional track of intensification and scaling up is becoming increasingly difficult."
"Sustainable farmers do better economically," notes Beldman. "These are the farmers who don't do it haphazardly, but have a clear vision of their company. That clear vision and closely monitoring what exactly happens on the farm is very important in order to be able to improve in a targeted manner."
Anne-Jan Doorn
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