14 October 2019
The State Opening of Parliament took place ealier today and the Queen's Speech set out the government's agenda for the next session of Parliament. It annouced 26 Bills, including the reintroduction of the Agriculture Bill and an Environment Bill.
07 October 2019
Poultry keepers are being urged by the Chief Veterinary Officers across the UK to make preparations now in order to reduce the risk of avian influenza in their birds over the coming winter months. Please see the GOV.UK website for further information.
04 October 2019
The Scottish Land Commission is offering a £1,000 award to any student studying at a Scottish academic institution who undertakes a land reform related piece of research. The closing date for submissions is 24th January 2020 and details are available on the Scottish Land Commission website.
03 October 2019
Earlier today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered a Statement in the House of Commons on the Brexit negotiations with the EU. The Statement can be viewed on the GOV.UK website.
03 October 2019
Adopting an Irish model of Income Tax relief in the UK could boost farmland lettings and increase agricultural productivity by over £100m.
According to a review of data from the Irish Revenue by the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), the area of let land in Ireland rose to cover 7% of farmland in 2017, compared to just 2% in 2011. This followed an increase in Income Tax relief introduced in 2015 on farmland let for more than five years, explains Jeremy Moody, secretary and adviser to the CAAV. “This has had a profound effect on encouraging the letting of land and if adopted in the UK could be very beneficial.”
The increased relief starts at €18,000 (£16,000) per year for a five-to-seven-year tenancy, going up to €40,000 (£35,500) for 15-year leases.*
As a result, around 450,000 acres were newly let at arm’s length for more than five years from 2015 to 2017. “By the end of 2017 a country with no tenancy system for over a century had created 10,000 landlords,” says Mr Moody.
Initial modelling of the same relief for the UK suggests that if a further 4% of farmland in Great Britain and 15% in Northern Ireland were let in this way, the productivity gain could top £100m, explains Mr Moody. “Ireland has seen a higher proportion of farmland let for five years or more between 2015 and 2017 than England, Scotland and Wales have under all new forms of tenancy. Ireland now has 7% of its farmland let for such periods compared to about 5% in Great Britain under FBTs and limited duration tenancies, and none in Northern Ireland. There’s much greater potential for land to be let across the UK, it just needs the right encouragement.”
Increasing access to land for proficient farmers is one key to answering the UK’s agricultural productivity challenge, highlights Mr Moody. “Both Ireland and the UK have poor performance when it comes to agricultural productivity growth – averaging just 1% a year for many years. As shown in the Horizon** report, had we kept pace with the US since 2000, the contribution of UK farming to the rural economy would have been £4.3bn higher by 2013.
“If the UK had achieved this, it would have almost doubled the Total Income From Farming, which was £4.7bn in 2018,” he says.
Moving forward, land mobility should be an important component in achieving Defra’s targets to increase the growth of UK agriculture, adds Mr Moody. “The availability of land for productive and proficient farmers who will adopt new technologies and practices needs to be improved. Adopting an Income Tax relief policy similar to that of Ireland could be the key to making this happen.”
CAAV Review Paper: TAXATION, Agricultural Productivity and Land Occupation
02 October 2019
The Government has announced proposals to introduce a ban on long journeys of live animals being transported for slaughter and to create a new forest in Northumberland.
There is due to be a public consultation on minimising live animal journeys "in due course", following recommendations made by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (renamed the Animal Welfare Committee with effect from 1st October 2019).
The new Great Northumberland Forest should see the creation of three new forests in Northumberland, with up to one million trees planted between 2020 and 2024.
Further details of the proposals are available on the GOV.UK website.
01 October 2019
Scottish Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2019 loan payments should begin to arrive in bank accounts from 4th October 2019, as confirmed in this Scottish Government news release. These National Basic Payment Support Scheme payments should be for 95% of the estimated BPS 2019 and greening payment value and will be issued to over 13,450 Scottish BPS claimants. Loan offer letters should have been received during September and it is still possible to accept a loan scheme offer. Further information is available on the Scottish Government's Rural Payments and Services website.
23 September 2019
A major independent review commissioned by DEFRA and led by Julian Glover has called for radical shakeup of the running of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website. DEFRA will now consider the recommendations made in the review.
20 September 2019
Farmers in parts of North Yorkshire and Wainfleet, Lincolnshire affected by flooding over the summer can now apply to the Farming Recovery Fund for grants of between £500 and £25,000 for a range of farm restoration work, including rebuilding dry stone walls, re-cultivating productive land and replacing damaged gates. Further details on how to apply are available on the GOV.UK website.
19 September 2019
The National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB have said that at least £2.9 billion per year is needed to support nature-friendly farming in the UK post-Brexit; just under the current CAP UK budget of £3.2 billion.
The charities said:
"For decades, farmers have struggled within the CAP’s food and farming system that delivers little profit for their produce and few incentives to deliver positive outcomes for the environment. Once we leave the EU and these payments stop, alternative policies will need to be put in place in each of the four UK countries.
"The revised figure published today provides justification for re-investing the current annual UK CAP budget to help farmers and land managers to restore nature and tackle climate change on their land, securing a sustainable future for farming and helping the UK Government and devolved administrations to achieve their own environmental ambitions."