South East Farmer March 2021

®

Est 1982

March 2021

AT BREAKING POINT PIG FARMERS FACE “PERFECT STORM” OF CHALLENGES

INSIDE

• Nigel Akehurst visits Tottingworth Farm • Investing in the future to preserve the past at Ote Hall Farm

PLUS

• Delivering bespoke training • How to save on trace elements • Building our future market Farming is changing like never before.

The opportunities are out there.

CLM offers new ideas with traditional values.

• Farm business & estate management • Subsidies & grants • Land sales & acquisition • Planning & development • Natural capital & ecology 01892 770339 www.c-l-m.co.uk

See our feature – pages 32-35

Training available for Rural, Agricultural and Landbased Businesses

Digital learning available

Call us today to discuss your requirements

07752 098849 / 07437 601161 landbasedtraining@outlook.com www.seltc.co.uk

Socialise with us @southeastlandbasedtrainingcourses @Southlandbased

MA RC H 2021

CONTENTS

®

www.southeastfarmer.net SOUTH EAST FARMER Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444 EDITORIAL Editor: Malcolm Triggs Email: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk Photography: Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic PUBLISHER Jamie McGrorty 01303 233883 jamie.mcgrorty@kelsey.co.uk GRAPHIC DESIGN Jo Legg 07306 482166 jo.legg@flair-design.co.uk MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Steve Wright CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Phil Weeden MANAGING DIRECTOR: Kevin McCormick PUBLISHER: Jamie McGrorty RETAIL DIRECTOR: Steve Brown RENEWALS AND PROJECTS MANAGER: Andy Cotton SENIOR SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGER: Nick McIntosh SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING DIRECTOR: Gill Lambert SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGER: Kate Chamberlain PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Georgina Harris PRINT PRODUCTION CONTROLLER: Kelly Orriss DISTRIBUTION Distribution in Great Britain Marketforce (UK) Ltd, 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP Tel: 0330 390 6555

20

32

PRINTING Precision Colour Print

Kelsey Media 2020 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers.

Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received.

The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties.

Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/ . If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk.

www.kelsey.co.uk Cover picture: F J Bosworth & Sons © Martin Apps

05 07 08 12 17

NEWS & REPORTS

Government action essential to prevent “carnage”.

Show me the law.

Double the opportunity for campsite diversification.

Farmer joins worldwide regenerative pilot.

Five-point plan for resilience.

REGULARS

18

MONICA AKEHURST

26

OUT AND ABOUT

37

40

26

42

MARKET REPORTS

46

NICK ADAMES

45

ANITA HEAD

50

LEGAL

48 53

20

Nigel Akehurst meets Sarah Wareham of Tottingworth Farms, a third-generation family business raising award winning cattle and sheep as well as operating an abattoir, farm shop and cafe.

32

ALAN WEST

A reasonably good start to 2021.

Check demands carefully.

47

Good news for sheep farmers.

STEPHEN CARR

ADVICE FROM THE VET

SARAH CALCUTT LAND AND FARMS

FEATURES

OTE HALL FARM

Preserving the heritage of this country’s finest old buildings means investing in the future as much as in the past.

SOUTH EAST LANDBASED TRAINING COURSES LLP Delivering a bespoke service that combines personal knowledge with a network of highly skilled, professional trainers in an unbeatable range of land-based disciplines.

PEDIGREE STOCK FOR SALE www.sussexcattlesociety.org.uk

01580 880105

OP IN IO N

Farming is never dull

So if you were looking forward to a calmer year after the weather-disrupted, pandemic-focused, 11th hour Brexit deal panic that summed up 2020, you might just be out of luck.

Farming is never dull, so we probably shouldn’t have expected anything else, but the last-minute deal on the UK’s exit from the European Union that we perhaps hoped would sign off on a year of upheaval and disruption looks like it could instead have merely introduced another year of

4

change and challenge.

Just a few months into the new year, we are already looking at major upheaval for pig farmers, who are facing a “quadruple whammy” of issues, not least the impact of the aforementioned Brexit deal, which has also stung a Kent bee importer. Patrick Murfet could have 15 million of the winged pollinators destroyed if he goes ahead with his plan to defy DEFRA’s ban on bringing them in via Northern Ireland.

It’s not looking like a settled year for growers, either, with the future of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s horticulture sector still in the melting pot after AHDB bosses decided there was more than one way to interpret what many might say was a pretty clear vote against its continuation. Untangling that one, though, is now DEFRA’s problem.

There is better news on 2021’s horizon for milk producers, particularly those who had no choice but to pour the hard-won commodity away this time last year, with the Government now committed to a review of contracts across the sector. Surely no-one would disagree that such a shake-up is well overdue, and with Dairy UK welcoming the proposals, the signs are good.

It should be good news, too, for fruit and salad growers, who should be able to attract the teams they need to harvest their crops after another last-minute deal resulted in an extension to the seasonal workers pilot, albeit the agreed figure is well below the number the industry said it needed.

Brexit has also brought some good news, with Ashford now the location of a border control post that is set to create 130 jobs, supported by DEFRA funding aimed at ensuring imported animal products meet the UK’s high standards.

There are diversification opportunities, too, not least in catering for the ‘staycation’ boom that is likely to see many more people looking for opportunities to enjoy the South East’s fantastic countryside in 2021 and beyond. The envious looks cast our way by friends last summer as we hitched up the caravan on post-lockdown weekends and headed to the nearest low-key, Covid-secure farm pitch for a few days suggests a rise in demand for such sites.

And with the ‘road map’ out of the pandemic lockdown published just a few days before South East Farmer went to press, there is optimism that this year will be better than last. For farmers it will inevitably be challenging, but that’s nothing new for this MALCOLM TRIGGS - EDITOR industry.

EMAIL YOUR VIEWS, LETTERS OR OPINIONS TO: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to the address on page 3 ®

DEBATE SET TO CONTINUE

The debate over the future of AHDB Horticulture looks set to continue following a row over the ballot that should have helped decide its future.

The ‘yes or no’ vote over the continuation of the statutory levy on horticulture, administered on behalf of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board by UK Engage, saw a decisive majority (61% to 39%) vote to end the levy.

UK Engage, though, went on to analyse the vote according to the value of levy paid, which reversed the result and showed a 57% yes vote and 43% opposed to the payment continuing, leading AHDB chair Nicholas Saphir to describe the outcome as “a very complex picture.” Overall voter turnout was 69%.

Unsurprisingly, the AHDB’s interpretation of the figures brought swift criticism from the AHDB Petitioners, the group that has led the campaign against the levy over many months. They have been quick to claim the ballot should only be considered on a straightforward ‘one member, one vote’ basis.

In a brief statement accompanying a detailed breakdown of the figures, UK Engage said simply: “314 levy payers voted in favour of a continuation of a compulsory levy and 488 voted against. Expressed in cash terms, £2,763,638 voted for the levy and £2,093,951 voted against. The decision about what happens next rests with DEFRA Ministers.”

Although AHDB’s own website confirms that the ballot was held “on the basis of one levy payer, one vote”, Mr Saphir commented: “The voting information reported by UK Engage shows different sentiment across different crop sectors and size of business – it is really a very complex picture.

“It is now down to Ministers to weigh up all the various factors about GB horticulture and make a decision on the future role of a horticulture levy.”

One of the leading campaigners, Spalding-based flower grower Simon Redden, said: “As the AHDB well knows, the statute is quite clear and requires the ballot to be based on ‘one business, one vote’. Nearly two thirds (61%) of qualifying levypayers have decisively voted against the statutory levy.

“However, Mr Saphir now appears to be blatantly trying to change the rules of the ballot to suit his own interpretation on the basis of total levy paid. This is clearly a desperate and disgraceful attempt to influence ministers whilst trampling on the views of the two-thirds of levy-payers who have voted to get rid of this statutory levy.

“Basing the result on the amount of levy paid, instead of one business, one vote, is a last-ditch attempt to save AHDB Horticulture. It is not democratic and can be compared to closing the gates on the third-class passengers on the Titanic – letting them drown in an attempt to save the first-class passengers who pay more.”

Vegetable grower Peter Thorold added: “Contrary to the picture that Mr Saphir is trying to paint, this is not a complex interpretation – merely an assault on the democratic premise of one person, one vote.”

The petitioners have warned that these attempts to skew the result of the horticulture ballot could also affect the current vote on the continuation of the statutory levy for potatoes. They have called on the NFU to “clearly represent the interests of its members and criticise these actions by the AHDB”.

While noting that the decision will be taken by DEFRA, the Tenant Farmers’ Association has said it is “hard to envisage an outcome which will not be around winding down the work of AHDB Horticulture, given that such ballots have been highlighted as part of the governance framework in AHDB’s own, recently published strategy”.

NEWS

A “perfect storm” of issues is causing “absolute carnage” amongst pig farmers in the South East and beyond, according to an Essex breeder.

Jack Bosworth, who runs an arable and pig operation with his father Stuart at Spains Hall, Willingale, was responding to a series of issues that has seen a backlog of more than 100,000 pigs stuck on farms across the country.

Spiraling costs, falling prices and the ongoing impact of Covid-19 have been worsened dramatically by export problems following Brexit, with the various factors combining to push many pig farmers to breaking point, said Jack, who is also vice-chairman of the National Pig Association’s (NPA) Young NPA group.

“The industry is stuck in a rut, and every week that passes it’s like the wheels turning in that rut and making it worse,” he said. “The industry is based on breeding, gestation, birth and finishing; it’s not something that can be switched off. The pigs keep coming, whether or not we sell them at the end of the process.

“That continuing process is like the wheel, spinning in the rut. We are hoping that someone will pull us out, but it increasingly looks like help will come too late for some producers.” Pigs that aren’t sold have to be kept on farm, adding significantly to the costs and potentially taking them over agreed parameters and reducing their value.

Covid-19 has affected the workforce in many abattoirs across the country, which has not only reduced the slaughterhouses’ capacity but has seen some of them awaiting re-certification by Chinese authorities. > Weaners at F J Bosworth & Sons

©Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

GOVERNMENT ACTION

ESSENTIAL TO PREVENT “CARNAGE” Even more critically, new export regulations following the UK’s split from the EU are causing huge hold-ups at the border, with some fresh produce held back for so long that it is rejected by the buyer when it eventually reaches its destination.

“Pork is selling well in the UK and we want to build on that, but we need the export market for carcass balance – some parts of the animal just don’t sell in this country,” explained Jack. NPA chief executive Zoe Davies has said that in the first ten months of 2020 the UK exported more than 180,000 tonnes of pork to the EU. Post-Brexit, though – and despite the fact that European imports are being let into this country without delays – UK pig farmers are having to complete lengthy and complex paperwork which often has to be checked as the UK now has ‘third country’ status. “I understand that 30% of our exports are checked, compared with 1% of shipments entering Europe from New Zealand,” Jack said. “It’s causing carnage.”

A round table meeting called to discuss the growing crisis was attended by DEFRA Farming Minister Victoria Prentis, Secretary of State George Eustice, senior DEFRA officials and representatives from the NPA, processors, retailers and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Zoe Davis said it had been “a very constructive meeting”, and that it was clear that both ministers and the department were taking the issue seriously, adding: “We now need to turn these positive discussions into action, but we were very encouraged by what both DEFRA and retailers had to offer.”

The round table was held at the request of NPA chairman Richard Lister, who outlined the “unique set of circumstances which have created the perfect storm we face” and went on: “The net effect of this has been that many more pigs need to be cared for and provided with increasingly expensive feed and straw, resulting in rapidly declining cashflows and mounting losses for producers. The backlog is growing, and pig farming is at its most critical state for 20 years.”

It is estimated that, on average, UK producers are losing around £20 on each pig they produce, a figure that could cost a producer of Jack Bosworth’s scale a total of £300,000 in a year.

A recent NPA members survey showed that 86% of producers said they had had pigs ‘rolled’, or held over to a later date, by processors, while 44% said it was a regular occurrence. A total of 88% of producers were in a loss-making situation or expected to be in one soon and 84% said the situation was having a negative impact on their mental health.

While the British Meat Processors’ Association (BMPA) told the round table that regaining access to China was the single most effective way to resolve the issues, the ministers encouraged processors to look for interim alternatives in order to stimulate demand.

For Jack Bosworth, though, the answer lies in the Government persuading the EU to streamline the export process and make it “fit for purpose”. He added: “The industry is facing the worst crisis it has seen in 20 years and pig famers stand to lose millions of pounds if they have to slaughter pigs for welfare reasons. The officials have made all the right noises – now they have to come up with some action.”

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

5

NEWS

6

Plans to shake up the dairy industry to ensure farmers benefit from fairer and more transparent contracts have been warmly welcomed across the board.

Following a three month consultation last summer, the Government announced at the beginning of February that it would introduce regulations “to require certain standards for contracts between those producing and buying milk for processing”.

And with Dairy UK Chief Executive Dr Judith Bryans welcoming the proposal from DEFRA and the devolved administrations, the path to a fairer deal for dairy farmers across the UK seems set to be reasonably bump free.

NFU national dairy advisor James Osman told South East Farmer that processors and farmers were “all heading in the same direction” and were keen to tackle a few areas of bad practice without changing what was already working. “I don’t think it will be a battle,” he said. “We’ve already had the debate – now we just need to work together on the detail.”

A voluntary code agreed between farmers and processors in 2012 generated “some positive changes” but had unravelled over time, Mr Osman said. “Some processors followed the code but other didn’t, and over time the good guys found themselves undercut by others, and because the code was voluntary it could be ignored.

“The NFU and other farming organisations have been lobbying for the past decade for better regulation and we are delighted with this announcement. Now we need to work on the detail and we need to make sure that there is an effective way of enforcing the new regulations.

“The Covid-19 lockdown in March last year highlighted weaknesses in the system and showed how quickly the pressure and all the risk could be passed on to the farmer. Within a couple of days of coffee shops and pubs being closed, farmers saw the milk price drop dramatically and once again found themselves at the bottom of the pile.

“We need transparency and we need to see the risk shared more fairly, and that is what we need

FAIRER AND MORE

TRANSPARENT

CONTRACTS the new regulations to achieve. It is important, though, that farmers are involved in deciding the final shape of the new approach.”

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis told the Dairy-Tech Online event that the Government would use the Agriculture Act 2020 to develop a new statutory Code of Conduct that would seek to provide a guiding framework, establishing minimum standards but also providing businesses with the flexibility to adapt contracts to their individual circumstances.

DEFRA blamed “imbalances of power within the dairy supply chain” for causing instability for dairy farmers, quoting as an example the ability of milk buyers to set and modify the terms of a contract at short notice.

Ms Prentis said it was “only right that any contracts drawn up between farmers and processors deliver fair conditions across the board, for an industry that works hard year-round to provide the dairy products for which we are worldrenowned.

