Saxon Flexi-Fund delivers strong performance
Grain and Seed specialists Saxon Agriculture based in East Walton, Norfolk have announced their 2013/14 wheat Flexi-Fund results – adding to their record of strong Fund performances over the past 8 years. Despite 3 years of volatile markets, Grain Director Mark Smith has once again secured excellent prices for their committed growers. A key member […]
The Farming & Forestry Improvement Scheme is here
It has been announced by DEFRA that the third round of the Farming & Forestry Improvement Scheme Grant, which expects to award around £10 million of grants to successful applicants will be launched today and will then close on the 4 April 2014. The Grant Aid is paid in arrears, so any successful applicant will […]
SPS payouts in record breaking performance
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has exceeded its latest domestic Single Payment Scheme (SPS) targets more than two months early. The Agency has now paid £1.61billion to more than 100,650 English farmers and has exceeded targets to pay more than 97 per cent of those eligible and 97 per cent of the fund value by […]
Barclays extends emergency support to customers affected by severe flooding
The recent severe wet weather has been devastating for individuals and businesses alike. Farmland has been especially hard in many areas leading to uncertainty about finances – particularly in cases where insurance claims are taking a long time to settle. Those with loans, for instance, can find themselves in difficulties where cash flow is an […]
Implementation of CAP announced
Today, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has announced that the amount of funding transferred from farmers’ direct payments to the budget for environmental and rural growth schemes will be increased from 9% to 12%. The demand for environmental schemes and the competiveness of English agriculture will be reviewed in 2016, with the intention of moving to […]
It’s business as usual for SPS 2014
Justin Chamberlain, the Rural Payments Agency’s Customer Director, said: “As far as SPS 2014 is concerned, it is business as usual for our customers, and farmers can make their applications in the usual way. “I would encourage anyone who has not yet made the move online to do so in 2014. SPS Online is simple, […]
Single Payment Scheme 2013 – Agency makes payments to highest ever number of English farmers on first day
The payments, reaching 92.3 per cent of the RPA’s Single Payment Scheme customers, represent 89.3 per cent of the estimated fund value, £1.48bn in total. Mark Grimshaw, RPA Chief Executive, said: “Today we have delivered nearly £1.5bn on the first banking day of the payment window, £100m more than we did on the same day […]
Greening the CAP
Speaking at the European Landowners Organization and Syngenta Multifunctional Landscapes Roadshow in London, George Eustice, MP, Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) pledged to negotiate for more flexibility for the UK around the implementation of greening measures in CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) in order […]
CAP reform sparks cropping concerns
The warning comes from Sarah Reece at Berrys who says although the new basic payment regime won’t come in until 2015, the cropping decisions taken in the next few months will set the scene for the 2015 claim year. “The current round of CAP reform has introduced several new elements including ‘greening ‘ and this […]
