News

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 14th October 2021 It is a complex world. Today’s disrupted supply chain issues overlay the adjustments of the post-Brexit process, in turn overlaying the long run pressures of climate change. The global disruption of the pandemic is now rippling down the seasons like water sloshing when carrying a bowl. The waves of the pandemic were followed by strong recoveries in demand but supply chains frustrated as Chinese ports...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 7th October 2021 Boris Johnson’s speech yesterday to the Conservative Party Conference is another step in the mystery of the Government’s developing land use policies – indeed of “levelling up”. The pattern is for his high level statements to be developed later by ministers. It could intend extensive land use change. After a paeon to the UK’s landscape of “untouched moorlands” and “broadleaf forests”...

DEFRA has updated its guidance on creating and using a soil management plan. This information may be of interest to those land managers entering into the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot or considering soil and environmental management of their land. The guidance is available here.

The RPA’s Rural Payments system will be unavailable overnight from 5pm on Tuesday 5th October to 8am on Wednesday 6th October 2021 while Release 6 is installed.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 30th September 2021 There is much discussion now about the need for farmers and landowners to be well advised. The need is clear with the scale of change and challenge for businesses and families: facing the withdrawal of Basic Payment in England and then Wales, with its prospective reduction and revision in Scotland and Northern Ireland. more commercial and changing markets and new technologiesthe effects of climate change...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 9th September 2021 “‘Just in time’; that’s almost late”: a Cornish manufacturer’s description to me in December 2018 of the then supply chains. Current experience endorses his view of the weaknesses in ultra-efficient systems, lacking resilience when facing the problems we see on a national, continental and global basis. Stocks have been seen as a cost, an insurance provision not worth paying. The risks in systems...

Following their 4-yearly review of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) designated areas in December 2020, DEFRA have announced that no substantial changes in the patterns of nitrate pollution in England have been found. Accordingly, designated areas remain the same for 2021 to 2024. A map of designated areas can be found here. More information, including how to challenge the inclusion of land within a designated area, can be found on the Government website....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 9th September 2021. The fascinating politics of the last few days reveal serious conundrums as the government navigates between its existing voters wanting protection and the needs of its potential voters.While little may have been done to reform or even fund social care, the threat of crippling care costs to existing homeowners and their heirs appears reduced. It is now reported that their concerns see teeth drawn from the...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 9th September 2021. The fledgling world of transactions for environmental commitments is very young and potentially very innocent. It may match the early days for solar panels after Feed-in Tariffs were introduced in spring 2010 when initial activity moved faster than understanding or clearer perspective on value, opportunity and risk. We see a shifting balance from agreements for running payments for actions (common in...

It has been announced that the deadline for submitting claims for the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grants Scheme has been extended until 31 December 2021. See the Scottish Government website for more details.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 26th August 2021 From the start of the pandemic, the Government’s concern has been to maintain contracts and activity in the economy. It has done so with measures such as the furlough scheme protecting employment contracts and grants and loans to tide businesses through. The resilience of the food supply chain passed its test last spring. As lockdown has eased, so the economy regained ground and unemployment stayed low....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 26th August 2021 All parts of the UK are now shaping future agricultural policy. This week’s consultation paper from Scotland and policy framework from Northern Ireland follow England’s implementation of change and the Welsh Government’s confirmation of next year’s Agriculture Bill.Policies for climate change and biodiversity have increasing priority alongside wider environmental concerns and business performance. The...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 19th August 2021 The old saying is that a farmer only controls what is under his boot. Weather, governments, markets and all are external, to be taken as they come. Looking to what can be controlled is particularly important at such a time of change. The problem is less uncertainty than perspective, seeing where value, reward and risk really lie. Too great a focus on the changing landscape of schemes draws the eye and mind...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 12th August 2021 The CAAV has now published new editions of the model FBTs for England: one for largely bare land agreements for two years or less, the other for longer agreements and more fully equipped land – weblinks given below. New editions for Wales were issued earlier in the year. Revisions last year responded to Brexit; these pick up on the new policies under the Agriculture Act and the Environment Bill. They are...