How good an investment is farmland?
As global population growth is expected to reach nine billion in 2040 and with some predictions putting the population in 2050 as high as ten billion, the future outlook for land resources looks bright. There is an attraction to utilise less marginal land for renewable energy production through a range of resources whether it be […]
Agents enjoy benefits of SPS account management approach
Following a successful pilot, the Rural Payments Agency has introduced this new way of working to improve the service it offers agents in England. The Agency has set up a dedicated team to work with agents and each agent’s individual client applications are now being managed by a single case worker or team. This team […]
Farmers and growers urged to shape NFU CAP talks
Attention now turns to how Defra will implement the new policy and these meetings will help NFU Senior CAP Adviser Gail Soutar, senior NFU officials and officeholders as they continue to negotiate final terms. Ms Soutar said: “After 21 months of negotiating, the European decision makers have just about come to a final agreement on […]
Online SPS claims surpass paper for first time
By the final June 10 deadline more that 104,000 applications had been made, with 55,800 submitted electronically – some 54 percent. The number of farmers using RPA’s own SPS Online service increased from 38,500 in 2012 to just under 51,600 – a huge rise of 34 percent. A further 4,200 applications were made using farm […]
IHT debt relief reprieve
The Government has partially reversed its unexpected attack on debt relief on inheritance tax introduced in the Finance Act in April this year. The proposals would have seen existing and new debts being set against assets that already qualify for relief against inheritance tax, such as farmland, with the result being that no relief would […]
Management information critical to farmers in today’s challenging economic climate
Kite Consulting (‘Kite’) and Landmark Systems have today announced that they will be working together through a ‘preferred supplier’ agreement. The move, which takes effect from July 1, 2013, will see Kite recommending Landmark Systems’ KEY and KEYPrime accounting and management packages to its clients. Coming four years after Kite started using KEY software […]
Innovative invoicing service launched
Cloud software provider Fortnox has officially announced the launch of an innovative Print Service, as an additional feature to their invoicing application. Fortnox Invoicing already has an electronic invoicing feature to help businesses work more efficiently, but with the addition of the print and fulfilment service, small businesses can now also dramatically reduce the time […]
Drive for modulation masks Government failure for a fair deal
The numbers confirm that the UK will be allocated the lowest share of funds of all member states on a per hectare basis and will also face significant reductions compared to the current budget. Speaking at the Cereals event today (Wednesday June 12), NFU President Peter Kendall will say: “Despite all of the rhetoric we […]
CAP update on Young Farmers
The European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) has recently stated that the new Common Agricultural Policy budget should include mandatory funding for Young Farmers. This funding has been stressed as being fundamental for encouraging new entrants into Agriculture and will apply to farmers under the age of 40. Direct Payments (Pillar 1) are proposed to […]
