Archie Saul runs John Saul Ltd, a 1,300-hectare farm near Boston, Lincolnshire (Figure 1). His fields have been reclaimed from the area of the sea known as The Wash, and 100 hectares of the site is salt marsh. Most of the fields are below sea level at high tide. The land is flat with extremely fertile soil — some fields yield two crops each year. Figure 2 shows the inputs, processes and outputs on the farm and Figure 3 shows the percentage land use at John Saul Ltd.
Archie describes his farm as an agribusiness. Full-time staff include a farm director, three assistant managers, a company secretary and a secretary/ accountant. He owns a fleet of 23 tractors that work this land and another 30 that are hired out to other farmers under a separate business. Each tractor costs around £70,000. Some of them can be guided by satellite so there is no overlapping of soil when they are spraying. The investment in machinery, land and buildings is vast. For example, 12,500 tonnes of cabbages and potatoes can be stored in refrigerated buildings.
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