There are few people who work harder than farmers for the money they earn. There are also very few careers where the salary can vary so much from year to year, and with those earnings often having very little reference to how much work is put in during the year.

This often means that financial planning for the long term is often very difficult, but it also means that having a proper plan in place is more critical for farmers than almost any other type of career.

Income from the strong years, if managed well, can help to get through the leaner ones. There is also a need for farmers to put money aside for non-farming expenses, particularly if they have a family.

Education will have to be paid for, there may be a need to extend or develop the home, and there will have to be planning for healthcare and retirement in later life.

Savings

If a farmer is going through their career without trying to build up savings for both the expected and the unexpected, they will find themselves in the position of needing to borrow to cover emergencies. A proper retirement is possible if it is planned for early.

Failure to get a pension in place means that some farmers work for many years past the normal retirement age, and only stop when they physically can’t do the job anymore.

Over the next few pages, we will look at what options there are for putting money aside, why a pension is one of the best investments you can make, and how to reduce your tax bill as much as possible along the way.

Financial advice

Farming is not like other occupations where the income is steady and, often, the employer takes care of pension arrangements. Farmers have to both take care of their own pension and often be their own financial planner when it comes to making the big decisions about borrowing, saving and investing in their business.

There is no financial advice in these articles – we would never presume to tell you what to do with your money, and are certainly not qualified for that – but after reading them, we hope you will at least know what questions to ask, and also maybe have a think about if you are doing enough to look after your future.