The shape of the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme that will be the main funding stream for English farmers is becoming clearer. The scheme contains strong echoes of the previous Environmental Stewardship (ES) scheme with an entry level, broad-and-shallow tier and then higher level options. The plans are set out in a ‘Policy Discussion […]
Defra has published a policy statement outlining its plans for farm support in England. This is to accompany the Agriculture Bill as it enters the Committee stage in Parliament and comes ahead of George Eustice’s appearance at the NFU Conference on 26th February. In general, there is nothing particularly revelatory in it – most of […]
Cow’s milk continues to hold its own in the market, despite the growing range of ‘alternative milks’. This finding comes from an analysis by the AHDB of recent sales data. Despite all the news (and noise) surrounding plant-based drinks they only represent 4.4% of the total volume share of the market. Spend on cow’s milk […]
Potato growers and buyers are faced with a range of yield and quality issues as the result of one of the driest summers on record. There is a feeling that a catastrophic harvest was avoided when temperatures eased and some rain fell in August, following a scorching June and July. Those growers who could irrigate […]
Countryside Stewardship Scheme Similar to last year, delays are expected in issuing Countryside Stewardship Agreements. Although the problem is not expected to affect as many potential agreement holders as the previous year, there are still going to be a significant number of Mid-tier Agreements due to commence on 1st January 2018 which will not have […]
Harvest Harvest has progressed well with good conditions for most of the time despite short rain breaks. AHDB reports suggest the winter barley and winter oilseed rape crops are now all-but completed, with estimated national average yields of 7.1 tonnes per hectare and 3.5 tonnes per hectare respectively. These are both marginally above the national […]
Finished prices for beef, lamb and pigmeat remain relatively robust. There has been no substantial shift in the value of the Pound, despite a small strengthening of Sterling when the ‘snap’ UK General Election was announced. With the Pound continuing to trade in the range around €1 = 85p, this continues to help the competitiveness […]
Eight organisations and trade associations have come together to form The Agri-Brexit Coalition. The Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), Agricultural Industries Confederation(AIC), British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB), Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), Crop Protection Association (CPA), Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA), National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) and National Office of Animal Health […]
There looks set to be further consolidation in the UK food supply chain with the news that Tesco has agreed to buy Booker Group. Booker is a major food wholesaler offering a ‘cash-and-carry’ service to small retailers and the food service sector. It also owns the Londis, Premier, Budgens and Family Shopper retail brands (although […]
The UK will not seek to remain within the EU Single Market after Brexit. This was the clear message delivered by Theresa May in a speech, setting out for the first time, the UK’s negotiating position. Mrs May stated that staying in the Single Market would mean ‘not leaving the EU at all’ as theUK would […]