You may be aware that the Government has announced a number of measures to support Businesses through the current Covid-19 disruption to the economy. Additional support is being reviewed and updated as the situation evolves. Some of the measures are targeted at sectors which have been more severely affected to date whilst others are more widely accessible.
Further information can be found and is constantly updated at… Read More
COVID-19 Coronavirus Measures
Dear clients, contacts and friends,
We want to give an update to everyone about the measures we are taking concerning COVID-19 and service continuity. The health and safety of our team, clients and contacts is always paramount to us, particularly now. In line with Government advice all members of the AKC team who are able to are moving to working from home. They have access to all our systems necessary and can be contacted on the usual telephone numbers meaning that there will be very little disruption in providing services to you. This… Read More
There are a number of current grant opportunities for farms and rural businesses. See a list below.
If you would like to discuss any of these in more detail please contact us.
Countryside Stewardship:
Water capital grant (max £10,000) – application window opens mid-February and closes July. Agreement start dates 1st January 2020.
2 year agreement
High priority areas only
Approval required by Natural England Catchment… Read More
MoreWoods Tree Planting and Hedges Grants Now Open
MoreWoods from the Woodland Trust is open for applications for Tree and Hedge Planting Grants.
The criteria for the tree planting is a minimum area of 0.5ha (1.24ac) with a range of species which a Woodland Adviser will help with dependent on your geographical area.
The hedge planting requires at least 100m of hedge to be planted with a mature tree planted every 6m, The hedge species should include, Field Maple, Crab Apple, Dogwood, Dog Rose, Blackthorn, Elder and Hawthorn. The… Read More
A second round of the RDPE Countryside productivity small grant scheme has been released this week. Grants are available for between £3,000 and £12,000 for items identified to improve technical efficiency, animal health and welfare, resource efficiency and nutrient management.
Applications must be submitted before 3rd September.
Items available include:
The mid-tier Countryside Stewardship scheme offers capital items and management options to achieve simple but effective environmental benefits. Mid-tier grants can be accessed through 3 options:
1. Management Options & Capital Grants
These are very similar to previous years and allow farmers to choose from all available multi-year options and capital items to form an agreement which delivers local environmental benefits.
Capital grants are available for 2 main purposes: Management and maintain hedgerows and management water pollution and improve water quality.… Read More
The new making tax digital (MTD) requirements, which take effect from 1st April 2019, apply to all VAT registered businesses trading taxable supplies above the VAT threshold of £85,000. (taxable supplies are goods sold zero rated, reduced rated and standard rated. Exempt and outside the scope supplies do not count towards the threshold). Any businesses which has voluntarily registered for VAT and does not currently trade taxable supplies over £85,000 in a rolling 12-month period does not have to currently comply with MTD.
Three key requirements of MTD:
· … Read More
What is ELMS?
In September Michael Gove introduced the new Agriculture bill that is due to replace the current legislation which has held the UK under EU rules for nearly half a century. The new scheme (ELMS), which is due to replace the current Basic Payment Scheme, aims to incentivise farmers to achieve environmental enhancement and protection and restore and improve natural capital and rural heritage.
The Government has stated that the new scheme aims to keep bureaucracy to a minimum as well as eliminating principles from the current system that pay farmers for the amount of land they own rather than the outcomes they achieve.… Read More
AKC are working on behalf of AHDB to deliver farm benchmarking for arable farms across the south of England.
Farmbench is an easy to use online benchmarking tool that helps to identify where strengths and weaknesses lie within a farm business. By comparing results anonymously to farms with similar enterprises, Farmbench enables you to improve individual business performance and manage many of the challenges facing the sector, such as price volatility, Brexit, and economic uncertainty. This will ensure that your… Read More
About the scheme
With the application deadline drawing near, the Countryside Productivity Scheme is offering its last chance for farmers who want to invest in innovative technology for their farm business, by offering grants between £35k to £1m under the Improving Farm Productivity Grant. Farmers from livestock, dairy, arable and horticultural sectors can apply for these grants which must aim to improve productivity through the following methods: