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Farm consultancy

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

National Planning Policy Framework updates 2026 (NPPF)

The updated NPPF is the biggest change to Planning Policy in a generation, with Rural Landowners set to receive benefits from a more supportive and streamlined based system. 

 

The NPPF has been modernised to benefit domestic food production, animal welfare, the environment, and will support applications from farms wanting to grow their agricultural business. Top grade agricultural land will remain protected. 

The new framework gives way to sites or allocation of sites that can support the modernisation or the expansion of an agricultural business. 

This could include items such as livestock buildings, grain stores, and other infrastructure buildings so that farms…

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A partnership between Sainsburys & ABP

Gamechanger Farming - An industry leading integrated Beef Supply Chain from Sainsbury’s and ABP. Providing opportunities for Dairy farmers, Rearers, Growers and Finishers.

Gamechanger Farming - An industry leading integrated Beef Supply Chain from Sainsbury’s and ABP. Providing opportunities for Dairy farmers, Rearers, Growers and Finishers. 

What’s Gamechanger Farming ? 

A partnership between Sainsburys & ABP, it provides farmers with greater security and stability embracing the very best in Exclusive Aberdeen Angus genetics provided by industry leading genetic partners, Genus ABS and Cogent Breeding. The programme delivers great quality and tasting British beef with transparency, traceability and reduced carbon footprint for Sainsburys consumer baskets.

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Barn conversion

New Planning Laws

Government has announced new planning laws for England, allowing farmers greater freedom to grow and diversify their businesses. 

The NFU vice president who brought forward these issues in the last consultation is pleased with the items included in the announcement – these include: 

Expanding and extending the size of buildings that can be erected with permitted development, and Expanding the changes of use within buildings on farms. 

Following these changes, farmers now have scope to convert agricultural buildings and land into business opportunities, without the need for a planning application. This includes larger farm shops, outdoor sports facilities, farm training centres…

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Cattle

Tackling endemic diseases in cattle and sheep – A New Support

Tackling endemic diseases in cattle and sheep – A New Support

DEFRA has announced a new support to help farmers tackle BVD and various health conditions in sheep. The Farm to Fork Summit saw the Prime announce this new support, which will be available from Summer 2024, to help livestock farmers with these ongoing issues. 

Livestock farmers can receive a set fee for each animal species: 

Sheep - £639Cattle with no BVD - £215 

Where BVD is present within beef and dairy herds, a higher rate will be offered from between £837 to £1733. 

The support will initially be available for sheep and beef cattle, with dairy cattle added soon after. 

The…

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Soil Benchmark Website

Soil Benchmark – A useful tool for developing your soil management plan

Have you heard of Soil Benchmark? 

A useful tool growing in popularity as it offers farmers (in England, Scotland and Wales) a cost-effective alternative for creating soil management plans that meet the requirements of DEFRA SFI Policy.

Frequently used by rural advisers and agronomists, Soil Benchmark allows farmers to quickly and easily meet all the requirements of the new SAM1 option in SFI. The use of data from the Environment Agency, Ordnance Survey, and British Geological Survey, means the system provides all the information needed for meeting DEFRA’s requirements when forming soil management plans. 

The ‘Smart Proposals’ provided by Soil Benchmark, are based…

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Temporary adjustments to support farmers struggling to meet mandatory requirements for their agreements

Temporary Wet Weather Adjustments for Agri-Environment Schemes

With wet weather causing havoc for many farmers across the country, DEFRA have introduced new temporary adjustments to support farmers who have experienced disruptions to their farming activities. In particular, those who are struggling to meet mandatory requirements for their agreements (such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship). 

These adjustments will allow farmers more time to establish crops for their agreements, or to delay some activities to later in the year. This covers the period from 1 October 2023 to 31 July 2024, for live agreements. For more information about these adjustments, click here.

Animal Health and Welfare Grants Now Available

Animal Health and Welfare Grants Applications Now Open

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 welf… Read More
Info

Countryside Stewardship Revenue Claim Window NOW OPEN

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

BPS / Delinked Payments Reminder

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. 

What3words app

Have you heard about what3words?

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…

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