FARMERS who would like to maximise the amount of cash that could flow into their business have the opportunity to seek specialist advice from professional and farmer groups early next month.

Lloyds TSB Agriculture and the Agriculture Mortgage Corporation (AMC) has teamed up with Farmers Weekly to host a business planning event. Part of a series of autumn events it will take place at Ledbury Rugby Club between 1 and 5 pm on Wednesday, November 2.

The advice is free, there is no need to pre-book and farmers can drop-in at any time during the afternoon for informal discussions with a range of professional advisers. They can provide on-the-day advice covering the issues involved in business change.

There will also be continuous rolling presentations, static displays and informative fact sheets to take away.

"The majority of farmers have done a good job in stripping out excess cost," said Greg Fowler, Lloyds TSB agricultural manager for Worcestershire and Herefordshire. "Variable and fixed costs have been under the microscope and businesses are now running efficiently.

"Now, we want farmers to focus on income and maximising the cash that can flow into the business.

"The afternoon in Ledbury is one of a series of events we are running this autumn to talk to farmers directly. Our presentations will focus on three routes to income growth though successful commodity farming, new business opportunities and environmental stewardship."