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Date: 1st May 2008 Young blood and entrepreneurial flair is what the British farming industry needs to secure a sector-credible and viable future according the David Alvis, the recently awarded Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) Nuffield Scholar. For a young(ish!) man looking to get back into practical agriculture, David’s plans are neither conventional nor small scale, but better described as bold and visionary. “My Nuffield study is tied in to a project that I am involved with, setting up a large scale 1,000+ cow dairy unit in East Anglia,” he explains. It is envisaged that the unit will be of sufficient scale to be able to incorporate eco-focused innovations like a bio-digester and possibly photovoltaic panels to utilise the large area of roof space. “These will supply electricity and potentially an income stream from trading the associated ROCs.”
Serious consideration has been given to the project and to the location. “We are looking to provide a year round, level supply of liquid milk to processors in London and the South East of England.” East Anglia may not be the heartland of conventional dairying, but this is what makes potential customers in the south east interested, because it will offer a significant supply literally on the doorstep.
“Increasingly, milk sold in the south east is hauled in from all over the country which is both costly and inefficient,” David adds. Setting up a business of this scale is not for the faint-hearted, nor is it suited to anyone who isn’t totally au fait with the end-market’s needs and how to source the funding required. “I plan to use my OFC/Nuffield study to explore the sources of capital for developing agricultural businesses, plus I want to determine what investors are looking for to make an investment in a farming operation a viable and exciting opportunity,” he continues. Commenting on this award, OFC Chairman, Teresa Wickham said: “The Oxford Farming Conference places a great deal of importance on encouraging and supporting British farming’s next generation, so we are delighted to make this award in conjunction with the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust. “David’s area of study is timely, pertinent and shows a very strong grasp of what is needed to move UK Farming plc into a sector which attracts external capital, innovation and people. Our industry needs entrepreneurs like him to develop businesses which employ big-business techniques to capitalise on the current opportunities in food, environmental management and sustainability.” David plans to travel to five states in the USA to look at production systems and then on to Australia to visit two farm-based businesses looking to raise equity by floating on the stock market. He also plans to spend some time in the Netherlands where the banking sector is pro-agricultural investments and, if his schedule allows, he would like to visit Poland, the Ukraine and Russia. “The time is right to do this,” he says. “There is an ongoing change in agriculture both here in the UK around the world where we are witnessing an increasing divergence between land management and land ownership which opens up opportunities for those with entrepreneurial drive. I want to understand what it takes in terms of land, financial and human capital to make a productive and investable system.” David will explore the sources of capital that are and could be available for agricultural projects, whether that funding is from banks, private equity sources or even backwards integration e.g. a retailer or processor looking to invest in supply businesses. Although not a dairy farmer himself, David is from a lengthy dairy pedigree; his uncle produces cheese in Somerset and both his grandfather and father used to milk cows. “I’ve always wanted to get back into practical farming, but I didn’t want to do it on a small tenanted farm. I would like to get the model right for what we have planned in East Anglia and replicate it elsewhere.” He enters this project with plenty of business acumen already steeped in his make-up. After graduating from Wye in 1990, he became an assistant farm manager on a potato and arable farm in the eastern counties, and then moved to Anglian Produce where he became General Manager. After the merger of Anglian Produce with Greenvale he gained an MBA before taking up his current role within the fertiliser industry. “UK farming has been extremely conservative and there is a lack of good young people being attracted into the industry; a problem not confined to the UK. If I can use my OFC/Nuffield scholarship to produce a template for a good, well-orchestrated business plan which will attract investors to the industry, I will be pleased. There is a vast amount of capital out there and a large number of funders, looking for good quality projects to invest in. And with food and farming firmly on the radar, the time, as I say, is right to take this on.”
David Alvis will report back on his OFC/Nuffield findings in late 2009. His award is 50% funded by the Oxford Farming Conference and 50% funded by the Nuffield Farming Trust. |
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