The Cholderton Estate is run as
a commercial undertaking; it has to make money in order to remain
viable. But much has changed since the Estate was created as a
vision of modern farming in the 19th century: in today’s
economic climate it is very hard for farmers – especially
those with mixed regimes – to survive, never mind make a
living. And in many ways the Cholderton Estate is not a ‘typical’
21st-century agricultural concern: it is still a mixed regime
at a time when the trend is to specialise and move towards greater
‘efficiencies’ of scale and input; concerns for the
natural environment and for wildlife are paramount; and there
are numerous ways in which the Estate seeks to diversify its undertakings,
from the light industrial unit and grazing rentals to the water
works and woodland burials.
The ‘Sales’
and ‘Cost of Sales’ for 2001 and 2002 are given below.
This gives an overview of the farming part of the Estate budget.
The figures provide a snapshot of farm finances in the transition
to an organic regime. Note how in 2002 the costs of fertilisers
and sprays drop to zero and vet fees fall.
To give an
indication of how much the various rentals (such as renting out
buildings) contribute to the overall Estate budget in 2002, these
made up some 40% of total profits. Such inputs are not included
in the farming figures below.
| SALES |
2002 |
2001 |
| cattle |
9% |
8% |
| sheep |
6% |
7% |
| horses |
5.5% |
3.5% |
| milk |
39% |
47% |
| oats
& barley |
6% |
6% |
| hay &
Straw |
0% |
0.50% |
| set aside,
etc |
9% |
15% |
| countryside
stewardship |
25% |
6% |
| organic
farm grant |
0.5% |
0% |
| other |
0% |
7% |
| |
|
|
| TOTAL |
100% |
100% |
| COST
OF SALES |
2002 |
2001 |
| opening
valuation |
14% |
12% |
| livestock
purchase |
3% |
0% |
| seeds |
1.50% |
0.75% |
| feeds |
5.5% |
5% |
| fertiliser
& spray |
0% |
5.75% |
| wages
& NI |
34% |
32% |
| haulage |
0.25% |
0.25% |
| machine
& vehicle expenses |
15.5% |
17.50% |
| machine
& vehicle depreciation |
11% |
11.50% |
| machine
& vehicle hire |
1.50% |
0.50% |
| vet &
AI |
2% |
2.50% |
| sundries |
10% |
10.50% |
| power
& light |
1.75% |
1.75% |
| |
|
|
| TOTAL |
100% |
100% |
