News, information and updates

Whilst the main Countryside Stewardship Scheme will not begin until 1st January 2016, some more targeted grants are currently in the process of being released. Applications are now invited for the following: Woodland Capital Grants – Application Window: NOW until 30th June Applications are currently invited for: Woodland Creation Woodland Management Plans (in preparation for other […]

Following further updates  the online system for BPS registrations is back up and running. The RPA are drip feeding invitations out to farmers through agents, the NFU, the TFA and the CLA to prevent over subscription and the system crashing (in a similar fashion to the tax disc launch!). All farmers wishing to claim single farm […]

Over the last couple of years you will have seen headlines in the press saying that farmland is a better investment than gold. Returns on land have been excellent, with prices rising by a further 12% last year, as outlined by the RICS Farmland Market Survey. Questions are being asked about how long it can be […]

The beginning of the year is typically the time when farmers take stock of their finances – often in readiness for the annual bank manager review. Given the generally poor outlook for farm-gate prices especially in sectors such as potatoes and dairy, the task this year may not be one to be relished. However, finding […]

Tewkesbury Borough Council unveils its Planning Blueprint for 2011 -2031 Tewkesbury Borough Council has published its draft development plan which sets out where hundreds of homes could be built in the villages surrounding the town. The Tewkesbury Borough Plan puts the meat on the bones of the development blueprint called the Joint Core Strategy which […]

With the 25th March now less than 2 months away it is worth thinking about whether to serve a notice to review your farm rent. Likewise some landlords served notices in March 2014 hoping for rent increases, so with these rents needing to be agreed by the 25th March action should be taken now. Agricultural […]

This blog introduces the main criteria to consider when borrowing against a farm and helps you understand want lenders are looking for and how to put stronger loan applications together. This should help ensure that proposals stand out and have a better chance of being approved. There are 2 key elements: Security The more simple part is […]

Carver Knowles have acted on behalf of a local dairy farmer to seek planning consent for the change of use of some redundant dairy buildings into a modern racing yard, complete with warm up arena and all weather gallops. This diversification project will provide a stable income (if you excuse the pun) and a better […]

You are invited to the annual Pershore and Upton upon Severn branch of the NFU conference which aims to provoke a debate on the question of Europe. Thursday 22nd January 2015 at 7:30pmThe Frank Parkinson CentrePershore CollegePershoreWR10 3JP Could we contemplate where we would be without it and the support that our competitors would continue to enjoy […]

Most farmers are now familiar with the Soil Protection Review booklet that was part of the Cross Compliance requirements for the Single Payment Scheme. It was an important book – failure to give it to an RPA inspector within 30 minutes of an RPA inspection was likely to land you with a 3% fine of […]