The 55th edition of the John Nix Farm Management Pocket Book has just been published by the Andersons Centre.
For the past five decades and more, the publication has been an indispensable source of budgeting information for farmers and consultants working across all the UK’s farming sectors.
The pocket book also gives unique insights into the ways by which production agriculture is evolving.
Publication editor, Graham Redman, said: “From an arable perspective we are seeing a major shift away from winter cereals to spring cropping systems.
“In terms of crop establishment, the move away from deep ploughing to min-till and zero-till based systems continues apace.
“The 2023/2024 year was one to forget for arable farmers. The autumn 2023 planting season was extremely challenging and the fact that grain prices have not been exciting since last harvest has added to the pressures faced by tillage farmers.
“However, it’s not all bad news. Last autumn saw arable farmers getting their winter cereals planted out in good conditions. So, they can look forward to maximising the potential these crops now over the coming months,” he added.
John Nix Farm Management Pocket Book
Significant change is impacting across UK agriculture at the present time.
E.g., the last couple of years have seen the issue of effective drainage rising in prominence within the  arable sector, and this trend is fully reflected in the current issue of the pocket book.
“The pocket book does not forecast possible margins that might be generated into the future. Rather it gives detailed costings and budgets associated with all the farming enterprises that feature within UK agriculture.
“So, it is an extremely valuable source of information for farmers wanting to change production practices within their businesses.
“The pocket book also contains comprehensive information on contractors’ charges,” he added.
The cost of the publication “can be more than recouped on the back of one decision taken within a farming business during the course of a year”, according to Redman.
A stand out feature of the pocket book is the detail provided of the differing farm support systems and budgets available throughout the four regions of the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In essence, it represents a valuable resource, providing up-to-date data and practical tools for budgeting, benchmarking, and decision-making with regard to crop rotations, assessing livestock profitability and reviewing fixed costs.