The agri food industry needs to embrace change in order to turn change into success, according to John Henning , Head of Agriculture, Northern Bank.
John was speaking at a lunch organised by the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association where he challenged the industry to embrace change and overcome resistance from ‘change fatigued’ people within the industry.
John’s presentation certainly gave NIGTA members food for thought on the outlook for the agri food industry with terms like ‘perception agriculture’, ‘benchmarking data’, ‘increased transparency between producer and retailer’, along with an upbeat and positive outlook for the industry, despite some of the concerns which exist at present,
John highlighted the importance of the agricultural industry to the economy of Northern Ireland, assessed the current financial health of the industry, and identified some of the challenges facing the industry - both at farm and industry level.
He emphasised the necessity for farmers to achieve profitability, which must be sustainable, and the need for greater use of management accounts and benchmarking data.
He went on to highlight the importance of addressing the issue of supermarket power and the need for increased transparency between producer and retailer to encourage producers to move further down the food supply chain.
The big challenge for the industry is to embrace change in order to turn change into success, especially overcoming resistance from change-fatigued people within the industry.
'Perception Agriculture' was a new term to NIGTA members but the philosophy behind it was familiar - farmers and the industry could, at little or no cost improve the 'image' of the farming industry, through animal welfare concerns, environmental issues and quality controls.
John outlined the role Northern Bank has played in supporting the agricultural industry in NI, during the good and bad times, which has contributed to its dominant position in the market place and pointed out that Northern has a large team of dedicated agribusiness managers who operate right across NI.
His outlook assessment for the industry could be described as upbeat and positive, despite some of the concerns which exist at present, and he concluded by pointing out, very appropriately, in the words of Dwight D Eisenhower, that "farming looks mighty easy, when your plough is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field"
