Industry

Cornish Mutual has been putting farmers and the wider farming community across the South West at the heart of all it does since 1903. And the start of 2025 takes this to a new level.

You and everyone who works for you needs to know how to work safely and without putting themselves at risk. This includes contractors and the self-employed working on your farm. Adequate information and training are essential parts of an employers’ health & safety obligations and should be part of your farm health & safety policy.

Business owners are often encouraged to spend less time in their business and more time on it to realise its full potential and see it grow but struggle do it. Both involved with ‘all things people’, Nuffield scholars Anna Bowen and Izak van Heerden discuss how to make it happen through good leadership. Prioritising time to focus on strategy rather than remaining stuck in the immediate day-to-day demands of farming is not easy to do but essential for business success according to Izak van Heerden.

There are two sets of legislation covering farm machinery and equipment, namely the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

With 97% of businesses run by families, and an alarming number of farmers going out of business, understanding as much about your family as your business is vital for success

The problem above all in a business is decision making. A family charter brings everybody together, adds transparency, builds communication and creates trust.

Agriculture can be a solitary environment, and when compounded by the stress of constant uncertainty, it’s not surprising that mental health can fall by the wayside.

ATVs are an invaluable workhorse on almost every UK farm, but over the last two years, 20% of on-farm fatalities have involved these types of vehicles – five quad bike deaths occurring in just the last six months. They are also a common target of organised crime.