NEWS LETTER

New £ 20 Million Farming & Forestry Grant Scheme

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has launched a new scheme to help farming, forestry and horticultural businesses in England to become more efficient at using resources. The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS) which is intended to operate every 4 months until the end of 2013, aims to improve competitiveness through investment that meets one or more of the following objectives:

• Improving animal health and welfare.
• Reducing energy usage.
  
• Improving the management of manures/farm nutrients.
  
• Improving soil quality.
  
• Improving water resource management.
  
• Improving use of forestry resources.

The scheme aims to provide funding of up to 40% of the cost of new investment in certain capital items. The minimum grant application is£ 2,500 and the maximum available is £ 25,000. Examples of eligible projects include:

• Nutrient Management - eligible items include slurry injectors, mechanical slurry separation systems and Global Positioning Systems.
  
• Energy Efficiency - eligible items include heat exchangers, gel coolers and ice builders.
  
• Water Resource Management - eligible items include pipework specifically to intercept and divert roof water to a storage facility, rainwater harvesting equipment.
  
• Animal Health and Welfare - projects which bring about significant improvements in farm animal health and welfare.
  
• Forestry - eligible items include timber processors, forwarders, forestry trailers, tractors mounted forestry grabs.

The following are examples of ineligible items under FFIS:

• Slurry/manure stores.
  
• Additional rings on existing slurry stores.
  
• Slurry tankers.
  
• Muck spreaders.

Additionally, FFIS cannot be used to fund equipment or facilities that are:

• direct replacements;
  
• standard agricultural equipment;
  
• a legislative requirement, or
  
• an industry obligation (e.g. Standard Management Requirements for the Single Farm payment scheme).

The FFIS is a competitive tendered scheme, meaning that not all applications will
necessarily be successful, with the deadline for the 1st round of funding applications
closing on January 17th 2012.

For further advice on the funding eligibility and application process, contact a member
of the Agriculture team on: 01285 648 107

SPS Entitlement Statements & Trading Update

The RPA is currently in the process of posting out Entitlements Statements to Single Payment Scheme claimants for the 2011 scheme year. This statement contains the latest data on the number and type of Entitlements held, and it is important to check these carefully, especially for those claimants who have transferred Entitlements in or out of their business in previous years.
 
Now is also a sensible time to consider your requirements for the 2012 scheme year, whether looking to market surplus entitlements or to top up for ‘naked’ acres.
 
In cases where farmers are not claiming Entitlements over their full area of eligible agricultural land, claimants should be aware that cross compliance rules still apply to all eligible agricultural land on that holding, and not just the areas that are being claimed for SPS. Therefore farmers who have more land than Entitlements, or conversely those who have sold / given up land and hold more Entitlements than available eligible land, should consider trading Entitlements to maximise returns.
 
In a further complication, within the next round of CAP reform the EU has proposed the abolition of existing SPS Entitlements, before allocating entirely new Entitlements which will not be linked to existing ones. At the moment this idea remains a proposal, as does the changeover date to the new system, which might be in 2013, but may be postponed until 2014 or 2015.
 
We currently have several lots of Entitlements available for sale and demand for more. For the latest information on Entitlement trading process and values, contact Stuart Milsom or Gemma Dalton on 01285 648 107.

2,000 tonnes of on floor grain storage available to rent at Meysey Hampton from Harvest 2012 onwards. For further details contact Edward Green on 07867 785 503.

Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Is It For You ?

The Higher Level Stewardship Scheme aims to deliver significant environmental benefits in priority areas, and Natural England (NE) has recently been writing to farmers to encourage them to join the scheme.

As well as existing Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) scheme claimants looking to upgrade, there is a also a further tranche of Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) and Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Scheme claimants whose agreements will end next year. Farmers within the targeted areas have been receiving invitations to apply to enter Agreements with the opportunity to claim sometimes substantial maintenance and capital improvement grants.
 
As there is no guarantee of being accepted into HLS, and with applications taking up to 6 months for to be approved by NE, now is the time to consider whether the scheme is right for you and how it can work alongside current systems and objectives. Farmers must demonstrate to NE the environmental merit of their HLS application, but applicants should also be wary of compromising the business performance of the farm.
 
To proceed with an application, farmers will need to ensure that they instruct a qualified Farm Environment Plan (FEP) surveyor who will visit the farm to complete a survey of the existing environmental features, habitats and wildlife present.
 
The FEP will identify HLS potential on the farm, combined with the theme of the specific target area to help design options to be selected within the application. The target theme could, for example, be farmland birds such as Corn Buntings, Grey Partridge and Lapwings, or alternatively, it could be that the farm is sited within a specific target catchment area.
 
A successful application to the HLS scheme will result in a ten year management plan being put in place to deliver environmental benefits to the holding, as well as opportunities to include capital works such as fencing and walling, hedge planting or pond creation.
 

CONGRATULATIONS to Gemma Dalton BSc (Hons) MRICS !

We are delighted to announce that Gemma Dalton has passed her final exams and is now officially qualified as a Chartered Rural Surveyor.

Gemma joined Moore Allen and Innocent in 2009 after completing her undergraduate degree at the Royal Agricultural College. Since then Gemma has been working in the Agricultural Department while also studying to take her professional exams to become a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Gemma provides advice on all aspects of farm and estate management, specialising in Entry and Higher Level Stewardship, and can be contacted on 01285 648 107.

The Partners and Staff would like to thank all our Clients for their continued support as well as wishing you all our very best wishes of the Season and a particularly prosperous 2012

For clear, objective and professional advice on these or any other agricultural and rural estate issues please contact one of our Agricultural Team:

Robert Young ~ Mark Hill ~ Christopher Graham ~ Paul Oughton ~ Brian Smith
Peter Kirby ~ Stuart Milsom ~ Margaret Bush ~ Gemma Dalton ~ Amy Herring

Tel. 01285 648 113                                                             Fax. 01285 640 494    

This newsletter is produced for guidance only and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage can be accepted by Moore Allen & Innocent or other contributors as a result of any person, company or other organisation acting or refraining from acting upon comment on this newsletter.

• Farm & Estate Management • Sales & Purchases of Rural Properties • Valuations • Estate Planning •
• Landlord & Tenant • Farming Agreements • Auctions • Compensation & Compulsory Purchase •
• Farm Buildings • Expert Witness • Planning & Development • Grants & Quotas • Agri-Environment •
• Woodland • Digital Mapping • Diversification • Employment • Payroll & Accounts •

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