Category: Articles

Two friends meet for the first time in twenty years. George asks David “How’s your IT business treating you?”  “Not bad, I have thirty working for me, we own our office, have three holidays a year and the mortgage is nearly paid off. I can’t complain” he says grinning but adds: “my problem is tax, […]

I am sure that this publication will be analysing the speech The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP gave at the WWF Living Planet Centre on 21 July in much the same way as other industry journals. Or perhaps Mr Gove’s “vision for the future of the natural environment” will already have been side-lined by his […]

I had been thinking about entitling this article something along the lines of ‘Keep it simple’ but the more eagle eyed among you would no doubt have noticed a certain similarity to our article last month, in the title at least, and the message within the prose will be broadly similar too; although in this […]

What would you do if you found a contractor instructed by a utility working on your land without prior agreement? Assume they have a statutory right to be there and let them carry on, or take issue and confront them? This sort of occurrence happens far too often. Be it water, electricity, telecommunications or rail […]

Those of us managing private rural estates will most likely have a small fi eld or patch of land in the village that is owned by the estate but also used by the local community, maybe due to a footpath that crosses it, or if it forms what is viewed by many as the ‘village […]

While we gaze thoughtfully in to the future anticipating the opportunities and pitfalls that Brexit might throw our way it would appear that those in government, and more particularly in Defra, are not doing the same. No surprise there I hear you say? George Eustice confirmed just weeks ago that the government has not commissioned any […]

Please click on the link below to open the NIAB Cover Crops Guide.

Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, Andrea Leadsom announced that £120 million of funding will be made available to support farmers, grow businesses, and generate jobs in rural communities. This money is part of the Growth Programme distributed by the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). A quick search of “project calls” reveals that there have only […]

Even if we didn’t say it out loud a few of us might have recently mused “I hope next year is going to be better than the last!”  

Only a few years ago producing grapes and making wine was reserved to a few, nonconforming and often well healed eccentrics!  But over the last decade there has been something of a revolution in the English wine sector. No longer is the ownership of a vineyard exclusive to those who mastered what, to some, appeared […]

My son’s homework had me stumped this week.  (No surprise there I hear you cry!). In my defence I’m usually called in for projects like making a model of the London eye, or a cardboard bike, or a life size digestive system (his teacher’s ability to test the practical skills of parents apparently know no […]

Often the largest single cost to a business is the people employed within it, and yet the largest common single limiting factor to a business are the people employed within it. No business is perfect, and yet one of the recurring issues we find when approaching a new business to advise (happily a regular occurrence) […]

So, you were thinking of topping those rushes in that field by the river before it gets too wet, much as you have done for years and, no doubt, much as people have done since the widespread use of tractors on farms began. After all, if you didn’t, it would probably be an impenetrable and […]

Something has changed in Great Britain. The gold nosed jet which repatriated our Rio heroes symbolised more than a successful sporting campaign. In 2012 our team delivered a fantastic result which cynics were quick to credit to home advantage!  Yet four years later the result speaks for itself; Great Britain finishing second and only beaten […]

Ask not what Brexit can do for you but what you can do for Brexit. After the risible depar ture of the band of Brexiteers and some fairly comical (or is that spiteful) cabinet appointments a modicum of leadership does appear to be emerging. Now, however, is not the time to be waiting around to […]

The rugby world cup is a perfect distraction from farming. In the coming weeks there is something else to talk about other than the miserable price of wheat.  Whoever you support we are guaranteed fantastic competition between the best rugby sides in the world, let’s hope England recover from the Welsh fiasco and overcome the […]

Should we take more interest in the land around us? To many the countryside is a mystery. Whether driving through country lanes, walking the South Downs or exercising the dog most of us use it in one way or another.