“This new Code of Conduct will crack down on unfair practices within the supply chain, supporting the dairy sector and ensuring that our dairy farmers remain competitive as they look to the future.”

Dairy UK’s Dr Bryans said the processor-led organisation that represents farmer-owned co-ops and private dairy companies welcomed the news,

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

adding: “Dairy UK is supportive of the introduction of a mandatory Code of Conduct to ensure a level playing field on contracts, as we set out in our consultation response.

“We therefore welcome the commitment made today, particularly the need for flexibility and transparency within the supply chain. We look forward to seeing more detail on the code…and to playing our part in helping to ensure its successful implementation into the market.”

On enforcement, James Osman stressed that the regulations would “need teeth”. While the Tenant Farmers’ Association has said this could be done by expanding the role and remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, Mr Osman said there needed to be a broader system in place that could deal with ‘lower level’ issues, together with a GCA-style regulator at its head.

Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) Chairman Peter Alvis commented: “Increasing fairness in the dairy supply chain is paramount. The statutory Code of Conduct is a positive and necessary step in ensuring farmers can sign contracts that are fair and provide them with much needed stability.”

DEFRA has said officials will continue to engage with industry representatives of both producers and processors as they design the new code to ensure it delivers fairness and transparency for the entire supply chain across the UK.

NEWS

SHOW ME THE LAW The owner of a Kent bee business who has fallen foul of the confusion around the post-Brexit status of Northern Ireland has vowed to defy officials who have threatened to seize and destroy 15 million of the vital pollinators.

Patrick Murfet, managing director at Bee Equipment, wants to bring the Italian bees in from Italy via a new headquarters he is opening in Northern Ireland, but said that while the Northern Ireland Protocol says that should be allowed, officials have told him he won’t be allowed to do so.

An email from the Scottish Government, which is involved because Mr Murfet is considering importing the bees through Stranraer, has threatened to turn back the shipment or destroy the creatures – and prosecute Mr Murfet into the bargain.

In response, Mr Murfet has demanded to know why DEFRA officials have decided that importing bees from Northern Ireland is against the new rules on trade between the UK and the EU. “DEFRA have unilaterally decided that Northern Ireland is not in the UK,” he told South East Farmer. “I have asked them what legislation they are relying on for that decision at least three times, but no-one has been able to answer the question. All they have said is that they are aware of the issue.

“My position is clear: Show me the law and I

will apply for a judicial review. Until then I am still planning to import my bees in April, and I call on DEFRA to get this situation clarified before then.”

As well as hiring out bees to do their valuable pollinating work across the South East, Bee Equipment sells bees and related items throughout the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Because he is now unable to export into Northern Ireland, he opened a new branch in the country on 1 March.

“It sounds drastic, but these are drastic times. I have already lost a lot of revenue from lost trade with Northern Ireland as well as facing the costs of having goods returned at the border,” he explained.

“Since the UK left the EU, importing bees from Europe – apart from queen bees – has been banned, but I can see no legal reason why I can’t ship them from my facility in Northern Ireland to this country.

DEFRA, though, seems to think differently, although they won’t tell me why.”

Mr Murfet has already paid a £20,000 deposit for the first of three batches of bees from Italy, where the warmer climate leads to stronger genetics and helps boost the number of early-awakening pollinators.

He estimates that the row could cost his company £300,000, half of that in lost business and the rest reflecting the cost of the bees that are under threat.

“I had to order the bees back in March 2020, well before the Brexit deal was reached,” he said. “The Government spent a year working this out. It’s not for some clown in DEFRA, sitting in an office, to make this decision.”

He went on: “They spent longer working on the situation regarding Northern Ireland than on any other part of the deal, and they still haven’t got it right. It’s a real dog’s dinner.”

Apart from the effect on his business, Mr Murfet is concerned at the impact on farms and on crops without the imported bees. “We desperately need bees to pollinate our crops and top fruit,” he stressed.

“Even oilseed rape benefits from bees. If our own crops produce less, then the lost yields will need to be made up with imported fruit and veg, and that can’t be good for a country that’s supposed to be newly independent.

“We imported £86m worth of honey last year, from as far afield as Asia and China, and that’s just crazy.

DEFRA needs to sort this issue out, and quickly. I will abide by the legislation, although I will take it to a judicial review, but so far no-one has been able to tell me what the legislation is.”

DEFRA has said it is aware of the issue, is looking for a solution and will provide guidance to bee importers and beekeepers as soon as possible.

> Patrick Murfet

> Bees with fondant

SUPPORT PLEDGED FOR UK SHEEP SECTOR Victoria Prentis MP, Minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pledged her support in tackling the challenges facing the UK sheep sector when she was invited to speak at the National Sheep Association (NSA)’s first Breakfast Club webinar in January.

Ms Prentis joined NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker and Chairman Bryan Griffiths in engaging with a large online audience to discuss current challenges including export health certificates, the lack of facilities at border control points for live animal movements, issues related to the Northern Ireland Protocol and the rise in post-Brexit bureaucracy.

Mr Stocker later said it had been “comforting to hear the Minister was well aware of administrative issues currently faced by those seeking to export sheep products and encouragingly it sounded as though her team at DEFRA is working

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

hard to alleviate some of the problems”. He said the meeting had been “very positive”.

With discussion moving onto the Minister’s vision for future farming and payments for public goods, with a focus on the Environmental Land Management scheme, Mr Griffiths emphasized the “vital need” for more detail on what schemes sheep farmers will be able to access.

Mr Stocker said ‘early adopters’ needed to be recognised, pointing out: “With sheep farming already being intrinsically beneficial for the environment, biodiversity, soil health, carbon storage etc, many of the proposed schemes seem to benefit more intensive systems that are looking to switch towards being extensive. Many of our nation’s sheep farmers are already farming in a manner that meets many of the schemes’ requirements.”

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

7

NEWS

DOUBLE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR

CAMPSITE DIVERSIFICATION

8

> James Bray and Caitlin Shardlow

A West Sussex farm is amongst those that benefited from the boom in ‘staycations’ by operating a ‘popup’ campsite for the first time last summer.

James Bray and Caitlin Shardlow were holding a socially distanced barbecue in one of their fields at Hundred Acre Farm near Compton when they realised their business could benefit from the stunning view they were enjoying across the South Downs.

Caitlin explained: “We realised what a lovely view we had from the top field of our farm and I said we ought to offer camping in the summertime.”

They took advice from experts at Pitchup.com, Europe’s largest outdoor accommodation provider, and went on to take a total of 350 bookings over the summer.

The diversification supported the couple’s more traditional farming enterprise; they finish around 650 bull calves each year – both dairy calves and traditional beef breeds such as Herefords, Aberdeen Angus and British Blues – on 300 acres of grassland while managing 1,000 acres of wheat, spring and winter barley, oats and maize.

Farmers are currently benefiting from new regulations allowing land-based businesses in England to operate a campsite without planning permission for up to 56 days a year, twice as long as before. The previous 28-day limit was extended last June to help the post-coronavirus recovery, something Pitchup.com founder Dan Yates described as “a real boon for the rural economy”.

He explained: “Staycations have seen a surge in popularity over recent years, and in the light

of Covid-19, this trend will only get stronger. At the same time, agriculture is facing a less certain future as the Basic Payment Scheme is phased out, meaning farm incomes could fall.

“Temporary campsites are a fantastic way of generating significant extra revenue with very little investment and next to no disruption to day-to-day business operations, and with sites able to operate for 56 days without planning permission throughout 2021, they’re a lifeline for struggling land-based businesses as well as a shot in the arm for remote rural economies.”

Last year, Pitchup.com saw more than 200 new temporary sites take advantage of the extension. All the landowner needs to do is hire portable toilets and showers, while on the credit side, average annual takings top £13,000, according to Dan Yates. His company can take care of bookings and payments.

In James and Caitlin’s case, they advertised the farm on the Pitchup.com site in June and soon found bookings coming in. They initially put a cap on bookings to ensure they didn’t over pack the field as they were only opening from Thursday to Sunday for 28 days, but as the site became established, business boomed.

“It was nice having people around the farm,” Caitlin said. “A lot of them took a great interest in the working farm, asking us about what we did and how, and learning more about it, which was great to see.”

They are now planning to offer a wild camping experience in a woodland area of their farm this summer, Covid-19 restrictions allowing.

NEW GRANTS TO MEET NEW RULES

New grants are expected to be introduced to help farmers meet new rules around ammonia emissions.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis told delegates at Dairy-Tech Online that they should prepare for significant changes as a result of regulated environmental permitting.

She said that the Clean Air Strategy would see environmental permitting extended to dairy and intensive beef farms, but added that the Environment Agency would “work with you to develop best available technique documents”.

Currently, 87% of ammonia emissions, which can have a significant impact on human health and the environment, come from agriculture, with 23% of that total coming from the dairy industry.

Dr Philippa Mansfield, senior advisor at the Catchment Sensitive Farming Partnership, said the industry needed to prepare for change: “In the Clean Air Strategy, DEFRA has laid out what action agriculture needs to take to reduce ammonia emissions and the industry needs to prepare for some really

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

significant changes,” she said.

Those actions include: • Incorporating solid manures on cultivated land within 12 hours • Achieving low emissions spreading by 2025 • Covering slurry and digestate stores by 2027 • Meeting design standards for livestock housing • Extending environmental permitting to dairy and intensive beef by 2025.

With air quality becoming an objective in the Countryside Stewardship grants scheme for the first time, there are two new air quality options for livestock housing. These include grants for automatic slurry scrapers, low ammonia emissions flooring, tree planting and covers for slurry and digestate stores.

These will be available through capital grants within mid and higher tier schemes with approval from a catchment sensitive farming officer. Dr Mansfield said farmers applying for grants should talk to the relevant officer at least six weeks before the closing date.

NEWS

MAJOR FARM SOLAR

Apple and pear grower AC Goatham & Son and BeBa Energy UK have completed the installation of one of the UK’s largest roof-mounted solar panel arrays.

Using the existing roof space of the buildings at Flanders Farm in Hoo and Howt Green Farm near Bobbing, two of Goatham’s 25 farms, the new solar array will provide all of the power for the business’ packing and cold storage operations.

The array will generate enough power to run 317 four-bedroom homes for a year, reducing Goatham’s carbon emissions by 293,121kgs per annum and equivalent to planting 7,328 trees each year.

Ross Goatham commented: “This project began in the summer of 2020 and saw solar panels installed on all of our available roof space both at Flanders Farm and Howt Green Farm. This is an important step for our business, as it is helping us to further reduce the carbon footprint of our growing and distribution operations.

“Renewable energy is a crucial component in the UK’s plans to be a carbon neutral economy by 2050 and farming and the top fruit industry has an important role to play in helping the Government achieve this.”

INSTALLATION COMPLETED

UK-GROWN SOYA ALTERNATIVE

SCOOPS AWARD

A UK-grown sustainable feed that can replace soya in dairy cow rations scooped this year’s Royal Dairy Innovation Award, announced at Dairy-Tech Online.

NovaPro from Trident Feeds is a high energy rumen-protected protein made from UK rapeseed which is said to provide a cost-effective alternative to soya and offer improved intakes and milk yield.

Trials run by the University of Nottingham found rations containing NovaPro produced an additional 1.7 litres of milk per cow per day compared to a soya and rape ration, with no significant effect on milk constituents.

Rape protein also has an improved amino acid profile closer to milk protein than soya. Trials also showed a significant reduction in milk urea nitrogen levels, meaning less nitrogen pollution on farm.

The two runners up were Carbon Check, a package that enables farmers and landowners to monitor, record and benchmark carbon levels within their soils, and Lely Sphere, a housing system that separates manure and urine to allow farmers to make more precise applications, reduce fertiliser use and cut ammonia emissions.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Shaun Beattie, Director at BeBa Energy added: “Working in partnership with the team at Goatham to develop this project was a pleasure. If the UK is to achieve its ambitions of net zero by 2050 then businesses must play their part; this investment by Goatham shows just how seriously they take their responsibilities.”

SKILLED ARABLE OPERATOR - Kent This is a great opportunity for an arable operator to join our large and friendly team handling all operations on the 2000 acre Morghew Park Estate at Tenterden.

We run an intensive arable business with a great story of diversification into areas including online sales of potatoes and the production of flour and rapeseed oil. There is also a firewood business and a shoot. (That’s why we need a large team!)

The successful applicant will have: • • •

Competency with arable machinery and workshop skills PA1,2 and 4 Experience with a self-propelled sprayer and telehandler

UNUSUALLY, we will also consider applications from competent young farmers who can see themselves growing into this role over a couple of years – with training.

A competitive salary is offered, together with accommodation if required.

To apply, please send your CV with a covering letter to info@morghew.com

Contact us: www.morghew.com I 01580 763 158 WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

9

NEWS > Sevington Inland Border Facility at Ashford

©Ashford Borough Council

10

EU IMPORT CHECKS

A border control post at Sevington, Ashford, will provide jobs for around 130 people, many of them local to the area, as the borough council takes on responsibility for carrying out post-Brexit customs and transit checks.

The council will work with bodies including the Animal and Plant Health Agency to undertake checks on imports from the EU of products of animal origin, high-risk food not of animal origin and animal by-products.

The site, which has been operating as an HGV holding facility since January, covers 93 hectares and is one of the biggest inland border facilities in the UK. The border control post will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, with around 124,000 checks expected to be carried out annually.

The port health service will see Ashford playing a vital role in making a success of the country’s new trading arrangements with the EU. It has been supported by DEFRA funding, part of £14m committed to local authorities across the country to help ensure imported animal products meet the UK’s high standards.

Document checks on imported animal products are set to begin in April 2021, with physical checks three months later. Customs checks began in

CREATE JOBS February as planned.

The estimated 130 staff will work directly for Ashford Borough Council, with local people recruited where possible to fill roles in IT, legal, administration and human resources, as well as managerial, technical and environmental positions.

Farming, Fisheries and Food Minister Victoria Prentis said: “We are rightly proud of our high standards of animal and plant goods, and we are determined to maintain them, while ensuring that operations at our ports continue to run smoothly.

“This funding will allow local authorities to play their part in maintaining standards and efficiency at our borders, while also providing investment in new jobs and infrastructure.”

CHARITY CAMPAIGN

A charity campaign run during last year’s coronavirus lockdown raised nearly £700 for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI).

The team behind the Fabulous Farm Shops directory, which currently lists around 1,200 farm shops across England, gave the charity 100% of the renewal fees received from clients who booked or rebooked a link to their own website between May and August.

One of the team, Claire Mortimer, said: “We were acutely aware of the impact and the damage Covid-19 would have, not only on the small,

independent farm shops but on the farming community and their families.

