New Countryside Stewardship Evening

Carver Knowles and Green Farm Seeds are hosting an evening on the New Countryside Stewardship Scheme Venue: Pardon Hill Farm, Prescott, Gotherington, Cheltenham, Glos, GL52 9RD Date: Thursday 12th April at 5.30pm – 7.00pm The evening is aimed at farmers and landowners with Environmental Stewardship (ELS and HLS) agreements that are coming to an end in 2018 or […]

Posted on March 28th, 2018 by

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME 2017 ENTITLEMENT VALUES UP APPROX 7%

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has just announced the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme entitlement values in advance of the BPS 2017 Payment window which starts on the 1st December. As a result of both the exchange rate (set as an average over September) and a slight increase in value of the the basic and greening […]

Posted on November 20th, 2017 by

BPS 2018: CHANGES TO ‘GREENING’ RULES IN ENGLAND

  Here is an update to the Greening Rules for 2018 as the RPA have made some significant changes to the options available for Ecological Focus Areas. Ban on the Use of Plant Protection Products on Land Used as Ecological Focus Areas A ban on the application of PPP’s applies to land to be used […]

Posted on October 12th, 2017 by

113 ACRES OF LAND AVAILABLE UNDER A CONTRACT FARMING AGREEMENT – CFA AGREED

113 acres at Moreton Valence

Carver Knowles are pleased to have received instructions to offer approximately 113 acres of land to farm under a Contract Farming with Option Agreement near Moreton Valence. Offers are invited to be received at our offices by 12 noon on Wednesday 30th August to enable an anticipated 15th September agreement start date.   The land […]

Posted on August 18th, 2017 by

Brexit:  Where do the opportunities lie?

British resilience

For or against, most people have a view on Brexit and whether it’s going to be good bad or just ugly. There are some key areas farmers and rural business owners need to consider over the next 12-18 months to make sure their business is well placed and as strong as possible as we enter […]

Posted on May 16th, 2017 by

Welsh Farm Business Grant Now Available

The Welsh Government and Rural Development Programme has allocated £40m to a new Welsh Farm Business Grant. This is designed to help farmers reduce their carbon emissions, improve their resilience and competitiveness. £3,000 – £12,000 is available per farm business at a 40% grant rate over a four-year period. The first application period is to […]

Posted on April 6th, 2017 by

Countryside Stewardship Now Open

    The 2017 Countryside Stewardship application window for Mid-Tier and Higher Tier are now open.   Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship offers 5 year agreements for environmental improvements in the wider countryside, such as reducing diffuse water pollution or improving the environment for birds, pollinators and farm wildlife.  Mid-Tier application packs must be requested no later than 31st […]

Posted on March 13th, 2017 by

Inspection Alert: Most common reasons for BPS penalties

Cross compliance rules need to be followed all year round and with Inspectors able to arrive at farms unannounced farmers need to be prepared to ensure they are not risking their Basic Payment. When it comes to farm inspections one of the most important points is to never refuse access. Preventing an Inspector from carrying […]

Posted on November 16th, 2016 by

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME 2016 – LATEST NEWS

As many of you will be aware, the RPA have now launched the new Basic Payment Scheme application system on their Rural Payments Service. The system uses the “Siti-Farmer” software that Carver Knowles used extensively in 2015 for many of our client’s BPS applications. As a result of our understanding of the software we are […]

Posted on March 29th, 2016 by

BPS UPDATE

BPS update

As you will be aware, we are fast approaching the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application window for 2016. In light of this and of the difficulties experienced by the RPA for the 2015 BPS application this is an update on the current BPS situation. 2015 BPS CLAIMS The RPA estimate that over 70% of claimants […]

Posted on February 17th, 2016 by