A Resilient Future by Utilising Machinery Post Brexit

Farm-r develops trading platform to optimize machinery and labour efficiency

Farm-r, the Air BnB of the agricultural world, where machinery is traded through an online platform to capitalise on machinery efficiency, is urging farmers to look ahead and plan for capital use before Brexit takes control.

A Resilient Future Post Brexit

Brexit has brought uncertainty for many in the UK farming industry. Until now British farmers have been shielded by farming lobbying within Europe and have benefited from EU subsidies, international trade and access to seasonal labour. With Brexit looming and the likely reductions to subsidy, now is the time for farmers to re-evaluate their businesses and become more efficient to ensure their farming enterprise is resilient for future change.

Dan Robinson, Founder of Farm-r says; “Every year £2bn is spent by UK farmers on new farm machinery, but this machinery is often seasonal and left redundant for some parts of the year. For such a large capital investment, can farmers really afford to have machinery parked up in sheds not being used? To me it doesn’t make commercial sense. It has been recorded that the average tractor usage in the UK is only 31% of the working week – this is 69% underutilised!”

Make Money from Idle Machinery

Farm-r is a marketplace that connects farmers, so they can share machinery without friction – earning by renting out or saving by renting in. Contractors can also list services, allowing them to gain new customers and improve payments and for farmers to access the best contractors in their area at the click of a button. Customers receive bookings and payment over the app and are free to make unlimited listings.

Access to a flexible, skilled workforce is imperative if farming is to succeed post-Brexit. Agriculture is already facing a seasonal labour shortage for 2017 and Brexit may impact this further. Farm-r is a solution where labour can be utilised to maximum capacity. Users can list short-term labour services, get booked and paid over the app. The platform is connecting farmers to give access to spare capacity in machinery, contracting services and labour, allowing all to farm more cost-effectively and efficiently. Farm-r is a digital solution that will help to make lean and agile farms that are fit to tackle the challenges of Brexit and thrive for a sustainable future.

Dan Robinson concludes; “For the UK to continue to compete and thrive on a global marketplace, agriculture needs to take advantage of our nation’s growing ‘tech talent’, particularly as Brexit looms. Farmers need to be forward thinking in their investment in technology. Access to new technologies, equipment and skills has the potential to empower British agriculture and solutions such as Farm-r, a new trading technology, will help to revolutionize the way farmers use, and make money from machinery.”

Want to know more? Click here to read our Farm-R case study.