“We actively encouraged farm shops to add live links to their own website from their directory listing and we donated 100% of the upgrade fee to RABI. We really needed to give something back and to support our farmers.”

RABI Communications Manager Rob Harris said the charity greatly appreciated the site’s efforts. “Over many months they’ve taken the time and trouble to raise awareness of our work, as well as donating a significant sum of money,” he said.

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

> Fabulous Farm Shop Directory partners Liz Tyler and Claire Mortimer

NEWS

MAKE VAT CUT PERMANENT

TO BOOST ECONOMY Rural tourism enterprises could add £4.5bn to the country’s economy over the next ten years if the current 5% VAT cut were made permanent, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has suggested.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut VAT for the entertainment and hospitality sectors from 20% to 5% in July last year in response to the damage done to the industry by the Covid-19 lockdown.

Although initially due to last six months, the cut has since been extended until the end of March 2021. The lockdown is estimated to have caused a drop of more than £50bn in domestic tourism spending last year.

Calling on the Government to make the cut permanent for rural tourism businesses with a turnover of up to £500,000, the CLA has suggested that it could have a major impact on

the economy over the longer term.

It believes a permanent reduction would help the UK compete with popular European destinations such as Greece (13% VAT), France (10% VAT) and Spain (10% VAT). It would also enable tourism businesses in the UK to lower their prices, leading to an increase in demand and more jobs being created.

The CLA has also warned that without support, hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost. It has cited a survey suggesting that a fi fth of respondents said removing the temporary VAT reduction after 31 March would force them to cut 20% of their workforce, with a further 44% stating they would have to reduce employee numbers by between 5% and 20%.

Although reducing VAT for tourism enterprises with a turnover of up to £500,000

would lead to a two-year tax deficit of £280m for the Treasury it would in the long term save the rural tourism sector and ensure its long-term sustainability and competitiveness, the CLA believes.

Mark Bridgeman, President of the association, which represents around 5,000 rural tourism businesses across England and Wales, said: “We must do what we can to support small businesses during this time, and the VAT reduction provides a solution that will benefi t everyone involved, from rural tourism businesses to those in their supply chain, and ultimately the Treasury, which stands to make £4.5bn from our proposal.

“The CLA sees this as a fundamental move in ensuring vital cash flow and maintaining business competitiveness in the longer term.”

Same drill, different options.

New Claydon LD Low Disturbance Options.

What’s the best way to establish your crops? Maybe you can rely on the right soil conditions, trash levels and weather for low disturbance, maybe you can’t. Either way your Claydon drill now gives you all the options, with a full range of swap-in, swap-out tines and discs to get the very best from your land.

To find out the right set-ups for you, call us on 01440 820327.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

www.claydondrill.com info@claydondrill.com

Establishing a better way

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

11

NEWS

FARMER JOINS WORLDWIDE

REGENERATIVE PILOT 12

A beef and sheep farmer who keeps Red Devon cattle on the Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire border has explained why he has signed up to a new certification scheme for regenerative agriculture.

Jonathan and Laura Chapman are amongst 50 farmers who have joined the pilot phase of Certified Regenerative, the latest scheme to have come out of the A Greener World (AGW) stable.

The non-profit certifying body says the new scheme will provide whole-farm assurance of sustainability and will measure benefits for soil, water, air, biodiversity, infrastructure, animal welfare and social responsibility.

Jonathan said the couple, whose produce is marketed under the Native Beef and Lamb brand, had joined the scheme “because we believe regenerative agriculture is the only way forward if we want to feed the world while at the same time restoring the biodiversity in our ecosystem through soil regeneration”.

AGW says the programme includes “transparent, rigorous standards, high animal welfare, a holistic, farmer-led approach, early and broad

access to regenerative markets and a pragmatic, science-based approach”. The certifying body also claims the scheme streamlines the process, with one visit allowing farmers to demonstrate “grassfed, non-GMO, humane, just, water-friendly, environmentally sustainable practices free of routine antibiotics and toxic chemicals”.

Experienced agricultural advisors at the UK’s Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) will be providing training and support to help farmers develop regenerative plans.

The scheme’s pilot farms span four continents, with farmers and growers in Australia, Namibia, South Africa, the UK, Canada and the US producing everything from grassfed lamb to herbs and vegetables. The pilot farms will help evaluate standards, plans and auditing procedures.

Jonathan, whose operation is based at Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, said he and Laura already farmed in a regenerative fashion, with high welfare livestock in a holistic planned grazing system. Their animals are 100% grass fed and direct marketed locally.

“We won’t use any in-organic fertiliser for

the first time in 2021 and we have reduced our plastic use by moving away from big bale silage to clamp silage and hay,” he said. “There are many other things that we could be doing, and with the expertise available through A Greener World, we can refine, plan and monitor our journey to ensure success. This will create a more resilient business, financially and climatically.

“We like the personalised and pragmatic approach this certification uses with each farm, recognising that every farm is different and every farm’s transition to regenerative agriculture will take place at a different rate and not necessarily in the same direction. We think this approach will be more attractive to mainstream agriculture, whose engagement is necessary if real change is to be brought about.”

Rycote Park Farm in Oxfordshire has recently achieved certification under two of AGW’s existing labels, Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW and Certified Grassfed by AGW. Rycote Park Farm, home to a herd of pedigree Aberdeen Angus cared for by farm manager Hugh Comyn, is the first in the county to meet the programme’s standards.

FULLY EMBRACING ONLINE An organisation that was last year forced to move its activities online because of coronavirus has this year fully embraced the technology.

Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) has announced two LEAF Online Farm Sunday events, on 28 March and 26 September, each of which will include an afternoon of live virtual farm tours on Facebook (@LEAFOpenFarmSunday).

In addition to the spring and autumn events and LEAF Open Farm Sunday itself on 13 June – which may be ‘real’ or online depending on restrictions in operation at the time – the charity is featuring a different farm on Facebook on the first Sunday of each month. The monthly farm visit broadcasts began in February.

LEAF says all its activities “will promote a greater understanding of the

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

different aspects of agriculture such as productive soils, animal welfare, clean water and air, public access and enhancing biodiversity”.

Launching the 2021 programme, it said: “These on-farm and online events are at the heart of the new LEAF Open Farm Sunday three-year strategy to ensure a continued positive impact on the whole farming industry and enrich the understanding of wider society to act as global citizens supporting climate positive farming and food production.”

To find out more or to sign up as a LEAF Open Farm Sunday host, visit www.farmsunday.org

NEWS

NFU REJECTS SOLID UREA BAN

The NFU has said it believes an industry-regulated approach to the use of solid urea fertiliser would allow farmers in England to keep using “this vital product” to help grow the nation’s food while cutting ammonia emissions significantly at the same time.

That view comes in response to a government consultation on reducing ammonia emissions from the use of solid urea on farms and is in direct opposition to the Government’s preferred option of a total ban.

The NFU’s response sets out the importance of solid urea when used alongside other products such as ammonium nitrate and explains why it is used by farmers as part of a balanced and integrated nutrient management plan.

NFU Vice President Tom Bradshaw said: “Solid urea is a vital tool used by farmers to produce the food we eat. It offers farmers the flexibility to use the right product at the right time to minimise environmental impact, while also helping maintain a competitive fertiliser market. Banning solid urea would also discriminate against farmers in England, who would face increased competition from imports from countries around the world where farmers continue to have full access to the product.

“No-one disputes that farming has a part to play in reducing emissions and farmers are already working hard towards this goal by using low emission spreading equipment, for example, improving livestock diets and covering slurry stores. Alongside this we’ve seen increases in nitrogen use efficiency since the mid 1990s.

“This is why the NFU is urging DEFRA to look at the bigger picture as part of this consultation instead of taking decisions in isolation, given the huge impact it will have on British farming.

“We firmly believe that farmers in England need continued access to untreated solid urea. So, working with our members and alongside other industry stakeholders and independent scientists, the NFU is proposing a viable alternative to the options put forward by DEFRA. “We are calling for an industry-regulated approach that ensures a high uptake and allows farmers to continue enjoying the benefits of untreated urea. Farmers would be encouraged to use solid urea between 15 January and 31 March, which would be measurable through a recommendation in Red Tractor standards or a FACTS qualification.

“We believe this option will also minimise costs to farmers while ensuring an acceptable emissions reduction is achieved for DEFRA, in a way that also allows farming to achieve other important ambitions around productivity and reaching net zero by 2040.”

Hedging and Woodland Plants Plant health and quality assured English Woodlands Tree Nursery are leading suppliers of healthy, high quality plants to landowners and farmers across the South.

• • • •

Fast quotations Expert advice Excellent service and delivery Full range of accessories

T. 01435 862992 sales@englishwoodlands.com www.englishwoodlands.com Plant Healthy certification is awarded to organisations

that can demonstrate that their plant health management systems and practices comply with the Plant Healthy Standard. The scheme makes it easy for customers to identify organisations that handle plant material in a manner that promotes plant health and biosecurity. English Woodlands is among the first organisations to receive this certification, following an independent audit in 2020.

L AN

E S I A DR

RAISE THE LEVEL OF YOUR LAND Do you need...

› A new building? › To build a noise bund? › To create a hardstanding to store silage or straw? › To build up an area to prevent flooding › To fill in an old lagoon?

We may be able to help

We can subsidise your costs by building up areas with subsoils classed as non-hazardous inert waste.

We can gain all planning permissions needed so give us an opportunity to reduce some or all of your costs on your next project or improvement.

East Sussex area preferred.

Robins of Herstmonceux (Est 1962)

01323 833181

Email: helen@robinsofherstmonceux.co.uk TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

13

LETTERS

FUTURE LIES WITH ENTERPRISING GENERATION

14

Dear Sir, What is it about some old farmers that makes them such ‘stick-in-themuds’ and reactionary in the face of new and pressing challenges? Is it just possible that the way we now farm and manage land is causing harm?

Might the eco-warriors and re-wilders have a serious point that should not be dismissed ‘Trump like’, as fake news obscured by a stream of misinformation?

Stick to acres: none of this hectares nonsense – yet they paradoxically embrace milk production in litres! Fortunately, young farmers are fully persuaded by the simple mathematical logic of the metric system.

Nick Adames’ article is disingenuous, opening with “now that our break with Europe is resolved”. Far from it; the problems produced by the break are fast bubbling to the surface. Trade is mired in red tape. All the consequence of a poor deal negotiated by a PM who doesn’t do detail. The fishermen were ‘shafted’ and British pig exporters are in trouble.

This government, withdrawing the SFP, considers that our produce should be what the market will buy. As Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of economics at Oxford states: “Food is not a public good for it is rival and excludable”.

He has the ear of government and we are unlikely to receive support for anything other than public goods for which there is no market. If stuff is cheaper, just import it.

We face serious problems that are the direct result of human activity.

Our huge numbers and consumption are degrading the planet’s capacity to cope. This is fact, based on ample, unimpeachable, scientific evidence. Yes, climates change, but we should be in a mini ice age and the current rise in global temperatures is due to the anthropogenic release of fossilized CO2.

The erratic and extreme weather patterns are a consequence. Fact! Nick’s attempt to belittle the seriousness is ignorant. British rivers are in a very poor state, too. Fact!

Nick is right, though, that the Covid-19 pandemic has produced a measurable reduction in atmospheric CO2, mainly from reduced air and ground traffic. This has, however, no effect on the hole in the planet’s ozone layer, which resulted from our release of refrigerants (e.g. CFCs, also important greenhouse gases) that convert stratospheric ozone into oxygen.

Now they are largely banned, the ozone layer is improving. Both show that by changing our behaviour we can effect useful changes, and farmers must be part of that sustained change, for the consequence of failure will affect more than our bottom line.

Nick is quite wrong in claiming that 30,000 acres of productive land will be used to plant trees. They will be planted on marginal and poorly productive land, in particular in the uplands, to increase biodiversity and retain water in riverine headwaters to reduce flooding, as he has already done in Scotland.

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

But with native trees that are far from useless, for they sequester more carbon, produce higher-grade timber in time and enhance the environment enormously.

He is also wrong about introducing alien species. We have done that for ages on top of exterminating native ones. Indeed, Nick’s plantation is the alien Sitka Spruce on land that may have grazed a few sheep, and while it will sequester some carbon it will be ecologically sterile. Why the Scots are subsidizing a Sassenach’s short-term commercial enterprise, I cannot imagine. By the way, when he bought the land was it in English or Scottish acres (they are different)? Maybe it was hectares, for the Scots are enlightened!

Aliens are damaging; grey squirrels; North American mink, Muntjac deer and Japanese Knotweed to name a few. What is proposed is the cautious reintroduction of a few native species we have exterminated, such as beavers, to enhance habitat and, in the case of beavers, reduce river flows, improve water quality and help manage flooding.

We know that Nick’s answer to flooding is to dredge more, but the old medical maxim holds that it is easier to prevent than to cure or palliate. Deer numbers have increased to the point of preventing upland regeneration, all for lack of natural predators. Either we cull them harder or return a few predators to help.

There are now, happily, many forward-looking farmers heeding the call for change, joining the Nature Friendly Farming Network and forming large conservation clusters alongside supporting productive farming and embracing regenerative agriculture. They are happy to encourage beavers, get rid of American mink, clean up rivers and reintroduce some species of birds exterminated by our forebears. Fortunately, the future lies with this enterprising generation that looks beyond a quick buck.

Mike Kettlewell, Over Norton, Oxfordshire

twitter SPRING IN STEP

The weather put a ‘spring’ in our step today. We hope you all had a lovely weekend – Team Watts.

Watts Farms @WattsFarms

TRADE SHOULD BE BANNED Dear Sir, Your article in the February issue of South East Farmer under the heading of “Disruptive and Expensive” gives all the reasons why this trade should be banned by the government. A thank you to Steve Bailey, owner of Forge Farm Meats, for giving us the honest truth and for a vet’s point of view in a letter from Eryl V. Davies BVSc MRCVS of Paddock Wood, Kent.

Hopefully this will add weight to bringing about a ban on this awful trade.

Helen Stuart-Smith, Dunn Street Farm, Ashford, Kent.

SEND YOUR VIEWS OR COMMENTS:

SEF.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK twitter @SOUTHEASTFARMER facebook-square SOUTH EAST FARMER In terms of pigs, prices continue to fall and input costs continue to rise... a trend that doesn’t fill me with optimism for the months ahead! As pig farmers we have faced more upheaval from Brexit and Covid-19.

While the challenges have been, and continue to be, costly, our pigs are happy and healthy. The health of the herd is something you can’t put a price on, a bit like the health of ourselves and those around us.

With that in mind, as a farmer and key worker, I would like to thank all key workers for the production of essential goods, keeping food on shelves, collecting waste, delivering goods and much more.

