News

CLM Update – Autumn 2021

Click here to view the CLM Autumn 2021 Update………..

August 2021 – “Diddly Squat” Flexibility in Some Support Schemes

I’ve been enjoying watching Clarkson’s Farm.  In fact, I haven’t spoken to anyone – even those not involved in agriculture – who hasn’t.

Yes, he sometimes acts the fool, but the show convincingly conveys how tough agriculture is and highlights the challenges farmers face – whether that’s technical, mechanical, meteorological or bureaucratic.

August 2021 – 7 Factors to consider if acquiring land

If you are looking to buy or rent ground, your search will have the best chance of success if you are aware of all the influences on the land market, not solely the agronomic aspects determining land’s desirability.

Understanding the mindset of the farmers and landowners who you might be dealing with enables you to take a more informed approach, potentially putting you in a stronger position. 

May 2021 – Information is Power

Instinct and experience are crucial in farming, but you need accurate information, too.

In practice, many farmers lack this, making it almost impossible to make informed decisions, and right now they need to be making these more than ever before.

A lot of businesses are at a crossroads, with the phasing out of BPS, the transition to ELMS, Brexit and the prospect of tax changes quite rightly making  many question what they are doing.

April 2021 – Ask the question

The difference between a good and a bad arable farmer is 24 hours.

I was once told that early in my consultancy career and it’s a comment that’s stuck with me for the 25 years since.

The farmer who gets up at 5am to go spraying because conditions are perfect and is determined not to miss a moment of the window won’t have same disease problems or weed burden that someone who acts 24 hours later will.

Christmas 2020 – It’s good to talk

Readers over a certain age might remember a BT ad featuring the catchphrase: “It’s good to talk”.

It was encouraging us, in a pre-mobile era, to pick up the telephone, but the adage remains apt – and no more so than when it comes to succession planning.

December 2020 – Great Expectations

In the end the finale was something of a disappointment.

Fifteen years after my appointment as Executor for the administration of what has felt like a modern-day version of Jarndyce & Jarndyce (the long-running legal dispute in Dickens’ Bleak House), we sat in splendid isolation on a Zoom conference.

November 2020 – “Squeezed Middle”, Mid-scale vineyards can prosper despite challenges

The phrase ‘the squeezed middle’ – sometimes used to refer to mid-income households – has relevance to the viticulture sector.

Thought to have been first used by Ed Miliband or Gordon Brown, the expression came to mind recently when the team and I were doing some number-crunching.

November 2020 – The Vineyard Show takes shape

The Vineyard Show, due to be held at the Kent Event Centre Near Maidstone on the 24th November 2021, is taking shape.  CLM will be sponsoring this event and Matthew Berryman shares his thoughts.

 

Read the full article here ……..

November 2020 – “Stepping-Stone” support welcome, but let’s not reinvent the wheel

There has been much talk recently about the government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

Billed as a ‘stepping stone’ scheme for English farmers, bridging the 2022-2024 gap ahead of the introduction of the Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMS), it hit the headlines in September.