Due to a surge in applications Defra has taken the decision to pause offers for the capital grant scheme. This has led to some frustration from farmers who have been waiting for three months in some cases for Defra to come back to them regarding their application....
Many farm owners are self-employed and do not need to employ any staff. However, in some cases many farmers come to a point where they need to employ staff to cope with the high volume of work. Therefore, if you are employing staff for the first time you will need to...
Farmers are increasingly seeking ways to stabilise their farm income and ensure the sustainability of their agricultural businesses. Farm diverification is one strategy farmers are using to achieve this. Diversifying a farming business involves branching out into new...
In September, the Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs announced a new £25 million flood management scheme as part of their Natural flood management programme. This (ring-fenced) funding is being provided by the government and...
The government has launched an infrastructure grant scheme worth £10 million to fund cattle housing for farmers. This fund aims to improve calf health and welfare as well as enhancing environmental sustainability and innovation. The funding will be granted to farmers...
Defra has published updated guidance regarding farms that have recently been sold. New Defra guidance From 2024 Basic Payment Scheme payments will be delinked which means that new farm owners will not need to apply for BPS, instead this will be calculated based...
Second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced a second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme which was initially launched in 2022. Farmers and land managers can apply for a share of the £15m...
New rules regarding biodiversity net gains have been announced by the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra). The main announcement is regarding a mandatory uplift of a 10% minimum biodiversity net gain (BNG). It is believed that this will be...
Introduction Going into 2023, the outlook is much less optimistic for farmers. However, the annual Sentiment Survey, conducted in October/November demonstrated that most farmers were in reasonable financial shape. Arable farmers Arable farmers were in...
The department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has recently announced £12.5 million in grant funding to businesses in the agriculture and horticulture sectors to help improve automation and robotics to boost productivity. Defra, in partnership with UK...
Livery businesses are particularly difficult to structure from a tax perspective and it is advised that owners should spend time reviewing agreements with their clients on a regular basis to ensure that they are being as tax efficient as possible. This is in order to...
Introduction Research has found that implementing new farming technology will help reduce the productivity gap between the UK and countries with much higher productivity in agriculture such as Australia and the USA. Future funding is critical if UK livestock farmers...