Most of all, a big thanks to all the amazing NHS staff who have been battling this storm for a long time. The challenges we have don’t even begin to compare with what doctors and nurses are experiencing.

We must all continue to respect this virus as much as we respect all those in the NHS who are doing everything they can to help others return to better health.

Jack Bosworth, F J Bosworth & Sons, Willingale, Essex

WHERE IS RICHARD?

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2021

NEW CONSULTATION DOCUMENT

Dear Sir Re: New DEFRA Consultation on Bovine TB Just as the programme of targeted badger culling in bovine TB hotspots is showing signs of success in quelling the spread of the disease, DEFRA has issued a new consultation document outlining plans to scale down and stop wildlife control during the next few years.

The consultation document points towards the work aimed at producing a cattle vaccine, which has been ongoing for many years. It is envisaged that it will be a few more years before a successful vaccine is produced.

The Tenant Farmers’ Association believes that until we are in a position of being able to use an effective vaccine, we need to retain all of the measures needed to control TB disease spread. This includes cattle testing, cattle movement controls, the culling of infected cattle, on-farm biosecurity measures and the culling of infected wildlife.

At the point where we are seeing real success in controlling the spread of this disease, we must not allow political expediency to cause this disease to wreak further havoc upon farm businesses and farming families.

The DEFRA consultation is at https://www.gov.uk/government/ consultations/bovine-tuberculosis-proposals-to-help-eradicate-disease-inengland George Dunn, TFA Chief Executive

BIG THANKS

Dear sir, It has been just over six months since we were a ‘Featured Farm’ within South East Farmer – and what a hectic schedule it has been since then!

We had a better than forecast harvest, but of course yields were down on our average. This was followed by another challenging drilling season and the rain has barely stopped since then, aside from a recent week of wintry weather!

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Dear Sir, South East Farmer magazine has long been read in the Linch household, starting with my Grandparents, then my father and now by me for the past 40 years plus.

Peter Tipples was a favourite contributor and I always enjoyed his contributions to the magazine. After his demise, Richard Wood became a regular contributor and his remarks were always lively and interesting. Most of his views I agreed with, although maybe some readers could form the opinion that they were too outspoken.

As the world seems to be going through seismic changes regarding free speech, I like Richard Woods’ words. We should all be allowed our views, providing they are within the law, so it is with sadness I have seen no reason published in this magazine as to why he no longer contributes, unlike when Peter Tipples passed away.

I would urge the Editor to print a piece explaining why Richard is no longer writing his piece.

Roger Linch, Petham The editor responds: Richard Wood was indeed a valued contributor to the magazine whose forthright views were welcome. But if you sense a conspiracy to squash free speech, I must reassure you; Richard simply decided that after many years of contributing he needed a break. He is aware (because I have told him on several occasions) that he is welcome to contribute to the magazine again, either regularly or as the mood takes him. You are welcome to join me in urging him to do so.

Farm and Equine

Plastic Recycling Scheme 32 sites across England 01793 842062 farmxs.com The professionals in rural recycling

THE

GREEN TRACTOR SCHEME

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

15

NEWS BOOST FOR JOBS AND FARMERS

OXFORD FARMING CONFERENCE

EARLY BIRD TICKETS

A diverse, female team will make history by jointly chairing the 2022 Oxford Farming Conference (OFC)– the first time in the event’s 76-year history.

Agri-food industry experts Barbara Bray and Sarah Mukherjee were appointed to the voluntary position of joint chairs at the end of the annual conference in January 2021 and will lead the OFC’s charitable and industry work throughout the coming year.

Barbara, who is Black British, and Sarah, who is British Asian, said they want to bring their combined experience to help shape the focus of the next conference, which will be a hybrid digital and physical event following the success of this January’s online event.

They said OFC Directors were unanimous in wanting to ensure that food and farming “better reflects the modern communities of the UK”, adding: “Organisations that are more diverse are more resilient, a quality that everyone in business will need in the coming years to survive these very turbulent times.

“As co-chairs, our plan is to continue to draw on the conference’s rich history for debating the agri-food sector’s biggest challenges and

Planning permission has been granted for a new sustainable shopping and dining venue at a family run beef and arable farm at Wivelsfield in Sussex.

Mid Sussex District Council backed the scheme at Ote Hall, which has been owned by the Godman family since the 16th Century and is currently run by Carola Godman Irvine, who said the project was “essential to future-proof the farm financially, now and into the next century”.

The Ote Hall Farm Shop and Tea Room is set to create up to 25 local jobs when it opens in 2022 and will also provide a potential additional outlet for Mid Sussex farmers, with up to a third of products expected to be sourced locally.

Read more on pages 20-25.

16

Cereals 2021 is offering free ‘early bird’ tickets for visitors who register before the end of March.

Organisers Comexposium want to encourage people to put the date of the event – 9th and 10th June – in their diaries now.

“Times are uncertain, and we wanted to provide farmers with a no-risk way to put the event in the diary and to enjoy it,” explained event organiser Alli McEntyre. “Cereals will be the first of Comexposium’s physical European events held this year and we know both farmers and exhibitors are eager to get back to it. Providing free tickets means visitors can be confident in their decision to register.”

This year’s event will be held in Lincolnshire but attracts arable farmers from across the country. To register, visit www.cerealsevent.co.uk and use the code ‘FREE1’.

NVZS TO STAY THE SAME

The four-yearly review of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) by the Environment Agency has concluded that there has been no substantive change in the pattern of nitrate pollution in England.

As a result, the agency has advised the Secretary of State that NVZs for 2021 to 2024 should remain the same as the final zones for the 2017 to 2020 cycle. The Secretary of State has agreed and will be updating the relevant maps to reflect the new time period shortly.

DEFRA will be contacting affected farmers in writing, while for those looking to refresh their knowledge of NVZ regulations, the Farming Advice Service has produced NVZ Back to Basics.

Tenant farmers can contact TFA Policy Adviser Lynette Steel on 0118 930 6130 for more advice.

MAKES HISTORY > Barbara Bray

> Sarah Mukherjee

opportunities. We are proud that the entire council of directors is determined to encourage diversity and inclusion in UK agriculture and the food sector.”

Barbara Bray MBE is a food safety consultant and registered nutritionist delivering food safety in food supply chains and developing nutrition strategy for businesses. She became an OFC Director in 2020.

Sarah Mukherjee is chief executive of IEMA, the membership organisation for environment and sustainability professionals. She read law at Oxford University and was a BBC Environment correspondent for the BBC. More recently she was director of environment at Water UK and chief executive of the Crop Protection Association.

NEW GROUP

MANAGING DIRECTOR Automotive and Agricultural Dealership Group Haynes Brothers Ltd has appointed James Broadley as new group managing director.

James takes over the role at the Kent and Sussex-based business from Andrew Haynes, who has taken on the role of chief executive in addition to his responsibilities as chairman.

Haynes Brothers, which was established in 1790 in London and moved to Kent in 1832, was the first in the county to take on the Ford Motor Company franchise in 1911. It is the only business in the UK that still deals with passenger cars, trucks and tractors, albeit with different manufacturers since Ford moved away from the truck and agricultural business.

Andrew Haynes, the sixth generation of the

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

family business, had been group managing director for 20 years. James, a chartered accountant, joined the family firm as finance and commercial director in April 2019 from a leading automotive engineering business.

Andrew said James had “proved himself to be highly competent in his current role and has established a good relationship with our stakeholders, management team, staff and many customers.”

NEWS

SHOW POSTPONED

The Kent County Agricultural Society has been forced to postpone Farm Expo, scheduled for 21 April 2021, because of ongoing concerns over Covid-19.

In a statement, the organisers said: “We were hopeful that the roll out of the vaccine and lockdown measures would allow us to run our events by April, but local case numbers are still of concern. Our priority is to keep our visitors, exhibitors, and staff safe and the ever-changing situation makes it difficult to plan events with certainty.

“Our staff, trustees and the whole society are committed to ensuring we are event ready when the rules allow.

Despite the postponement of the show, the society is committed to exploring every opportunity to host smaller Covid-19 compliant events during the summer before returning to a new normality in 2022. Further announcements will be made later in the spring, when a better understanding of the pandemic and of restrictions is available.

“Our events are central to the rural economy and way of life, and they mean so much to members, exhibitors, traders, and visitors. We fully understand the responsibility on all of us to ensure we deliver our events as soon as it is safe to do so. Despite these challenges, the society has stepped forward to support our local community by providing facilities for a Covid-19 testing centre.

“We would like to thank everyone who had made plans to join us at Farm Expo. We know that this postponement will be disappointing for many who look forward to attending each year. We have contacted those entitled to a refund and will be working through these in the coming days.

“The last year has been a challenge for us all and we are so thankful for your continued support. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.”

FIVE-POINT PLAN FOR RESILIENCE An ambitious five-point plan aimed at helping farmers “become more resilient in an increasingly uncertain world” has been launched by leading agronomy and supply business Agrii.

The Green Horizons Initiative launched at the start of the year is described as “a comprehensive package of practical measures to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of UK food and farming with the best scientific intelligence”.

The company’s national plan “to lead the way in sustainable food production” includes an annual innovation awards scheme, a fast-track bio-solutions screening programme, an advanced soil health assessment regime, net zero carbon demonstration farms, accredited environmental training and a national sustainability conference.

The detail of Agrii’s commitment is set out in a five-point plan aimed at tackling “the key challenges of tomorrow”, while individual Insight Reports on

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

each element are promised throughout 2021.

“From the loss of BPS and introduction of ELMS to the changing climate, diminishing crop protection armoury and growing legislative and environmental pressures, the challenges farming faces today are legion,” Agrii Head of Technical Clare Bend said at the initiative’s national launch.

“The only thing that seems to be stacking up faster is the advice we’re getting from all sides on what we need to do; much of it based on a sadlysuperficial understanding of the practicalities.

“We keep being told to improve soil health, for instance. Yet few, if any, of those telling us to do so understand the complex physical, chemical and biological interactions that contribute to a healthy soil, let alone how best to harness them.

“Equally, we’re urged to replace proven crop protection products with bio-solutions while our research shows the vast majority of biologicals on the market simply cannot do this. And we’re constantly being exhorted to do more for nature

even though so many of the habitat creation options on offer have been found to be impractical, unaffordable or both.

“Green Horizons is our recipe for replacing the clamour of often conflicting sustainability messages with thoroughly joined-up and sharplyfocussed practical action across the farming industry.”

The initiative is structured around: • Increasing farm productivity and viability • Providing integrated whole farm solutions • Improving soil resilience • Enhancing the environment • Extending stakeholder engagement Three Net Zero Carbon iFarms will be added to the company’s existing national network of 30-plus agronomy and digital technology research and demonstration farms in 2021, while an annual Green Horizons Conference will provide a regular forum for charting progress across the wideranging initiatives.

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

17

MONICA AKEHURST AT THE KITCHEN TABLE

18

While I remove mud from Tilley, she tries to convince me she only has three paws and makes a big fuss about her fourth paw being showered. It takes time for the warm water to run through and she doesn’t like it. I’ve told her that Nigel says “cold showers are invigorating”.

Apparently it’s fashionable. Tilley’s not impressed. I agree, this modern craze of taking cold showers and winter sea swimming is not for me. That said, Tilley doesn’t think twice about retrieving a bird from a pond, but she insists mud removal requires warm water.

Clean feet is a small price to pay for being allowed to mind the fire in the evening.

Lockdown rules dictated that our spaniels didn’t get much work, so on 1 February we decided vermin control was a good idea. Sadly, the vermin seemed to outwit our two guns, but family beaters and dogs enjoyed themselves. Our bag totalled a single grey squirrel. That’s one less to cause damage to growing trees. Next morning when we opened our curtains there were two resplendent cock pheasants perched on our garden fence and several hen birds just out in the field. I swear they were taunting us.

Locally there’s been a concerted effort to reduce fox numbers. Let’s hope this gives the larger number of ground nesting birds a better chance of rearing young.

GOOD NEWS

FOR SHEEP FARMERS The recent spell of snow and low temperatures certainly increased the numbers of lapwings that I’ve noticed while checking sheep on the marshes.

This weather has the advantage that the dog’s paws stay devoid of mud, and it’s enabled me to use Shrek (ATV), which is a lot quicker than walking. I delivered hay and high energy feed blocks out for our sheep, which had found a sheltered area and appeared unfazed by the snow.

I’m relieved we no longer lamb early, because the bitterly chill winds must be taking their toll.

Good news for sheep farmers. There are higher prices for hoggets, both finished and stores, and even the cull ewes are fetching decent money. This certainly helps the feel good factor of life during these harrowing pandemic times.

We rarely sell cattle in market, but our British Blue cross Angus cull cow was sold for good reason. Aged 10 but good meat, we’d optimistically

> Liking their hay

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

hoped for a better price. She was empty, but given no second chance because of her history of cranky behaviour lasting 48 hours post calving.

After birthing and as soon as her calf attempted to stand for suckling, she would go mental, bellowing and knocking the hell out of it. We would end up risking life and limb in an effort to get her to accept her own calf. It was a shame, because after a couple of days struggle, she would suddenly accept it was hers and become a devoted, docile mother.

We are calving at the moment and bizarrely we have another British Blue cross Friesian, with good mothering instincts but who initially produces what looks like pure blood from her udder. Her bag is soft with no signs of inflammation providing it’s sucked.

There lies the problem. It could be described as Dracula’s dream drink, but the calf isn’t keen on the taste. Thankfully it turns to milk after a couple

of days, so perseverance and encouragement are required, which is time consuming.

Floss made a mistake. She is Tilley’s daughter and devoted to her master, so much so that on evenings when they are snuggled up in the armchair together, I feel a little like a ‘wallflower’. Early mornings, Floss always accompanies him up to the farm. While ‘other half’ potters around the animals, she seeks out interesting smells and occasionally they check up on each other. He just happened to be connecting up the above-mentioned calf when, unbeknown to him, Floss decided moral support was required and stood behind him. The next thing he knew he was thrown against the wall. Floss hastily retreated. The cow perceived Floss to be a danger; unfortunately ‘other half’ was in the way.

Luckily he didn’t sustain serious injury. This just illustrates how quickly things can go wrong.

The freezing temperatures enabled us to get more inside field hedges cut and dung out of the yards without marking the ground, but today it’s returned to mud making weather. I’m back walking and the lapwings are gone. Spring is in the air. I witnessed an amorous pair of swans doing some impressive courting moves. They gave me a stern look as I passed by; I apologised. The sheep are eight weeks from lambing and just beginning to get a taste for feed blocks. They’ll be heading home shortly in preparation for lambing and to give the marshes a rest prior to cattle turn out.

