General Licenses to Control Birds
On 25th April, Natural England revoked the three General Licenses which allow for the control of certain wild birds including crows, magpies and pigeons amongst others. This meant that as from 25th April, anyone found shooting these birds could be committing a criminal offence.
BPS DEADLINE & AMENDING APPLICATIONS
The deadline for 2019 BPS applications, 15th May, has now passed. However, should you need to amend your application there are still options.
You can make some amendments up to 31st May 2019 without a penalty if the original 2019 application was submitted prior to the 15th May deadline. These changes include:
The above changes can be also made from 1st June until midnight on 10th June however, changes during this time frame will attract a penalty.
Should you become aware of a error on your claim outside of these timescales can inform the RPA at any time using the ‘notified error’ provisions. These cannot result in an increase in value of the 2019 BPS claim and therefore include changes to the land use and deducting the eligible area of a land parcel but not adding parcels or increasing the eligible area.
The ‘obvious error’ provision allows the RPA to correct a clear omission or mistake on a 2019 BPS application without a penalty being attracted if the error is ‘obvious from a simple check of the application’.
For further details on the above please see the BPS 2019 scheme rules
New proposals to boost security for tenanted farmers
12 week consultations launched in England and Wales to seek views on reforms to agricultural tenancy legislation
Published 9 April 2019
From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Robert Goodwill MP
Plans to modernise and update agricultural tenancy legislation have been published today (Tuesday 9 April) as part of a public consultation and call for evidence.
The proposals build on the work of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG), which has provided advice on the key policy priorities for the tenanted sector as we leave the EU.
The consultations in England and Wales set out proposals to remove existing barriers to productivity improvements and help bring about structural change, improving the overall competitiveness and sustainability of the tenant farming sector.
The options that are being explored include:
• Enabling tenants of Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) agreements to hand over their lease to new tenant farmers on their retirement, encouraging earlier succession planning.
• Incentivising more landlords to let new Farm Business Tenancies of 10 years or more, giving tenants greater security to invest and grow a sustainable businesses.
• Removing barriers which may currently dis-incentivise landlords and tenants from investing and making improvements to their AHA rented holdings. For example, there is currently the risk that agreed tenant interest payments made on investments can be lost during the rent review process.
As the existing legislation on agricultural tenancy applies to England and Wales, two consultations will run for 12 weeks in both countries.
Farming Minister Robert Goodwill said:
We are seeking views on how we can open up more opportunities for the next wave of tenant farmers, breathe new life into the sector and step up farming productivity.
We are exploring a number of options to reboot the sector, such as encouraging earlier succession planning and having more flexibility in current tenancy agreements.
The policy framework for agricultural tenancies needs to be fit for the future, and I welcome all views on the proposals set out in this consultation.
Views will be sought from farmers in tenancy agreements, agricultural landlords and the organisations which represent these groups, as well as professional advisers and financial organisations in the sector.
The government is also seeking to gather evidence on mortgage restrictions and repossession protections for farmland to better understand any issues that exist in this area.
Julian Sayers, Chairman of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) said:
The cross industry Group has worked closely with Defra to identify further legislative and other measures which will hopefully help to maintain and invigorate the tenanted sector.
We face a period of significant change across the whole farming industry to which both landlords and tenants must be in a position to adapt over the course of the next few years and beyond.
I therefore encourage all those with an interest in land tenure, which has such an important part to play in the future of many of our agricultural business, to respond to the consultation.
The deadline for responses is 2 July 2019.
The latest edition of the NFU Farming and Property Bulletin is now available via this link:
Our Publication, Agency Review 2018/19, summarises the market position as well as showcasing some of our Agency achievements during the last year.
Agency Review 2018/19
The RPA has now published the following key dates for BPS 2019, as follows:
– 13st March 2019 – BPS online applications open.
– 15th May 2019 – Deadline to submit BPS 2019 applications.
– 15th May 2019 – Deadline for land and entitlement transfers for the 2019 scheme.
Please see the full February 2019 bulletin for further details.
The 58th Adkin Annual Sale of Hay & Straw is the second to be held in conjunction with Thimbleby & Shorland, for the express purpose of maintaining this important service to the farming community. The sale was held at Ardington, Oxfordshire on Tuesday 15th January 2019 and met with a lively trade for hay, but a rather steadier one for straw. The shortage of fodder due to the dry summer is still evident and means that hay is in strong demand. Straw in big bales met a fair trade which reflected the present market, with a near 100% clearance. There was no significant trade for straw in conventional bales however, which would seem to be due to both the extra cost of handling and that demand can be met from supplies of big bales. All lots were of excellent quality, the summer being one of the best years for making hay and baling straw for a long time.
Adkin are very pleased to announce that Hannah Rickards and Rosa Noll have passed their exams to become a Fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.
BPS 2018 Payments and Exchange Rate
The exchange rate for 2018 BPS payments has been set at €1 = £0.89281. This is 0.2% lower than last year’s exchange rate.
The Rural Payments Agency has now announced the Entitlement Values for the 2018 year at:
– Non-SDA (Severely Disadvantaged Area) €181.39
– SDA €180.00
– SDA Moorland €49.09
Adkin are pleased to welcome Jenna Wald back as part of our team, on a temporary basis, following her time in Australia where she hopes to return next year.
