What is contract farming?

A contract farming agreement means that as the land-owner or occupier you provide the land and buildings. A (No. 2) joint bank account will be set up between you (the farmer) and A P Innes (the contractor) which will be used for day-to-day business operations. All expenditure (sprays, fertiliser, seed, drainage etc.) and all income (grain and straw sales) will pass through the account. We provide labour, power and machinery, and years of experience and expertise, enabling us not only to successfully manage soils and crop production, but also to market and sell the produce.  Our partnerships are centred on sharing the risks and rewards of the business, ensuring we provide consistent long-term performance.

Typically, a fixed fee is paid quarterly to the contractor and annually to the farmer, with an agreed profit-share arrangement paid to each party at the end of the year. The result is a mutually agreeable partnership, sharing the joint success of the contract farming agreement.

The Contract Farming Agreement sets out:

Our Agreements are initially for three years. Subsequently, both parties will discuss and review the arrangements and opt to either extend or terminate the Agreement. An Agreement of longer duration, following the initial period, benefits both parties through the planning and establishment of long-term strategies and investment for the farm, resulting in a more profitable and sustainable business model. Longer term Agreements also give the opportunity to focus in-depth on implementing other indirect benefits to your farm, such as further improvements to land and soil quality.

We have a fantastic team of dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable farming experts. We are committed to investing in and using the latest technology and farming strategies to improve the quality of your land and soil, and achieve the greatest crop yield and profit possible.  We also make use of the most advanced data and information systems available to support our decision-making and to determine the most successful strategy for your farm.   

Our farming methods and strategies are tried and tested on our own farm first and, when successful, if agreeable with you, we implement them on yours. We continually invest in developing our strategies, plans, processes and people to create a sustainable and profitable business.

We take a fresh, pro-active and fully accountable approach to contract farming. We believe what makes us unique is that, in addition to years of farming practice, the partnership benefits from Graham and Doug’s valuable commercial business skills and experience gained in other industries. These attributes, combined with an ability to innovate whilst working under pressure, are what set us apart from other contract farming operations.

Contract farming is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the industry, enabling farms of all sizes to operate profitable and sustainable businesses while/whilst meeting the challenges of diminishing operating margins, a volatile and ever-changing political landscape and a reduction in subsidy support.

Contract farming has many advantages which enable you to:

We will arrange the structure of the contract farming Agreement to best fit your personal needs and situation by providing the flexible, pro-active and personal approach required to form a long- term mutually beneficial partnership.