I hope March brings more cheerful weather, not only for those lambing and doing spring cultivations but because we’ve got 2,000 hedging whips to get planted in the ground by the end of the month. I’ve splashed out on some extra stout spades, informing the family planting team that for first person to break a spade, the ‘drinks are on them’. I’m looking forward to having more new fencing erected. The hedges will need it because local deer numbers are growing.

Due to lockdown restrictions we found ourselves buying machinery online. A nerve-wracking experience, with warnings of scams ringing in our ears. We pored over pictures, videos, facts and figures and had endless conversations. Eventually we took the plunge and agreed to pay 50% prior to dispatch and the rest on safe arrival. I don’t mind admitting I was mega worried. Communicating via computer and phone is not the same as seeing things in the flesh and a handshake. Anyway, we are delighted with our JCB Loadall. I felt strangely sad saying goodbye to our faithful old Matbro, which was taken in part exchange. However our grandsons are super excited and constantly demanding videos of our JCB in action.

For Valentine’s Day I slow cooked some venison and pondered what flavourings to put with it.

Google randomly suggested blackberry and apple, which I duly added. It tasted delicious, or was that the port I put in for good measure?

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

> JCB arriving

> British blue protective of her calf > In with the ‘new to us’ JCB, grandsons are delighted

19 > Out with the old, bye bye Matbro

> Cuddle time in the evening

> Daffodils – spring time > Primroses – spring is coming

> Snow is melting

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

DIVERSIFICATION

PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE Preserving the heritage of this country’s finest old buildings means investing in the future as much as in the past.

Great Ote Hall, built by the Godman family almost 600 years ago, is a stunning building that sits at the heart of Sussex and is central to Ote Hall Farm, a beef and arable enterprise that is still run by the family.

In the modern world, though, farming in its simplest form is too precarious an occupation to fund the upkeep of this beautiful building as well

as paying the bills and allowing the family to earn a living.

It’s why the family business headed up by Carola Godman Irvine and ably supported by her sons Matthew and Charley has diversified significantly over the past quarter of a century, with former dairy buildings now used as business units and Great Ote Hall and its surrounding gardens a popular wedding venue in the summer months.

The ambitious venture that is now set to take

20

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

the business to the next level is a farm shop and restaurant complex, recently granted planning permission by an impressed Mid Sussex District Council.

As Carola herself explained: “Ote Hall would not have survived as a purely traditionally run farm without having already diversified with business units and as a wedding venue. The farm shop project is essential to future-proof the farm financially, now and into the next century.”

FEATURED FARM: It is a measure of the way the hall, farm and family are so well integrated into the local community that the plans for the new build venture on what is essentially a greenfield site were passed unanimously after receiving total support from villagers in Wivelsfield and nearby Burgess Hill.

Planning committee chairman Cllr Gary Marsh not only said that the council “strongly supported” this type of application, which he said “showcases the rural economy at its best,” but said he had never before known such an application to attract not a single objection from neighbours.

Carola explained that the farm was increasingly becoming part of an urban area, with thousands of

new homes built in or planned for the area, and that local people regularly used a network of footpaths that crossed the farm. One popular circular route takes in the historic St. Peter and St. James Church in Wivelsfield, which boasts an ancient yew tree mentioned in the Domesday Book.

“During the first lockdown last summer we sometimes had as many as 1,000 people a day walking up the drive before heading off on one of the many footpaths across our land,” she said.

“We were happy to see them enjoying the countryside – although the walkers do quite some damage in the current wet weather as they are broadening the footpaths and trample the crops –

and I think they appreciate our efforts to be part of the community.

“After all, if you are privileged enough to live and work in a place as beautiful as this, the last thing you want to do is shut the gates.”

Local people are also set to benefit from the latest diversification initiative, with the “sustainable shopping and dining experience” expected to create anything up to 25 jobs for local people.

Alongside the farm’s home grown beef from its herd of Sussex cattle, the farm shop will also sell local produce where possible, giving local farmers, growers and other entrepreneurs a potential extra outlet for their produce. The plan is to include a >>

21

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

DIVERSIFICATION

FEATURED FARM:

> Matthew and Charley

22

> Carola Godman Irvine

© ArkleBoyce Architects and Darc Studio

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

<< butchery, delicatessen and perhaps a bakery when the venture opens next year.

The Godman family built Great Ote Hall in 1530, added an extension in 1600 and built the more recent range of farm building in 1880.

In 1939, Carola’s mother Val married Tony Godman, but just 15 months later he was killed when the ship on which he was serving took a direct hit during the siege of Malta, early in the Second World War. “Tony had told my mother that if anything happened to him she should carry on and take care of the farm, and so she did,” said Carola. “She worked incredibly hard, with the help of prisoners of war and Women’s Land Army girls to run the farm. She used to ride a horse over to Plumpton College to ask for their advice.”

At the end of the war, Val’s mother-in-law introduced her to Bryant Irvine, who later became Member of Parliament for Rye and Bexhill. The couple married in 1945, with Carola’s mother continuing to do the practical work on the farm while her father helped with the administrative side of the business.

“It’s amazing to think back to how hard she worked,” Carola said. “As well as looking after the farm’s prize-winning pedigree Guernsey herd and running a home she was always busy making butter, cheese and bread and doing the

R OA D

KS C A R S/T

BEFORE

AFTER

FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FOREST ROADS, FARM TRACKS, HARDSTANDING & PARKING AREAS. Our roads will withstand the heaviest lorries and farm vehicles. Constructed with our own materials which makes us one of the most competitive companies around.

We also create ditches and culverts for the wettest of areas to cross

hundreds of other jobs that need doing on a farm in the days before we had so much mechanisation.

“She taught me a lot about independence and about the fact that when you ask someone to do a job, you really should know how to do it yourself.”

Carola is very aware that she and her sons are now responsible for Ote Hall Farm, for the heritage of the impressive buildings and for the legacy left by the Godman family. “We are privileged to be here,” she said. “It’s hard work but we enjoy it.”

After a childhood of helping out on the farm – “I loved the cattle and the calves” – Carola studied at Plumpton College but “went off and did other things” before taking on the responsibility of running the farm on behalf of the family trust after her mother died in 1990. Her father died two years later.

By that time Ote Hall had long since left dairying and switched to a Sussex beef herd, via Aberdeen Angus and even some Simmental and Limousin cattle.

Carola now buys in pure-bred Sussex steers which are grass fed and traditionally reared before being sold to farm shops and independent butchers locally and in London. She no longer breeds cattle.

Through contacts of elder son Matthew, 37, who has worked in Singapore for the past ten years, she has pending contracts to export Ote Hall Sussex >>

Robins of Herstmonceux (Est 1962)

01323 833181

Email: helen@robinsofherstmonceux.co.uk

THE NEW 5S RANGE FROM 105-145 HP

THE NEW 8S RANGE FROM 205-265 HP

YEOWART AGRICULTURAL LTD

 01342 811567 CONTACTS

Tony Bowman Sales - 07917 387507

tom.yeowartagri@outlook.com

Tom Moon Sales – 07814 478103

tony.yeowartagri@outlook.com

www.yeowartagricultural.co.uk

@Yeowart Agricultural Ltd TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

23

DIVERSIFICATION > John Cherriman, farm manager has been at the farm since he was 14

24

> Jerry Hillman-Smith, farm apprentice who will take over eventually from John << grass-fed beef to that country, too, but due to a lack of AVA-certified slaughterhouses in the south of England, this has been put on hold.

The slaughterhouse issue is something Carola has taken up with DEFRA. She wants the department to provide funding to allow small abattoirs to upgrade their facilities to meet the higher standards and, as a seasoned campaigner who never shies from putting her head above the parapet, is also asking DEFRA to end the over thirty months (OTM) scheme for beef cattle.

She argues that with BSE now essentially a distant memory, the rules are no longer necessary and are harming the industry. “This country produces some of the best beef in the world and it gets better as it ages,” she explained. “The OTM scheme is no longer relevant and should be dropped.”

With around 340 acres of land at Ote Hall and a further 200 at nearby Randolph’s Farm, Hurstpierpoint, the family grows wheat and barley plus beans or oats as a break crop, but as Carola explained: “These days our emphasis is not on traditional farming, ie our cattle and crops, but on ‘farming people’, through diversification.”

In 1995 the family converted former dairy buildings at Ote Hall into eight business units.

These, and others at Randolph’s Farm, which was bought in 2011, are always fully occupied and

> Carola Godman Irvine’s daughter Nina with her horse, Harry currently house a range of concerns including a heating engineer, a window and door installer, builders, a fitness studio and a company selling ear defenders.

Ote Hall and the beautiful gardens surrounding it have been a popular marquee-based wedding venue since 2008, with the family taking a relaxed attitude to time and space. Guests are able to use the land for camping and can spend the entire weekend at the site, with the wedding itself just part of the experience.

After 18 months of planning, and taking advantage of the welcome support from local people, the farm shop and restaurant is the next stage in the business’s growth.

“We plan to make the restaurant an extension of Ote Hall in the feeling of welcome and serenity it inspires, with a real fire, comfortable seating, a bar and great service,” said Carola. “Diners will be made to feel more like guests of the family.” The restaurant will offer 120 covers.

Carola paid tribute to her team of professional advisers, including Mark Ellis at Appetite Me, Andrew Hodgson at Pegasus and Graham Boyce at ArkleBoyce. “Their specialised and expert advice and design ensured that this project will be an attractive addition to the precious heritage and reputation of Ote Hall and the Godman

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

family,” she commented.

Since Carola is opposed to subsidies and is uncertain that anything in the upcoming agrienvironmental scheme will be particularly relevant to Ote Hall, she is candid about the need for the latest diversification. “The farm shop and restaurant are hugely important to keep the farms financially viable into the next century,” she commented.

“As far as tree planting schemes go, all the trees and hedges shown on the map in 1641 – bar one hedge – are still here, so I’m not certain there’s much more we could do there,” she added. “And we have been ‘min tilling’ for the past 27 years, thanks to the help and expert advice of Robert Plumb of Soil Fertility Services.”

Although Matthew and younger brother Charley are both pursuing successful independent careers, they remain actively involved in decisions on the farming business, while Carola’s daughter Nina will help with the farm shop. “It’s important that they play their part as they are the future and they will take forward the heritage and legacy of Ote Hall,” said Carola.

The family also plans to create the ‘Godman Foundation’, which will promote education, training and mentoring of young people, including those with disabilities, using profits from the new business.

FEATURED FARM:

PLANNING SUCCESS Pegasus Group supported the scheme for a new farm shop and tearoom within the grounds of the family run Ote Hall Farm, providing planning, transport, landscape, retail and heritage services to the family.

The scheme for a tearoom and farm shop selling products sourced from the farm itself, including beef, pork, lamb and game, together with other locally sourced produce, was sympathetically designed to complement the character of this traditional farm.

Pegasus Group also made sure that the proposed building was not harmful to the setting of the grade I listed Ote Hall, in accordance with the strict requirements of Historic England.

Pegasus Group project managed the pre-application discussions with the local planning authorities as well as submitting the planning application, working closely with the client, sub-consultants and Appetite Me, a company leading the market in rural diversification. This was a crossboundary application requiring submissions to two neighbouring planning authorities and highway discussions with two highway departments.

A public engagement exercise was held to investigate public support for the proposals following a pre-application response from the planning authority which raised a number of concerns. The comments received were reported in the application package and played a key part in showing the impressive level of public support for the proposal.

Andrew Hodgson, senior planning director at the group’s Cambridge office, said: “Multiple teams worked on this scheme to secure planning permission for a project that hopefully by next year will be selling products sourced from the farm itself, as well as promoting and selling goods from other local food producers.

“We worked collaboratively to overcome the initial

Photo: ©ArkleBoyce and Darc Studio

concerns of the planners over the potential impact of the scheme on the listed building and submitted a detailed application which outlined the full economic, social and environmental benefits which would be provided by the project, ensuring the future proofing of Ote Hall Farm for years to come.”

Pegasus Group is a leading planning and development consultancy providing clients with an unrivalled understanding of what is required to make their schemes successful. To discuss a project proposal contact us: T: 01223 202100 E: Cambridge@pegasusgroup.co.uk www.pegasusgroup.co.uk

25

OIL FERTILITY SERVICES LIMITED S S Promoting Bio-LOGICAL FARMING Solutions Specialist Advice in Soil Fertility and Crop Nutrition

Robert Plumb, MD

Congratulations to Ote Hall on the confirmation of their planning permission for the new farm shop and restaurant. This will be an excellent addition to the Enterprise that Carola and family have worked so hard to set up at The Hall.

I have been working with Carola for around 20 years now, helping her to improve the fertility of her soils and to grow healthy crops with minimal chemical inputs.

It is an exciting time to be in farming today, as we move from the toxic rescue chemistry to the more natural, Biological methods of farming.

FIND OUT: How you can FIX Nitrogen naturally.

UNLOCK the store cupboard of Phosphate that you have on farm.

IMPROVE plant health so it becomes resistant to disease.

GROW strong, healthy crops at LOW COST! WHATEVER YOU CALL IT… Regenerative Farming • No-Till farming • Biological Farming FARMING PRACTICES NEED TO CHANGE & CHANGE NOW! Our Humic range of products are biologically active soil feeds; a mix of biological micro-organisms, seaweed and humic/fulvic acids, that work to stimulate soil biology and improve water infiltration throughout your soil. They are suitable for BOTH arable and grassland areas. Reduce the carbon footprint and sequester carbon back into your soil.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

For more information telephone: 01366 384899 WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

OUT AND ABOUT WITH NIGEL AKEHURST

TOTTING UP DEMAND FOR LOCAL PRODUCE Nigel Akehurst meets Sarah Wareham at Tottingworth Farms, a third-generation family business raising award winning cattle and sheep alongside an abattoir, farm shop and cafe.

26

The 350-acre farm is located at Broad Oak, Heathfield, in the heart of the beautiful High Weald of Sussex, with 250 acres of pasture and around 100 acres of ancient woodland. The farm was bought by Sarah’s grandparents Dennis and Ruby Browning in 1957.

Her granddad started the abattoir in the early 1960s. More than 60 years on, the farm is still in the family.

“We are proud to keep it a traditional working farm in the community in the modern day,” said Sarah.

More recently Tottingworth Farms has diversified the business to cater for the growing demand for local produce, opening a small farm shop in 2011. Due to the success of the venture a decision was taken to expand, and in 2016 a much larger farm shop and adjoining café was opened. They now employ 22

people, including the part-time, now furloughed, cafe staff.

Despite facing increasing regulatory cost and competition from larger processors, Tottingworth continues to operate a small cattle and sheep abattoir line three to four days a week, providing a muchneeded facility for farmers and butchers locally.

EARLY RESPONSIBILITY

Growing up at Tottingworth, Sarah worked on the farm and attended Plumpton College on day release.

