Despite the persistent inclement weather, spring is “technically” here and the BPS season is only just around the corner. Mike Cluley takes a quick look at the Basic Payment Scheme 2020 with a particular focus on what the options are to comply with the Crop Diversification rules under Greening given the consistent wet weather which […]
Posted on March 4th, 2020 by Mike Cluley
Earlier this month the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) launched three new grants available to farmers under the RDPE Growth Programme. The grants are designed to provide funding for projects in rural areas which create jobs and growth in the rural economy. What grants are available? The RDPE Growth Programme provides grant funding for […]
Posted on November 22nd, 2019 by Ellen Cottrell
Once again the team at Upton and Pershore NFU organised an excellent panel to discuss ‘How to be a Farmer and Park Keeper’ providing advice to the audience on making the best of opportunities to develop your rural business. The conference was attended by over 150 local farmers and rural professionals. The first speaker of […]
Posted on January 25th, 2019 by Mike Cluley
Diversification can be the ideal way of providing a new income stream to the farm business and making use of under utilised assets. Finance and planning permission are often top considerations for new projects but is the potential business rates liability being overlooked? Farmers are in a privileged position when it comes to rates, with […]
Posted on November 16th, 2018 by Ellen Cottrell
Pershore and Upton branch of the NFU have once again held a very successful conference, this year titled ‘The Power of Branding’. The panellists were: Helen Browning OBE founder of Helen Browning’s Organic, Martin Thatcher of Thatcher’s Cider and Vice Chairman of the Assured Food Standards, Andrew Blenkiron. The evening started with an opening […]
Posted on January 20th, 2017 by Julie Newton
In the past few days the LEADER programme has been launched by a number of Local Action Groups (LAGs). The LAGs broadly cover the same areas as the local councils and in our area the LEADER programme has been launched by: Worcestershire (Wychavon, Malvern Hills etc) (£1.96m available) Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury (£1.447m […]
Posted on December 4th, 2015 by Mike Cluley
We are often asked what else could I do with my farm buildings, particularly in recent weeks when all agricultural sectors seem to be struggling with low prices and high input costs. Alternative income streams can provide a stable income to level out the undulations of farming activity and either give extra cash to invest […]
Posted on July 27th, 2015 by Julie Newton