News

August 2020 – “People farming” could be key to business success

The countryside is opening its doors, after the financial and psychological trauma of lockdown.

Some vineyards are again offering tours and other events and, while the effects of Covid-19 will be felt for many years, there is still cause for optimism in the medium and long term.

August 2020 – Shooting’s role, sporting community needs to highlight pursuit’s vital place in rural “ecosystems”

All eyes in the shooting community have been focused on Wild Justice’s demands for a judicial review into game bird release, but a lesser publicised planning decision could also have big implications.

The authorities recently rejected an appeal against an enforcement notice which restricted the number of shooting days on a much-respected South Downs estate.

July 2020 – Don’t miss “golden” opportunity PDRs present for building

‘Planning’ and ‘simple’ are two words that rarely go together.

As anyone who has had dealings with it will know, the planning system can be complex, confusing and costly.

The existence of Permitted Development Rights (PDRs), however, offer farmers a streamlined – and, yes, simple – process for erecting or converting buildings.

June 2020 – Diverse businesses better placed to prosper in post-covid countryside

“Up horn, down corn”  is an old agricultural saying that, like many old agricultural sayings, is as relevant today as it has ever been.

It is, or course, a clarion call for the benefits of mixed farming, highlighting how the fortunes of the various sectors are rarely in step and how tough times in one often coincide with periods of relative prosperity in another.

June 2020 – Coronavirus crisis brings succession planning into focus

The Covid-19 crisis is likely to prompt more conversations about succession than ever before.  Mark Weaver of CLM considers why – and shares some tips on securing your farm or estate’s long term future by making this potentially painful process happen smoothly and effectively.

May 2020 – Agricultural policy could be rewritten

The Sun isn’t my usual paper of choice, but I couldn’t help but notice a huge advert on the front of it recently.

“Thank you to British Farmers”  the full page message from the supermarket Morrisons proclaimed, recognising the sterling work done by farmers keeping food on the nation’s tables during the coronavirus crisis.

April 2020 – BNG could be an acronym that farmers learn to love

We’ve already got a lot of acronyms in farming.

There’s BPS, NVZ, GMs, SSSI, AONBs and the RPA just for starters.  We’ll need to get used to a new one, though – BNG.

It stands for Biodiversity Net Gain and it might just prove to be one of the most important concepts some farmers can be involved with over the coming years.

April 2020 – Vineyards, planning and coronavirus

The Coronavirus outbreak has thrown many vineyards into crisis, but visitor-based revenues will still underpin incomes for many in the longterm, making site-selection ever-more crucial, says Matthew Berryman.

A lot of viticulturists can’t think further ahead than the next week – or even the next day – at present, as they fight to keep businesses afloat in these unprecedented times.

March 2020 – Look beyond land quality

What is the perfect vineyard site?

We all know the prerequisites for vines to thrive – south-facing, less than 300 feet above sea level, high average temperatures, low frost risk and free draining soils.

But often less appreciated is the fact that a successful vineyard has other requirements nearly as important as the quality of the land.

March 2020 – Farmers, the Caretakers of £1 trillion asset

Farming has received some bad press recently, which I felt the wider effects of while chatting with a grazier who was rounding up escaped sheep.

We suspected the poor animals had probably had enough of being pushed around the field by various dog walkers and had attempted the ovine equivalent of The Great Escape.