Then, after her grandfather suffered a stroke, she quickly took on more responsibility. By the time she turned 24 she was running the whole business. In 2004 her younger brother Michael Unsworth White joined the family business and now does much of the tractor work, as well as running his own woodland

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

management and logs business.

LIVESTOCK

Tottingworth is home to more than 300 head of cattle and 280 breeding ewes. Sarah is passionate about her pedigree livestock. She has a herd of 25 Galloway cows and followers, which she shows with husband Jason, and is using more Galloway breeding in their main suckler cows herd.

“We find the Galloway eats so well, which is why we are using more and more of the Galloway breeding for the human food chain,” she said.

“The smaller carcasses of 300 to 350kg deadweight work so well for us. We find we can use the whole body through the farm shop. The steaks cut the right size,” she added.

She can see why farmers are getting penalised for

TOTTINGWORTH FARMS, EAST SUSSEX FARM FACTS

• Home farm – 250 acres of pasture,100 acres of woodland.

The business also rents additional land in Cowbeech and Wadhurst.

• 300 herd of cattle, 280 breeding ewes • Blue Texel pedigree flock • 25 pedigree Galloway cows the bigger carcasses by the larger processors.

“They used to pay good prices for the Lims but it’s gone full circle now,” she said.

Sarah and her husband Jason, who runs his own haulage business, have a small herd of six British Blue cows. They also have a pedigree flock of Blue Texels.

“We’re going down the route of Maedi Visna accreditation for them so that we will be able to take them to the Carlisle Show and Sale,” she explained.

ON SHOWING

Sarah and Jason take the pedigree Galloways to Scotland to sell them. As relative newcomers, she said they had struggled to attract the top prices so far.

“We will get our name, but it just takes a bit of time to get there,” she said.

“In 2017 we won the junior inter breed champion with our heifer ‘Silverbell’ at the Highland show,” she added.

They have since flushed her and have a really nice heifer coming along, as well as having sold one bull calf from her.

I asked what sort of money her prize-winning pedigree cattle can fetch.

“For the Galloways, we’re still fairly new at selling them but we made £10,000 on a British Blue once in Carlisle,” she replied.

“The only trouble with the natives is there isn’t the money in them. We paid £8,000 for a Galloway and hopefully in years to come we will be able sell the progeny at good prices. It just takes a little while to build a name and get the >> right following,” she explained.

• 15 Belted Galloway cows • Six pedigree British Blue cows • 35 commercial continental x cows • 22 staff in total across the farm, abattoir, office and shop, including the cafe members on full-time furlough • Small cattle and sheep abattoir operating three to four days a week • Successful farm shop and cafe

Photo: ©Wayne Hutchinson

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

> Sarah and Jason with the cow and calf that made £6,000

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

27

OUT AND ABOUT WITH NIGEL AKEHURST > This British Blue bull reached £10,000

> Junior Beef Interbreed Champion

28

At the time of writing, they have a group << of six Galloways ready to sell and are hoping to take them to Castle Douglas or Carlisle, depending on the rules.

“It’s the first time we’ve sent a big lot,” she said.

Sarah said the trade was very up and down: “The Germans were buying quite a lot but won’t be able to come over due to the restrictions, creating a big gap in the market,” she explained.

“It’s a lot of work getting them ready - they’ve been halter broken, washed and are ready to go.”

Despite the work she admitted they enjoy it: “It’s a bit of a hobby and part of our business too.”

COVID-19 IMPACT

Sarah was pleased to report that the farm shop had benefited from an influx of new customers choosing to avoid the supermarkets and buy locally.

“Since Covid-19 hit last year we’ve easily doubled our turnover through the shop, though we lost the cafe trade,” said Sarah.

She said around one and a half bodies of beef a week are sold through the shop, all from their own herd. They also sell around seven lambs and four to five pigs a week, all sourced from the farm or locally.

"We upgraded our meat counter, which allowed us to increase our range by a third,” she added.

The café staff had to be furloughed but now their chef is nearly full-time cooking sausage rolls, pasties, quiches, soups and pies as the ready-to-eat range has been expanded. The other member, who was previously front of house, is now helping out on the till and is part-time furloughed.

Sarah has also taken on another full-time member of staff to keep up with the increasing demand and carry out deliveries.

They currently deliver to around 30 vulnerable households within a three-mile radius of the farm as well as offering car park collections so people don’t have to come into the shop. Sarah is also hopeful the new customers will continue to shop with them when lockdown ends, as many have realised it doesn’t cost them more than the supermarket and the quality is better.

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

I asked if they had seen a similar increase in the abattoir. “On the slaughtering side we’ve increased by half again from what we were doing,” she replied.

Since last March the business has gone from killing three days a week to three-and-a-half or four days. Interestingly, a lot of the extra demand has been for lamb, though they also had the highest number of cattle in the lead-up to Christmas that they’d seen for several years.

“Every butcher you speak to has massively increased his or her retail throughput – even though they have lost their catering jobs,” she explained.

“Even now you forget you’re in January as it’s so busy.”

ANIMALS RIGHTS PROTESTS

In the past the farm has experienced trouble from animal rights activists, Sarah said.

“They were here once a month for two years.

Some months they would come twice. Last year they came on our lambing open day and were shouting at the children coming down the drive.

TOTTINGWORTH FARMS, EAST SUSSEX “They’re not physically aggressive but they say some pretty horrid stuff - they’d rather see us dead than the animals in the trailers,” she added.

She said the police had been really supportive but towards the end they didn’t have the resources to help them very much.

“We’d get the 999 response team come out, but if a more urgent call came in they had to go to that,” she said.

On Sunday 9 October 2019, hundreds of farm supporters turned out to line the farm drive as animal rights activists staged a protest.

The turnout resulted from a social media post on Tottingworth’s Facebook page describing how they anticipated a demonstration by Sussex Animal Save.

Sarah and the team were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that turned up to show how passionate the community is about supporting the British farming industry.

“As we have said before, we understand that everybody has a right to make their own dietary choices, but we will not succumb to harassment by this group of activists,” said Sarah.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DWINDLING NUMBERS OF SMALL ABATTOIRS IN THE UK

A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare published last summer highlighted that a third of small abattoirs had closed in the past 10 years alone. There are now only 62 left in the UK. The report considered evidence from farmers about the importance of small abattoirs to the rural community and why action was needed to stop the numbers falling further.

The small abattoir at Tottingworth plays a pivotal role in the community, with many farmers and butchers in the South East relying on it for their businesses.

Sarah said she was committed to keeping the beef and lamb lines going.

"There is less stress on the animals and the eating quality is better compared to bigger processing plants,” she said. >>

29

VINEYARD for viticulturists in Great Britain ™

The independent monthly publication dedicated to viticulture and wine making in Great Britain

SUBSCRIBE FOR ONLY £40 A YEAR @VineyardMagGB

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk 01959 543747

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Collection & Recycling of...

All types of Farm Plastics Redundant Agri chemicals No Membership fees

Farm Waste Recycling Experts

s rd yre oa eT t s rdb a a C W Workshop Wastes Veterinary Waste

Tel 01264 736733 Providing waste solutions to Agriculture, ian.kitson@kitsonrecycling.co.uk www.kitsonrecycling.co.uk Horticulture & Equestrian

Waste Oil Waste Tyres

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

OUT AND ABOUT WITH NIGEL AKEHURST

30

She is currently looking for some grant << funding to make improvements to the ageing buildings, which were last extended in the seventies. She would also like to put in some modern machinery to help automate it.

One of her main concerns is labour: “Small abattoirs need skilled staff - which is just not out there. I think it is the hardship of it,” she said.

She currently employs two eastern European staff in the abattoir. They are good workers, she said. Four of the team have been with them for over 20 years.

In the EU membership referendum Sarah voted to remain: “I was anti Brexit due to staffing. What English person wants to work in the gut room?” she asked. “We’d have them come, but they’d never last.”

RISING COSTS AND FALLING INCOME

In recent years Sarah has seen rising costs due to regulation.

“Closed circuit TV cost us £8,000 to put in three years ago. Do we really need it? We have a vet on site all the time we are slaughtering,” she said.

Tottingworth has also seen a significant drop in income from hides and skins, which have next to no value now. Ten to 15 years ago they received an annual income of around £50,000 from them.

Going back 30 years, Sarah said her grandfather used to get a sizeable income for the guts. Now they pay a significant fee to dispose of them, showing just how much things have changed.

PIGS

In March 2019, Tottingworth took the decision to close down the pig side of the abattoir, which was operating half a day a week.

Sarah explained that they needed to put in a new pig de-hairing machine and the boiler needed upgrading.

“It was a lot of extra cost and hassle for the 140 pigs we were killing a week,” she said.

It was a difficult decision, she said, but one she believes will make the business more profitable in the long term.

NEW SHOP AND A LUCKY ESCAPE

Sarah is delighted with the success of the new farm shop and café that opened in 2016. The large building sits on the footprint of an old pole barn used for storing straw and machinery. Sarah said planning was relatively straightforward to obtain.

The business received 40% LEADER funding towards appliances in the kitchen and tables and chairs for the cafe.

Sarah found the grant funding process a lot of work. She also ended up in hospital a day before the application deadline after a cow attacked her while she was spraying a calf’s navel in a pen. Luckily Sarah managed to clamber out to safety but was badly hurt.

She suffered a fractured back and broken ribs and ruptured her spleen. “It was a nightmare,” she said.

Thankfully a member of staff called up Wealden and Rother Rural Partnership programme manager Don Cranfield, who gave them a week’s extension, and with the help of a friend they managed to complete the application.

After a successful back operation and a week in hospital, Sarah fortunately made a complete recovery.

LAMBING DAYS

For the past few years Tottingworth has staged lambing days to attract local families to the farm and help educate the public about where their food comes from.

“We do it over four days and I get a lot out of it,” Sarah said. Sarah enjoys seeing the children learning and notes that a lot of adults haven’t seen

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

lambing either.

They have a ‘stroke the pet lamb’ area, bouncy castle and easter egg hunt for children. In 2019 they got through more than 800 easter eggs, she said.

Unlike some open farms, Tottingworth doesn’t charge for entry, but it’s a great marketing tool for the farm and the cafe does well out of their all-day breakfasts. They also have a burger stand outside all day.

“It’s a really good family day,” Sarah added.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

The Tottingworth team is currently working on getting permission to build a new slurry lagoon on the farm and wants to put in a wetland. The process is proving frustrating.

“We’ve had a wildlife survey, soil survey - it all costs thousands and we haven’t even started digging,” she said.

I asked what area of the business Sarah enjoyed most. She told me she enjoyed the farming but doesn’t get enough time: “We do that nights and weekends,” she said.

The majority of her time is taken up running the shop these days. She likes the buzz of the kitchen and enjoys the butchery.

“We’ve been doing really well with the butchery since Covid-19 and I have learned a lot,” she said.

In the past they had a cutting room but couldn’t make it stack up.

I asked her if she worries about the fall in farm subsidies. “Touch wood we don’t rely on the money,” she said. “We use it to invest in farm equipment, but I’d like to think we could get by without it. You’ve got to be one step ahead. That’s why we’ve got the wetland going in - as that will help us. It’s about learning to diversify.”

It’s this innovative approach that has helped Sarah and the team at Tottingworth Farms build a resilient farming business fit for the modern day.

TOTTINGWORTH FARMS, EAST SUSSEX

31

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

LAND-BASED TRAINING

NETWORK OF HIGHLY SKILLED

PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS When it comes to understanding a rural business’s training needs and delivering a comprehensive package of support, nothing beats two decades of experience within the industry.

When that wealth of knowledge is allied to a similarly broad skillset developed by a business partner over a similar length of time, the result is an impressive new entrant in the field of training.

South East Landbased Training Courses LLP is the result of just such a liaison, with Sarah Firrell and Dawn Berndt combining to deliver a bespoke service that combines personal knowledge with a network of highly skilled, professional trainers in an unbeatable range of land-based disciplines.

Sarah had been organising training within the land-based sector at Plumpton College for 20 years when she decided in April of last year that she wanted to take on a new challenge. With many years of experience within managerial roles in a range of industries, Dawn has developed a good understanding of the need for training to develop employees and meet health and safety requirements.

“Since Sarah had handed in her notice and knowing Sarah’s strengths,

it was just great timing,” Dawn recalled. “I knew Sarah and knew we had complementary skills and that we both had an unbeatable range of contacts within the industry. It was a chance to push ourselves and do something different and so we jumped at the chance of forming South East Landbased Training Courses.”

Despite the fact that the launch of the new business coincided with the first Covid-19 lockdown, business has been brisk, with the partners using their extensive contacts to find the best trainer to meet individual business’s needs right across the South East. “We’ve had a very good first year,” Sarah confirmed.

“We’ve had to develop new skills ourselves, but we are passionate about the business and about helping land-based businesses to grow.”

One of the most rewarding things about the new business, which offers bespoke training as well as scheduled courses on subjects such as forestry, livestock, pesticides and pest control, is the feedback from companies they have worked with.

“It’s remarkable how many times people say how pleased they are to

> Counterbalance training

> Forestry and arboriculture: Felling training

32

> Sarah Firrell

> First aid

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

> Dawn Berndt

FEATURED COMPANY: have found us,” said Sarah. “That’s partly because our experience and our background in agriculture means we can be proactive in offering help and advice. For some new businesses, having us suggest what courses they need in order to get themselves established safely and effectively can be really useful.”

Dawn is a landowner and farmer, giving her hands-on experience of the needs of land-based businesses for effective and practical training, while her hobbies include horse riding. Sarah, whose close links with expert trainers allow her to incorporate specific knowledge into the company’s tailored training programmes, is passionate about sustainability and the pivotal role of education in shaping the country’s future.

As a result, South East Landbased Training Courses provides an extensive range of flexible courses right across the rural, agricultural and land-based sectors, including practical training, health and safety, legislative requirements, conservation and environmental skills.

The partnership works closely with leading awarding bodies for land-based industries and with East Sussex Proficiency Test Committee, a local independent City & Guilds NPTC-approved assessment centre. It is a Lantra-approved provider.

As well as helping employees achieve accredited qualifications, either at their workplace or other convenient location, the company also provides refresher training. As Sarah explained: “We help a lot of people who left education a while ago and who are now embarking on a changing career path and realise they need to upskill.

“Others come to us because their technical competences need updating >>

Southern Farmers Ltd. Pleased to work with South East Land Based Training.

Bringing knowledge and training to our farming members.

For information on joining Southern Farmers Ltd agricultural buying group: www.southernfarmers.co.uk

Call us today: 01580 241401

Get in touch For more information, the latest, training schedule and news regarding South East Landbased Training Courses LLP visit www.seltc.co.uk To enquire or book training, please contact Dawn 07752 098849 or Sarah on 07437 601161 or email landbasedtraining@outlook. com

> Forestry and arboriculture: Chainsaw – woodchipper training TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

33

LAND-BASED TRAINING

34

<< or because they also need to learn a new skill.

