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Countryside Productivity - Water Resource Management Grants

September 2017

The Government have recently announced £200m of RDPE funding to support rural businesses including farmers. One package is for funding available under the Countryside Productivity Scheme. This scheme is made up of three elements Water Resource Management, Improving Forestry Productivity and Animal Health and Welfare.

Below is a summary of the Water Resource Management grant scheme.

If you feel this would be of interest to your business please do not hesitate to contact one of the consultants in the office to discuss your idea further.

Water Resource Management:

Aim:

…

Changes to Basic Payment Scheme Greening Requirements for 2018

August 2017

DEFRA have now partially clarified how they will implement the new EU Greening requirements for the 2018 Scheme Year in England.

The key changes expected are:

There will be a ban on the use of Plant Protection Products on EFA Fallow Land, Catch & Cover Crops and Nitrogen Fixing Crops. This ban is expected to apply to the full lifecycle of the crop (or 1st January to 30th June in the case of Fallow) and will include a ban on seed treatments.

Further details…

Dairy Training Day

July 2017

On the 12th of July, we hosted our first ever Dairy Training Day aimed for knowledge exchange amongst professionals with regards to the challenges faced by our Dairy farming clients and their consultants!

Thanks to Andrew Bristol for hosting the event on his Dairy farm in Somerset. Working sessions included ‘Ration assessment’ by Barrie Audis, Andrew’s consultant, ‘Grazing Management Plan’ by AKC Consultant James Berry and ‘Planning Considerations for Industrial Agricultural Buildings’ by Paul Oakley of OPAC Ltd.

In the afternoon having also had a tour of the facilities, the working groups were encouraged to give their thoughts and views on the grazing management, sharing their thoughts with…

Changes to Ecological Focus Area Requirements, do they impact your business?

June 2017

As you may be aware the greening requirements under the Basic Payment Scheme have undergone a recent review. This was badged as making ‘greening simpler’ however as you will see below this is not the case!

The EU decision makers have brought in a series of changes which will have an impact on a significant number of businesses.

We have summarised these changes below, with the details which are known to date:

EFA catch/cover crop minimum period extended:… Read More

Livestock Movements – Changes in rules

June 2017

Defra are making changes to the way keepers can register their holdings in England for the purpose of recording and reporting livestock movements.

For some farmers, this may simplify how the holdings are registered and reduce the number of livestock movement reports that need to be submitted.

The new system is expected to be completed by summer 2017.

You may be affected by the changes if you keep cattle, sheep, goats or pigs.

If you are directly affected by any of these changes, you should receive a letter from Defra before July 2017. That letter will detail what the changes mean, the options available to you and…

Potential changes to greening – be prepared

June 2017

We are barely past the deadline for the 2017 BPS submissions, but planning must start for the 2018 BPS form.

The big changes which has prompted this blog is that the commission is reviewing and look set to implement a ban on pesticides on greening land. This is going to affect peas and beans and make them virtually impossible to use, but it will also affect the traditional fallow fields as Blackgrass will not be able to be controlled by Glyphosate until July 1st.

Many clients use protein crops as greening, or fallow to assist with blackgrass control, please email us to discuss these changes and possibly arrange a meeting. We can then review other options for…

Successful North Somerset Show attended by AKC.

May 2017

We attended the North Somerset Show this Year, and were pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with a number of existing clients on our stand and also discuss the services that we offer to lots of others.

See below for the up and coming shows in 2017:

Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show - 16th August,

www.gillshaftshow.co.uk

Bath & West, The Dairy Show - 4th October,

www.bathandwest.com/the-dairy-show

Frome and Agricultural Cheese Show - 9th September,

www.fromecheeseshow.co.uk

Look forward to seeing you there.

AKC Team

Dairy Cattle for sale

May 2017

138 Holstein Friesians for sale from Hampshire Estate. TB Free and pre-movement tested.

118 cows in-milk plus 20 Dry cows/ heifers.

Contact Barrie; 07866 733 558 or James 07391 408 771

Poultry Farming in a post-Brexit environment?

April 2017

Having attended the recent WCLA (West Country Layers Association) Conference in Exeter there is clearly a current air of optimism in the Poultry sector with many of the key packers and processors looking to take on new egg producers. However, with the current retail price being driven down, and current cost of production around £0.89- £0.90/ dozen is this a long-term opportunity for producers looking to diversify post Brexit?

The industry is undergoing two key challenges currently- Avian Flu & the resultant impact on labelling of ‘free-range’ products & the outlaw of caged systems in 2025 both which are likely to result in pressure on provenance and added value for the sector.

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Basic Payment Scheme,2017 Key Points

March 2017

Application window now open

DEADLINE MIDNIGHT 15th MAY 2017

RPA encouraging claims to be made online

Entitlements and land can be transferred online

RLE1 forms still required to make mapping changes

Be aware of the two-year entitlement usage rules

Supporting documents must be submitted by post (Young Farmer applications, New Farmer applications, continuation books, Organic certification)

Double check greening calculations, don’t rely on the RPA calculation online

Be aware of environmental stewardship options and cross check these against your land use code under BPS

2018 and beyond:

Likely to be some changes to…

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