Agriculture & Rural

Accounting for agriculture, farming and rural business is a specialist area that requires expertise and an understanding of the industry.

On this page you can access a range of articles, books and online resources providing quick links to guidance, surveys, statistics, relevant organisations and news.

We also maintain a range of Business & Industry Guides on agriculture, forestry and fishing and a separate guide to resources for the accounting standard IAS 41: Agriculture.

ICAEW

Farming and Rural Business Group
The special interest group provides practical support to chartered accountants within the sector. It offers news updates, key monthly statistics, surveys and technical helpsheets, as well as conferences and seminars.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Farm business and financial planning
Guidance on business plans, account management, benchmarking and planning for farming businesses.

Defra publishes the following guides on farm management accounting:

CAP Payments Search
Web database that provides details of all payments made under the CAP scheme for the preceding CAP financial year.

Business and profits surveys

Farm Business Survey

The Farm Business Survey (FBS) is an annual survey of farms, carried out region-by-region with the intention of providing information for policymakers. The comparative information in the survey can also be used by chartered accountants, farmers and farm advisors to assess the financial performance of individual farms. The availability of results from the FBS varies between regions.

The Farm Business Survey website provides:

  • region reports
  • farm benchmarking tools
  • database for specialist statistics queries
  • projection calculator for gross margins.

Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN)

The FADN produces an annual survey carried out by the member states of the EU, collated for comparative purposes. The FADN Public Database includes downloadable datasets on EU countries covering:

  • costs
  • balance sheet assets and liabilities
  • subsidies
  • taxes.

Other guides

Farm and stock valuation (Helpsheet 232)
Technical tax helpsheet from HMRC giving guidance on methods of farm stock valuation, livestock, crops, cooperatives, grants and subsidies.

Landed estates and rural businesses
Saffery Champness produces regular newsletters on accounting and taxation issues for rural businesses.

Organisations

Agricultural Law Association (ALA)
Organisation founded ‘to provide a forum for professionals serving agriculture – lawyers, surveyors, accountants, bankers, farm business consultants and others, to support each other in their specialisms’.

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (BIAC)
Body which ‘exists for principals, directors, partners and employees of firms, and for individuals, engaged in the giving of advice in agriculture’. The site includes an online directory of members.

Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV)
Professional body for agricultural and rural valuers. The site includes a database of members.

Country Land and Business Association (CLA)
Organisation established to support the interests of private landowners and rural businesses.

Farmers Union of Wales
Welsh national body.

Institute of Agricultural Management (IAgrM)
Professional body for those involved in the management of farms and associated rural businesses.

Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators
Professional body representing those involved in rural business administration.

National Farmers Union (NFU)
Information provided by the national body includes the NFU Business newsletter.

Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
Executive agency established on 16 October 2001 to combine the CAP payment functions of the Intervention Board and DEFRA. The site includes a directory of RPS schemes, information on milk quotas (latest figures, FAQ, legislation and milk quota dates to remember) and a news service.

News and statistics

Farmers Guardian
Useful website featuring a farming news service, the Farmers Guardian Directory of industry contacts, plus a market prices listing drawn from a range of sources and updated regularly.

Farming Online
Farming resource centre which includes an impressive listing of prices including arable prices, feed prices, livestock prices, milk quota, daily price trends, hay and straw prices, and horticulture prices.

Farmers Weekly Interactive
Online news resource including the Farmers Weekly Agricultural Register and a price service.

Office for National Statistics
National statistics on agricultural and horticultural machinery, agricultural employment, land use, economics of agriculture, food control, meat and livestock and agricultural holdings.

Online articles

The library provides access to a range of articles in full text from leading business, finance and management journals.

You will need to be logged-in to the website to gain full access to the range of articles available online.

Articles and books in the Library collection

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports by post, fax or email through our document supply service.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

If you have any difficulty in finding the material you are looking for please contact IAIS by phone on 0141-334-4455, by fax on 0141-334-2233 or by email at office@iais.co.uk

IAIS accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Leave a Reply

IAIS is a network of professional firms and individuals providing Tax and Advisory services. We deliver all mainstream Accountancy and Taxation Services as well as Value Added services to clients throughout the United Kingdom and Internationally.