Add to that the people who are having to change career because of redundancy, perhaps linked to the pandemic, and there is considerable call for welldelivered, relevant courses. We have the experience and the contacts to deliver those courses.”

South East Landbased Training Courses has taken Business Built on Relationships as its slogan and has quickly made it a cornerstone of the business. Both partners have long-standing relationships with trainers, assessors and rural businesses, all of which feed in to the comprehensive service it delivers.

The business has been able to deliver training to finite ‘bubbles’ of employees on site during lockdown and has also run courses at the South of England Showground in Ardingly and at Copford Sawmill, an ideal location for forestry skills training.

Sarah and Dawn are hoping to shortly be able to offer courses at the Kent Showground at Detling, near Maidstone.

South East Landbased Training Courses is a Southern Farmers supplier, offering members a discount for full group bookings.

While the business focuses for the most part on the South East, its network of trainers and assessors allows it to provide courses across a much wider area, which has proved valuable in many cases, particularly for vineyards and orchards. “We look

> Pesticide PA3 prestart checks

60 YEARS AS AN INDEPENDENT

ASSESSMENT CENTRE This year sees East Sussex Proficiency Test Committee Ltd (ESPTC Ltd) celebrate its 60th Anniversary as an independent City & Guilds NPTC Approved Assessment Centre. It is one year since the not-for-profit charity relocated to its current offices based at Streetfield Farm, Heathfield, from where it provides individuals and businesses alike with independent, industry recognised land-based qualifications across a variety of countryside subjects.

Working with a wide range of trainers throughout southern and eastern areas of England, the aim of ESPTC Ltd is to support education and improvement in the skill set of workers within agriculture, horticulture, forestry, livestock, pesticide, machinery and related industries.

Already connected with a vast network of assessors and trainers, ESPTC Ltd can help find the training needed before booking a test, and will continue to provide the assessment service linked

with associated training providers.

Tests continue to be carried out at the sites used by trainers and can also be at locations to suit individual business needs, including Streetfield Farm, the South of England Show Ground at Ardingly or Burnt House Farm, Broad Oak, Brede.

Streetfield Farm, where ESPTC Ltd has the equipment needed for boom sprayer (PA2) assessments, has proved to be a suitable base for pesticide assessments,.

Burnt House Farm is a flexible site with facilities to provide assessments from vermin control to animal transport. The highlight of the past year was providing assessments for the City & Guilds Certificate of Competence in the Safe and Responsible Use of Veterinary Medicines for British Wildlife, working with hedgehogs, delivered to a local rescue centre. This qualification is also available for farm livestock, meeting the requirements of farm assurance schemes.

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

Burnt House Farm is proving to be invaluable for assessments for Certificate of Competence in Short Journey Animal Transport (over 65KM and under eight hours) and in long journeys (over eight hours).

Brexit now requires European livestock haulage drivers to hold a UK Certificate of Competence if transporting livestock through the UK. ESPTC Ltd is arranging driver assessments either at Burnt House Farm or client sites, timing assessments to take place on the same day as vehicle checks are carried out by Logistics UK.

ESPTC Ltd

East Sussex Proficiency Test Committee ltd

EAST SUSSEX PROFICIENCY TEST COMMITTEE LTD T: 07934 175830 E: enquiries@esptc.org www.esptc.org

FEATURED COMPANY:

> Pesticide PA3 spraying at the demand and respond accordingly, rather than just offering the courses we want to offer,” explained Sarah.

The partnership currently offers 30-plus courses, either scheduled or tailored to a specific request, with its close links with both trainers and assessors allowing it to respond quickly to bespoke needs.

Courses on offer cover a broad range, including livestock (including veterinary medicines, sheep dip and animal transport), machinery (such as tractor driving and all-terrain vehicles), pesticides (including all application units from PA1 to PA9) and forestry and arboriculture (taking in the full range of ground and aerial chainsaw qualifications and tree inspection).

One area where the business shines is in helping clients understand the full range of help on offer. “If

a fencing contractor comes to us for skills training, we are able to talk to them about the other courses they may need, from tractor driving and using abrasive wheels to chainsaw usage, health and safety and forestry first aid,” Sarah explained.

“We know how important it is to have the right ticks in the right boxes when applying for contracts and we like to use our knowledge to help rural businesses to grow.

“A lot of people ring the office to ask for our advice on what they need, which is turning us into a broad-based training hub rather than just a training provider. We are also receiving a lot of word-ofmouth referrals, which again supports our aim to build a business based on relationships. That was our goal, and one year on we are delighted at the progress we have already made.”

> Forestry and arboriculture: Chainsaw – crosscutting training

ESPTC Ltd

East Sussex Proficiency Test Committee ltd

Celebrating 60 years

Your Independent centre offering a wide range of City and Guilds/ NPTC qualifications: Forestry and Arboriculture Machinery Livestock Pesticides Vertebrate Pest Control Plant Machinery Working with Individuals, Trainers and Businesses to provide Professional Landbased Qualifications.

Brexit: We are working with European Livestock Hauliers to provide the Certificate of Competence Assessments now required when transporting livestock through the UK

Approved Centre

For further information contact: ESPTC Office Tel: 07934 175830 Email: enquiries@esptc.org www.esptc.org

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Take your rural career further with Lantra Awards training With over 40 years’ experience, Lantra offers an integrated and flexible approach to our training delivery.

Our unique mix of industry recognised courses are delivered either face to face, remotely online or through e-learning to help boost skills and grow careers.

üATVs & 4x4s üTractor Driving üPesticides

üPest Control üAnimal Transport üChainsaws & Arb üConservation üLandscaping üHorticulture

To find out more about our full range of courses visit:

www.lantra.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

35

SEED

FERTILISER

GRAIN

STORAGE

T: 01264 321 595 www.openfield.co.uk

ELVED PHILLIPS ARABLE NOTES

I HAVE A HIGH RISK OF LOSING MONEY!

36

Well, I have had my Covid-19 vaccination. I’m in a “high risk” group but that’s because as I trade grain, I have a high risk of losing money!

My trading book is always perfectly balanced, so whichever way the market moves I could lose money.

So, we have had the big correction in old crop wheat values, with some £19 coming off the top of May 2021 futures. Some UK flour millers have indeed ‘sold back’ domestic milling wheat in favour of importing German milling wheat up to harvest. This has meant that on-farm milling wheat has had to be rolled forward and the group one milling premium has also evaporated for the time being. Feed barley, albeit at a £40 discount to wheat, remains in demand.

We have exported two cargos of malting barley post Brexit, with feed barley also being shipped. Most wheat consumers stocked up well before Christmas and have enough to keep them going for another month or two.

We all know that the UK still has to import a lot of wheat and maize to see us through to harvest. Up to the end of December, almost three million tonnes of wheat and maize came in. We probably still need the same again, but as maize is very expensive, this means that even more wheat may be required. The EU is close to exporting all of its supposed wheat surplus and is still going strong.

The February USDA report says it will only have 26 days’ supply left to see it into new crop. Russia has created huge uncertainty by imposing a €25 export tax in February which increases to €50 in March. For harvest, Russia is

proposing a complicated ‘floating export tax’, which has confused their farmers. They don’t know if they should start selling the wheat they have been sitting on, or whether they should even plant the next crop.

This is certainly strange behaviour for the world’s biggest exporter of wheat.

The February USDA report also took the sting out of the market creating extra stocks by reducing the US export numbers. Give or take a bit of alleged winter kill in Russia and Ukraine, there is still no real story on weather which could affect next year’s world crop. I think there will be, whether it’s a lack of spring planting in Russia or a drought thereafter, that will cause a spike in price. In the meantime, while end users have cover for now, they will need to buy more wheat after Easter. I cannot see why anyone would offer imported wheat to the UK at less than the current high prices, so there should be another chance to sell old crop wheat on the back of that spike and some new crop at the same time.

China remains as inscrutable as ever. It has played the world grain trade very well and won. It had been quiet for the previous three months, but when world markets took a hit at the end of January it popped up and bought six million tonnes of maize cheaply.

It’s the Chinese New Year of the ‘Ox’. Over the past six months they have not only been buying soya, maize, barley and wheat, holding over half of the world’s stock of maize and wheat, but also copper, tin, coal and other ELVED PHILLIPS commodities. While the UK was taking five months to import almost Openfield three million tonnes of wheat and maize, China was importing and

IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF YOUR SOIL

consuming two million tonnes of soya per week.

Maize imports are up from almost seven to 24 million tonnes this year, so far. I cannot see China backing away from the world market any time soon.

It has already bought over two million tonnes of new crop barley from France and Canada. After throwing Australian feed barley under the bus, it has decided to buy Australian wheat again after all.

China has also been talking to Germany about sorting out protocols to enable trade between the two countries. The switch from Australian to French barley created a new dynamic big boat barley trade from Rouen. If the same happened with Germany, we would have another premium export market on our doorstep in western Europe. Because world demand for barley has outstripped production in the past year, world stocks will fall by about two million tonnes

by June 2021. China has already imported over two million tonnes more barley than last year. You have heard me say many times - ignore what China says, but watch what it does.

I repeat my view that we have about four months of ‘grace’ during which the tight supply of wheat in the UK and Europe means prices are unlikely to change much. If they do it’s more likely to be a spike upwards because of some new world weather problem. The wheat crop in the northern hemisphere remains dormant and it will be some months before farmers are confident about new crop prospects.

The difference between the UK being an importer of wheat, as we have this crop year, and an exporter, is £15 per tonne. The differential between old and new crop is £35 per tonne. So, there is plenty of room between the wallpaper and the wall.

Spreading service available NEW RICHARD WESTERN SPREADER GPS GUIDED 20 TONNE CAPACITY 20 METRE SPREAD PATTERN www.gcgsplanthire.co.uk

FARMERS & CONTRACTORS | Call Steve 07747 827901 | www.groundcaregeneralservices.co.uk MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

STEPHEN CARR

STEPHEN CARR Arable farmer

One of the more trivial irritations of the Covid-19 pandemic, to a long-term opponent of Brexit like myself, is that it has masked the economic impact of the UK leaving the EU. The UK economy has shrunk by nearly 10% over the past year and is still shrinking now. How much of this is due to the Covid-19 lockdown and how much to Brexit we will never know.

That said, I’m not one to sulk for long and now that we’ve left the EU every farmer has to try to make the best of it. Indeed, at least in the short term, the immediate economic impact of Brexit has been slight or even non-existent. Farm gate grain, beef and lamb prices are at near record highs, and milk prices have remained stable. Even the 2020 BPS payments were delivered to most farmers with record efficiency.

But, of course, it will be the gradual withdrawal of the BPS that will be the most obvious likely negative consequence of Brexit for English

IMPACT OF LEAVING

THE EU MASKED farmers. Most of us are horribly dependent on the BPS for a profit. I still remember a land agent telling me at a local agricultural show a couple of years ago that he sees roughly 400 farm accounts in a year and that “not one of them would show a profit with the BPS removed from the bottom line”.

The government has assured us that the £2.5 billion that will be saved for the exchequer by the withdrawal from English farmers of BPS payments will be ‘recycled’ into a proposed Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMS). This will pay farmers for ‘public goods’ like wildlife conservation and cleaner air and water.

Even if we can trust the Government to deliver on that promise, there are still likely to be many farming casualties where, for a variety of reasons, some enterprises don’t qualify for ELMS payments.

The deciding factor will be exactly how farms are to be rewarded for ‘public goods’. If the payments are only made to farmers to desist

from current polluting farming practices, then there is a real danger that ELMS will merely end up rewarding those engaged in the most environmentally destructive forms of food production.

So, those who’ve already invested in improved methods like min-till (to reduce CO2 emissions) or covered slurry lagoons (to reduce methane emissions) will find themselves excluded from payments, which seems horribly unfair.

With Brexit done, the system of farming subsidies is about to undergo a radical change.

The next few years will be a tense time on most farms as individual businesses discover how much subsidy can be claimed through ELMS to replace income lost through the removal of the BPS. I’ve never made any secret of my reliance on the BPS for my living, so my fingers are firmly crossed as I venture nervously into a post-Brexit farming world.

NEW APPOINTMENT

AT HUTCHINSONS

NEWLY CREATED ROLE

Kubota (UK) Ltd has appointed Henry Bredin to a newly created role as general manager to head-up its recently formed tractor business unit.

With responsibility for Kubota’s agricultural and ground care sectors, Henry brings with him a wealth of commercial experience. For the past nine years he has been both account director and commercial manager with two high-profile fresh produce businesses, following several years working with agricultural and ground care machinery manufacturers.

Introducing a general manager’s role is part of Kubota’s expansion plans and will allow managing director David Hart to focus on his secondary role as vice-president of business transformation within the broader European market sectors.

“Having worked among both the consumer and manufacturing aspects of industry, I am looking forward to bringing my experiences to this new role, and to support further development of the Kubota dealer network,” said Henry Bredin. “This is an exciting period of expansion for Kubota in the UK.”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Leading crop production specialists Hutchinsons has appointed Gary Mills-Thomas as arable business director.

Hutchinsons, which provides agronomy advice on more than one million crop hectares, says Mr Mills-Thomas’ appointment “reflects the company’s ambitions to accelerate the growth of the business through continued focus upon outstanding agronomic advice in conjunction with the continuing development of a wide range of specialist services”.

With a wealth of experience gained over more than 30 years leadership at Syngenta, Mr Mills-Thomas said he was “excited to be joining a business that is so heavily committed to investing in the future of agronomic advice and supply, not just through its innovative technologies, products and services such as Omnia and TerraMap, but also through its phenomenal investment in the training and development of its people, which in my view cannot be matched anywhere else in the industry”.

Chairman David Hutchinson responded: “As we plan for the future, it is essential that the Hutchinsons business continues to develop and deliver the most profitable, innovative and environmentally sustainable crop production solutions to farmers. To do this, we will continue to invest in our people and services to match our customers’ needs. We are delighted that Gary shares this vision.”

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

37

AGRONOMY

TIME FOR A FRESH APPROACH Dr David Ellerton, Hutchinsons’ Technical Development Director, considers early T0 fungicide strategies designed to maintain yield potential while ensuring sound product stewardship practices.

This season has seen two distinct drilling periods; late September/early October and late October into November, following an extremely wet period at the beginning of October.

Different drill dates can have a significant effect on disease risk and should influence early disease control strategies. In addition, revocation of some established fungicide active ingredients means that early cereal disease control is likely to be very different in 2021 compared to previous seasons.

