John I Forbes & Partner

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by John I Forbes & Partner's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from John I Forbes & Partner is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.eastcoastviners.co.uk

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

18 | JOHN I FORBES & PARTNER

Partner, John Forbes

Pea viners at work in

Angus, Scotland

John Forbes is one of four brothers who farm independently

in the northeast of Scotland. He established East Coast Viners

and East Coast Viners Grain with his brothers Graham and

Mike in 1969 and 1977 respectively. Over 40 years later, they

still work together and hold about ten per cent of the domestic

market in frozen peas and broad beans. John discusses his own

farming business, John I Forbes & Partner, and his role in ECV and

ECVG, and elaborates on the dangers that British agriculture faces.

My own farming business covers a total of 1,300 hectares owned, 175 hectares

rented and 750 hectares contract-farmed. We’re based 20 miles south of

Aberdeen, where the soils and climate mean that the potential to grow high-value

crops is limited; the relatively cool summers and low disease levels, however, suit

the seed potatoes, daffodils, peas and beans which form a key part of the rotation.

We even market our daffodil flowers worldwide through local co-operative

Grampian Growers.

In order to make the most of the cereals and grass which account for most of the

farm area, we also rear livestock. We have 2,800 outdoor breeding sows and 660

dairy cows; all progeny from the pig herd are finished, and we sell some 65,000

annually.

In recent years, we have also invested in renewable technology to further integrate

the business and provide future sustainability. Initially, a 500kW turbine was built in

2014, with a 400kW anaerobic digester added in 2016. The AD plant uses livestock

slurry and rye as its main feedstocks as it produces electricity and heat. The heat is

used to dry woodchip for use in the farm’s 50kW biomass boiler.

FACTS ABOUT

JOHN I FORBES & PARTNER

»Partner: John Forbes

»Established in 1975

»Based in Angus, Scotland

»Services: Independent pig,

dairy, cereal and vegetable

farming

»No. of employees: 40, with

many more for ECV and ECVG

»John is one of the three owners

of East Coast Viners and East

Coast Viners Grain, alongside

operating his own farm

»www.eastcoastviners.co.uk

John I Forbes & Partner

19JOHN I FORBES & PARTNER |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

East Coast Viners

A partnership between myself and

my two brothers, ECV grows 3,650

hectares of peas and broad beans on

owned and seasonally rented land.

We are dedicated to supplying the

frozen food sector, and to controlling

the entire process from buying seeds

through to packing the final product.

We currently supply around 10 per

cent of the UK market.

Initially, we utilised a third-party

freezing and processing plant in

Dundee. The future of the business

was hanging in the balance, however,

when the owner decided to close

the facility in 2005 as a result of

its distance from other significant

markets. After much planning, we

were thankfully able to partner with

the other major grower in the area and

purchase the facility, forming Dundee

Cold Stores in the process.

East Coast Viners Grain

Initially a way of increasing efficiency

by centralising my and my brothers’

grain handling facilities, ECVG

comprised a grain drier, dressing plant

and 24,000 tonnes of flat storage.

After catering for ourselves, we had

the capacity to provide a commercial

service to third parties. Alongside

offering flat storage, ECVG is now also

a grain trader and fertiliser supplier.

In order to make efficient use of

locally grown grain and feed, we

added a compounding plant in 1992

and increased our capacity for grain

to 50,000 tonnes in 1995. ECVG has

since grown to become a key player

in the Scottish animal feeds industry.

We also cater for a number of local

biomass projects, supplying woodchip

to customers throughout the area.

In 2001, the company was awarded

full accreditation of the all-important

UKASTA Feed Assurance Scheme.

Thisnational scheme has been

developed to help restore consumer

confidence in British livestock products.

The UFAS code of practice is based on

the principles of safe manufacturing,

full traceability and independent

monitoring underpinned by Hazard

Analysis Critical Control Points. It

defines a set of principles for the

production of safe animal foodstuffs

and covers the sourcing and analysis of

all feed ingredients.

Remaining competitive isn’t

easy

Although we have the ability to

produce more energy, grid capacity

is unfortunately restricted. I would

personally like to see my farm

become more sustainable, but SSE

control the lines and are also the

biggest renewable energy producer –

something of a conflict of interest.

Another real challenge that’s

come to the fore is our perpetually

increasing cost base. The numbers

of pigs in this country are reducing,

and that, alongside consolidation

in the processing sector, has led to

both the loss of local outlets and

higher marketing costs. We also sell

all milk to Müller, who transport it

south for processing at a significant

additional cost to producers.

The wind turbine and

AD plant

ECVG has

grown to

become a key

player in the

Scottish

animal feeds

industry

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

20 | JOHN I FORBES & PARTNER

Thankfully,apartnership between

pig producers and Tulip Ltd has

recently seen a local processing facility

established which will handle 7,500

pigs a week, but this is still a notable

issue for the industry at a local level.

Our profitability has also been

threatened thanks to the wildly

differing interpretation of EU rules in

Scotland and England. Historically,

the area of peas and beans grown

by a farmer counted towards their

environmental commitments. In 2016,

however, this changed in Scotland

alone, making them a far less attractive

crop for farmers. Consequently, my

brothers and I began paying far more

to rent land than our competitors in the

south. Such differences in regulation

between areas must be minimised if

we are to remain competitive.

A lack of educated

agricultural labour

Perhaps the greatest asset of the

agriculture industry is its people. The

longstanding tradition of agricultural

research, innovation and teaching

that Scotland is renowned for is sadly

being lost year by year. Agricultural

education at university level in the

country is less available than ever

before, with Scotland’s Rural College

now operating as the only provider.

This has come as a result of college

teaching becoming centralised, which

makes vocational education for fields

such as agriculture far less accessible.

I employ over 40 full-time staff with

many more on a casual and seasonal

basis. Sourcing staff has become more

difficult over the years, and there

has been a demonstrable fall in the

number of local people, resulting in

increased demand for migrant labour.

With Brexit on the horizon, we are

finding it more difficult than ever to

expand the workforce as we need to.

This is a huge threat to the labour-

intensive fruit and vegetable sector,

but also to businesses like mine which

employ skilled migrant labour in other

roles. To combat the recruitment issues

currently plaguing the agriculture

industry, I try to recruit young people

and train them in-house wherever

possible, in spite of the high cost of

doing so.

For the good of my farm, ECV and

the Scottish agriculture industry more

widely, I sincerely hope that my efforts

are not in vain, and that others begin

following suit.

The

longstanding

tradition of

agricultural

research,

innovation

and teaching

that Scotland

is renowned

for is sadly

being lost

“

The lack of pickers could

lead to these daffodils

being wasted

www.eastcoastviners.co.uk

This article was sponsored by John I Forbes & Partner. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister