Farm Viability Assessment

In accordance with Planning Policy Guidance 7 (PPG 7), farm viability is an issue for development on agricultural land and increasingly, farm viability assessments are being requested for planning applications. Soil Environment Services undertake the assessment by interviewing the current farm owner/manager to collect cropping and livestock information together with farm land area and field locations. Data on yield production and all gross margins are collected together with details of diversification schemes.

As farm viability is dependant on a highly complex amalgamation of factors which include some under the control of the farmer, such as farm management, and others relating to market forces, the viability of a farm is in general a relative concept. The assessment undertaken therefore compares the viability of the farm prior to land-take operations with the viability following the loss of a given area and particular sections of land.

All the gross margin costs used within the assessment are from the latest edition of:
Farm Management Pocketbook (Ed. J Nix).

Reporting
The farm viability assessment will cover the following areas and include maps of land areas affected:

• The location of development in relation to farms
• Farm size and structure.
• Buildings and other fixed equipment.
• Irrigation.
• Drainage.
• Employment issues.