The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, delivered the Autumn Statement on the 23rd November. This was Mr Hammond’s first major chance to reset fiscal policy since becoming Chancellor and following the ‘Brexit’ vote in June. It was thought in the months leading up to the Statement that we might see some sweeping expansionary spending plans to offset the effects […]
Scotland has launched its new Farm Advisory Service (FAS). The service is being delivered by SAC Consulting and Ricardo Energy and Environment. A new website is available – http://www.fas.scot/ together with a dedicated phone line 0300 323 0161, offering advice to farmers and crofters. The service covers workshops, network farm meetings, conferences and training courses together […]
Tesco has come under fire for promoting its own-brand products with ‘fake farms’. It has introduced seven new brands under such names as Rosedene Farms, Boswell Farms, Willow Farms, Nightingale Farms, Redmere Farms, Woodside Farms and Suntrail farms. The aim of the branding seems to be to make the products seem more ‘authentic’, and giving […]
A number of retailers have announced price pledges in response to the ongoing ‘crisis’ in the milk market. The first to make a move was Morrisons. It announced a new milk brand, ‘Milk For Farmers’, which would cost 10p per litre more than its usual own-brand milk. The extra revenue would go back to farmers. […]
Liz Truss, DEFRA Secretary has launched a new Bee and Pollinator Strategy. The aim is, over the next ten years, to improve pollinator numbers and their geographical spread. Forget sustainable intensification, ‘pollinator’ now seems to be the new policy buzz word (excuse the pun). The strategy aims to improve the situation across both rural and urban […]
Latest figures from retail experts Neilsen show a 3.2% increase in organic sales during the 4 weeks up to 16th August 2014, at the same times sales of non-organic groceries fell by 0.9%. Organic sales have grown 1.2% over the past year with 83% of shoppers buying some organic produce. Organic produce now makes up […]
Toward the End of Old Crop There is precious little old crop grain remaining unsold in the barns around the UK. Its time to clean out the storage facilities if they haven’t been yet in preparation for the next crop. We know that, as one season ends and another starts, the prices (old crop and […]
Prime beef prices continue to fall as a result of the current supply/demand imbalance. Eblex’s GB all steer deadweight average price for April 2013 was 400.43p per kg. In the week ended 10th May 2014 this was down to 346.5p per kg. It appears producers may have held cattle back as prices fell around Christmas, […]
Cattle Beef prices in the UK have seen a steady decline since October 2013. The expected upturn over the Christmas period did not materialise and the market remains subdued. Levels are currently below year-earlier prices. Looking forward, production in the UK is not expected to be much different from last year, but with the horsemeat […]
Most sectors of agriculture saw a fall in profits in 2012/13 compared to the previous year. This is according to the latest Farm Business Survey (FBS) results released by DEFRA. These results relate to England and update the provisional ones released earlier in the year (see February article). The FBS works on February/March year ends […]