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Animal Health and Welfare Grants Now Available

Animal Health and Welfare Grants Applications Now Open

March 2024

As part of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024, the three Animal Health and Welfare Grants are designed to provide financial support to farmers purchasing new equipment and technology for their livestock businesses. There are over 230 items to choose from, with 54 new items since the last round.

A percentage of the cost of each item applied for, will be paid for by DEFRA.

For many items, the percentage of how much is paid, has increased since last year.

The Three Grants available:

Grant items that improve productivity Grant items for slurry management Grant items that improve animal health and welfare

The application…

Payroll Updates 2024 - 25

March 2024

Payroll Updates 2024-25

For the 2024-5 tax year personal allowances will yet again remain the same at £12,570.00 per annum

New Minimum Wages Increases

April 2023 April 2024

Apprentice £5.28 £6.40

Under 18 £5.28 £6.40

18-20 £7.49 £8.60

21-22 £10.18

23 and over…

Countryside Stewardship Revenue Claim Window NOW OPEN

March 2024

The 2024 Revenue Claim window for Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship, is NOW OPEN, and you have until 11:59pm on Wednesday 15th May 2024 to submit your claim without reduction.

*Before submitting your claim, don’t forget to update your land use codes by signing into the Rural payments Service.

For more information about submitting your claim, click here.

BPS / Delinked Payments Reminder

March 2024

This year is the first year BPS payments are delinked. This means there will be no requirement to submit a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application window in 2024.

Businesses will automatically receive the delinked payments if you have previously claimed BPS in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and you will continue to receive a delinked BPS sum automatically, each year until 2027. Each year the sum received will be a reducing sum each year, as progressive reductions are applied. Payments will be made in two sums, 50% paid from the 1st of August, with the remaining amount paid from 1st December.

Have you heard about what3words?

March 2024

This is an app that can easily pinpoint your location by using three unique words. It is free to use and does not require any phone signal or internet connection, once you have downloaded the app. What3words is also available to use on a web browser if you prefer not to download the app (however to do this, requires internet connection).

How does it work?

What3words has allocated every 3-metre squares of the world, a combination of three easy-to-pronounce unique words. These words can be saved and shared with others to allow you to find precise locations, as accurate as GPS coordinates.

For example, the location to our AKC…

Basis Period Reform

March 2024

Basis Period Reform

What is it?

HMRC has announced a reform in the basis period to take effect from the 2024/25 tax year. Businesses currently draw up annual accounts to the same date each year called their ‘accounting date’. From 2024/25 annual accounts will have to reported for the tax year 06/04/2024-05/04/2025 rather than by the accounting period, with a transition year in the 2023/24 tax year.

Who will be affected?

It will affect self-employed traders, partners in trading partnerships & all other unincorporated businesses with trading income such as trading trusts & non-…

Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2024 Guidance NOW AVAILABLE

February 2024

DEFRA have now published their guidance on applying for the 2024 Farming Equipment and Technology Fund and the application window will open shortly.

About the Fund

The Fund provides grants for equipment and technology that supports improvements in:

Productivity Slurry Management Animal Health and Welfare

This is a competitive grant, and you can apply for one grant for equipment under one of the three themes above.

Successful applicants will receive a grant of:

A minimum of £1000 and a maximum of £50,000 towards productivity items (increase from last year)A minimum of £1000 and a maximum of £50,000 towards slurry items (increase from last year)… Read More

Changes to National Living Wage & Minimum Wage

February 2024

Did you know?

From April the National Living Wage Age banding is applicable to any employee aged 21, a change from 23 as it was previously.

The following NEW National Living Wage and Minimum Wage Rates will apply from April 1st 2024:

21 yrs and over = £11.44/hour

18-20 = £8.60/hour

16/17 = £6.40/hour

Apprentices under 19/over 19 (during their first year) = £6.40/hour

Don’t forget! The Big Farmland Bird Count 2024 is starting TOMORROW

February 2024

Help raise awareness of the important role farmers play in the conservation of farmland birds and take part in this annual three-week event to record bird species and numbers on your farm.

All you need to do is simply:

Download your count sheet Count and record the birds you see on your property Submit your results online

To download your count sheet and learn more about the event, click here.

This event is organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and sponsored by the National Farms Union (NFU).

Improving Farm Productivity Grant: APPLY NOW

January 2024

Further to our previous update about the upcoming Improving Farm Productivity Grant, the application window is now open for both robotic and automated equipment and solar equipment.

Details of this grant scheme can be found here. Improving Farm Productivity grant Round 2: applicant guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

UPDATE: DEFRA have decided to increase the proportion of the costs that the grant will cover, to 50% rather than 40% for robotic and automated equipment. Meaning the grant will cover more of the total project costs, than it did in Round 1.

Payment of costs for solar equipment will remain the same at 25%.

GRANT OVERVIEW

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