In Hutchinsons’ 2019/20 winter wheat variety trials, fungicide treatment produced yield increases averaging 1.66 t/ha across all sites and varieties, compared to a 2.49 t/ha response the previous season. There were extremely large differences in responses, with varieties such as KWS Kinetic and KWS Kerrin giving average responses of around 3.5 t/ha, while Skyfall averaged a response of around 2.5 t/ha – all directly related to Yellow Rust infection in untreated plots.

This year’s difference in drilling dates is likely to lead to significant changes in disease risk this spring, with the earlier drillings at greater risk of Septoria, Eyespot and Take-all, while the later drillings are more at risk of Yellow Rust.

Septoria is often driven by rainfall in April and May, so it is important to be aware of the potential risk of the disease developing in later drilled crops.

38

VARIETAL SUSCEPTIBILITY

Varietal disease susceptibility is a vital component when deciding fungicide strategies. AHDB Recommended Lists provide the latest information on varietal susceptibility to diseases.

Septoria: Elation (4.1 for Septoria tritici), KWS Barrel (4.2) KWS Jackal, KWS Kerrin and RGT Gravity (4.8) are all particularly prone to Septoria infection, with a rating of less than 5, and will need to be prioritised for protection. At the other extreme, varieties such as Theodore (8.3) KWS Extase (8) and LG Sundance (7.9)

are at significantly lower risk and fungicide programmes will need to be tailored accordingly.

Yellow Rust: There have been significant changes to the Yellow Rust ratings compared to last season, with many ratings significantly lower. The highest risk varieties are Skyfall (3), KWS Kinetic and KWS Kerrin (4) and KWS Zyatt, SY Insitor, Gleam, RGT Wolverine and Shabras (5). Yellow Rust has already been reported from a number of crops so all crops should be closely monitored to ensure rust is not allowed to take an early hold.

When considering disease control programmes, it is vital that all the above factors are taken into account, not just to ensure that the most appropriate costeffective programme is chosen, but also to reduce selection pressure on our fungicide active ingredients.

AVAILABILITY OF ACTIVES

This season we will be without one of our most established active ingredients, chlorothalonil, which has been the backbone of early disease control in winter wheat for many years.

Where Septoria is a risk, from the late tillering/stem extension (T0) timing, early use of alternative multi-site fungicides such as folpet, or bio stimulants which boost varietal resistance such as Scyon, should be considered.

An important part of integrated crop management is providing adequate nutrition in order to optimise plant health and enable plants to respond to disease pressure.

Established rust should be controlled with tebuconazole or cyproconazole, while products containing bromuconazole and flutriafol will also give a level of control. Strobilurins azoxystrobin or pyraclostrobin will give long lasting protection against rust, as well as providing physiological benefits. Other diseases such as mildew, Eyespot, Fusarium and Take-all should also be considered.

Your local Hutchinsons agronomist will be happy to recommend a suitable programme for you, or contact us E: information@hlhltd.co.uk Canterbury: 01227 830064 www.hlhltd.co.uk

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

FINANCE

© Hans wrang / Shutterstock.com

BUILDING A FARMHOUSE –

TIPS ON SAVING VAT

If you are constructing, converting or refurbishing a farmhouse, make sure you confirm the VAT liability of the works you will undertake and the recovery of the VAT you incur at the planning stage.

The standard rate of VAT is currently 20% and this can be an unwelcome surprise if it isn’t factored into project costs by you or your contractor. It is worth confirming whether or not the works could be liable to the zero or 5% rates of VAT and if the VAT you incur can be claimed back from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Here’s all you need to know about VAT and farmhouses: In an ideal VAT world you would not incur any irrecoverable VAT when you construct a farmhouse.

The lowest rate of VAT you can incur is zero. This applies to the construction of ‘new’ dwellings. The wording on your planning permission is important. It should clearly state that you are constructing a new dwelling and it should not impose restrictions on use or disposal.

Zero-rating can still apply when planning permission requires you to retain a façade/wall from an existing building or where the new building joins

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

an existing one. You can also consider using the VAT DIY scheme to recover any VAT you do incur.

If your project doesn’t qualify for zero-rating, it could be liable to the reduced rate of VAT (currently 5%). The reduced rate applies when you: • renovate an empty dwelling (one that has not been lived in for the past two years) • change the number of dwellings in a building (e.g. convert two cottages to a single house or vice versa) • convert a steading (or any other non-residential building) into a dwelling.

In these situations, the 5% rate of VAT applies to conversion/renovation works and associated goods.

Once again, the VAT you incur may be recovered from HMRC using the VAT DIY scheme.

If you use the dwellings for business purposes (and you are VAT registered), you should be able to recover some (or all) of the VAT you incur. VAT is recoverable if the dwelling is used as a main farmhouse, to provide accommodation to key employees or for holiday accommodation. Conditions apply, so be sure to double check the rules of VAT recovery.

It is widely believed that farmers can automatically recover 70% of the VAT they incur on farmhouse

costs. In reality it depends on the use of each farmhouse. Recovery is possible when expenditure is directly linked to the farm’s business activities. A maximum recovery of 70% is possible in situations where building works are solely linked to business activity. Where there is an element of private/ personal use, a lower level of recovery can normally be agreed with HMRC. Before you do anything, get specialist VAT advice and confirm the VAT liability of the works and the recovery of any VAT you incur as early as possible. At Azets we have a UK team of VAT specialists. Contact us and allow us to help you minimise the cost of VAT on your project.

CLAIRE PARRY

Partner, Accounts and Business Advisory Services T: 01227 454 861 E: hello@azets.co.uk www.azets.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

39

ALAN WEST SHEEP TOPICS

A REASONABLY GOOD

START TO 2021

40

The new-year has got off to a reasonably positive start. Liveweight prices have continued to rise over the past couple of weeks in spite of a week-onweek increase in lambs forward; deadweight prices have dropped back a bit but the recent adverse weather could impact on the number of lambs coming forward and help tighten supplies. All particularly good when one considers what the alternative might have been. Throughput in early 2021 has been about 9% down on the same period in 2020, due largely to many producers wanting to clear lambs at the end of last season as a result of Brexit uncertainty. In addition, New Zealand’s seemingly increased focus on markets in the North of Asia and the Middle East could impact on supplies coming into Europe, meaning supplies could remain relatively tight and prices buoyant. In the longer term the 4% drop in production forecast for 2021 should provide an added push to prices.

Higher prices will no doubt present some challenges at the retail level, probably slowing the increase in consumption that we saw during lockdown, and there have been some logistical challenges for EU exports. The British Meat Processors’ Association estimates that trade, particularly in mixed meat loads, has dropped by 50%, with some, in an attempt to speed up the process and avoid some of the red tape, looking to establish processing facilities in the EU. Sadly this will probably be at the expense of jobs in the UK. In comparison, however, to the British shellfish industry we are in a very much better situation.

With a bit of luck, as (and when) the Covid-19 situation settles down, a reopening of the hospitality sector should provide a boost to demand, in just the same way that an increase in demand for takeaways (particularly curries and kebabs) during the various lockdown periods have helped support the lamb and sheep meat markets.

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

ALAN WEST Sheep farmer

Yet another positive is the recent report from AHDB on consumer attitudes to farmers, with some 66% of survey respondents feeling positive about British agriculture, even reporting a high degree of trust in the industry’s environmental credentials, with just 15% considering that we have a negative impact on the environment.

We should, however, not be too self congratulatory with these results, which are tempered somewhat by the growing awareness amongst the general public of the many environmental issues that are impacted by farming activities, both globally and at home, with many sharing a real desire to see the farming sector contribute more towards further improvements. Sadly it is the red meat sector that has attracted considerable attention, particularly in relation to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; much of it is unfounded and driven by those with an alternative agenda, but that does not make it go away.

As I mentioned in last month’s article, there are issues within the ruminant sector, sheep included; ruminants by their very nature produce methane, unquestionably a powerful greenhouse gas, but all the focus seems to be on the level of emissions per se, ignoring the fact that it is a relatively short lived gas. Recent work by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has shown that feeding willow browse to sheep can reduce the output of both methane and urine ammonia; similar work in New Zealand in 2007 demonstrated a potential for a 20%-plus reduction in methane output. Developments in this sort of area could enable sheep to be a part of the solution and make a significant contribution to a net reduction in atmospheric methane concentrations.

I suspect that a significant number of sheep producers are currently very close to achieving carbon neutral, the target for the sector. Some are no doubt there; simply taking into consideration the contribution that

trampled grass (forages), an unavoidable consequence of grazing, makes to soil’s organic matter brings the oft-quoted 10% contribution to carbon emissions down to a more realistic level of around 4%. Once some of the other erroneous assumptions made in relation to production systems are taken into consideration, our carbon contribution is reduced even further, in particular for those on permanent pasture or who are paddock grazing, grazing cover crops, keeping sheep as part of an arable rotation, practising mob grazing or have already embarked on more sustainable or regenerative systems etc. British sheep and red meat production cannot and should not be judged on global production systems and standards.

The sheep sector as a whole has been making, and is continuing to make, huge strides towards carbon neutrality and should be commended for its efforts. Sadly few people fully appreciate this situation, including those that one would reasonably expect to know better; people such as those responsible for formulating and drafting policy, where there does seem to be a singular lack of any joined-up thinking. Take for example the suggestion from government that we should have a carbon tax on a range of items including red meat. A significant part of the new environmental policy and ELMS is about promoting sustainable production systems; within this there is a growing awareness (not exactly rocket science) that livestock are an important, if not essential, part of the mix for most sustainable or regenerative agricultural systems. It may be the way our grandparents farmed, but when coupled with modern technology and better understanding of the biology and biochemistry of the processes involved, it is certainly not old fashioned.

The suggestion to tax red meat seems to be completely devoid of any logic.

Why reward the efforts that sheep producers have made towards achieving carbon neutrality by penalising what they do? Why dismiss the potential contribution that sheep producers are able to make, by locking up carbon in organic matter, to the longer-term reduction in levels of atmospherics carbon?

It simply does not make any sense; a carbon tax on lamb would just be another addition to production costs, reducing the competitiveness of British lamb at a time when we are, in theory, attempting to seek and develop new export markets. At worst we could see the opposite, with cheaper imports being sucked in from other countries not subject to the same taxes; solving our carbon problems by exporting them does not address the key issues, something at which we seem to excel.

The whole situation, particularly when considered alongside other recent proposals, stinks of policy being driven by an alternative agenda. An antimeat agenda, quite possibly directed by unelected “advisers”, should not be driving future policies for our industry, particularly where those policies seek to diminish the potential contributions that sheep and other ruminant livestock can make towards providing good quality, sustainable and affordable food for the nation, managing and enhancing the environment and locking up carbon. It really is time that common sense and balance prevailed; the future of the sheep industry should not depend, in part, on the whims and fancies of No.10. We have had a reasonably good start to the year, so far; we need to make sure that others don’t spoil it.

By the time that this drops through producers’ letterboxes, many will either have commenced lambing or will be about to start; so here’s wishing you all well and hoping that things go smoothly and without too many problems. Lambing is a special time; it can also be quite a lonely and stressful one, often exacerbated by long days and even longer nights. It is a time of year when we all have the occasional problems; unfortunately, this year, opportunities to share those problems are somewhat diminished, due to lockdown restrictions. As a result, making opportunities to talk to each other is more important than ever. A simple phone call to enquire how things are going can make a lot of difference, even a text, but that doesn’t have quite the same impact. Make a bit of time to phone a friend. And for those who have already finished lambing, I hope that it all went well; we just need some kinder weather and some decent grass to get them moving on. Good luck!

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

RESEARCH PROVEN

41

CRYSTALYX CATTLE HIGH-MAG/STANDARD HIGH QUALITY MAGNESIUM FOR CATTLE AND SHEEP THIS SPRING 

Crystalyx Cattle High-Mag 10.5% Magnesium suitable for lactating dairy and suckler cows



Crystalyx Standard 5% magnesium ideal for mixed grazing with lactating beef and sheep



Helps maintain normal blood magnesium levels during periods of risk



Sweet and palatable source of magnesium to ensure consistent intakes even on lush grass



Provides livestock with a valuable source of additional vitamins, minerals and trace elements needed to balance spring grass



Cattle High-Mag and Standard are both available in 22.5kg and 80kg

+44 016973 32592 info@crystalyx-global.com your nearest stockist at  Find crystalyx- global.com

Crystalyx UK

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

AT ASHFORD MARKET

CO-OPERATIVES CO-OPERATING?

42

There is no doubting that life in business is sounds more like supermarket talk than farmer PETER KINGWILL always a challenge, and perhaps it should be. It co-operative style. The major retailers are well Reporting on the cattle is, however, certainly frustrating when parties, versed in techniques to hinder the widening of market at Ashford seemingly on the same side, make matters competition practices and in constrictive practices T: 01233 502222 worse for the others in their sector. that satisfy the few to the point where they can www.hobbsparker.co.uk Arla is a very large, successful and good dairy dictate the price to a dairy farmer, a beef farmer or co-operative owned by nearly 10,000 farmers across a sheep farmer. Ask any pig or poultry farmer or any northern Europe. With a wide range of dairy products – including many well Southern Irish beef farmer just how wide their opportunities are. known names such as Anchor, Lurpak and Cravendale – it supplies supermarkets The crux of the matter is that Arla now set the rules for their members on and food supply businesses across more than 30 countries. Arla looks after the marketing of barren cows, preventing good businesses (their members) its dairy farmers and has won business from other businesses by paying a fair from having the opportunity to make their own decision in their own time to fit price, recognising the work and investment their farmers put into the sector. their own circumstances. This can only be construed as a restrictive practice, Enough now of the praise! As a farmer co-operative, one would feel they narrowing the field of opportunity for farmers, and sadly smacks of the would wish to support their members and not restrict them in other sectors supermarket mantra filtering down through consultancy advice. of their farming enterprises. Arla, though, have now decided that they want Our own industry body, The Livestock Auctioneers’ Association, has tried in to narrow the marketplace that many of their members want to support. This vain to talk with representatives of Arla to understand their actions but have been met with blank silence. This cannot be the most co-operative of actions, particularly when it is so obvious to us (and presumably themselves) that so many of their farmers are unhappy about the shackles placed upon them. They are not unhappy with their milk business contract, but why throw your weight around in areas where critical timing and flexibility is so important?

We are not suggesting that all their members sell their cull cows in markets, but they should have the option to do so if they wish. That should be a freedom Supporting British Livestock Agriculture Since 2000 for all farmers and must remain so. The open market interaction of supply and demand coupled with opportunity for vendors and purchasers underpins the stability of price in our sector; restrict it and much is lost to the ultimate security Our practices provide the of farming. following services in Kent, Supermarket consultants know this only too well and have succeeded in Sussex, Surrey & Hampshire: many areas of farming in narrowing marketing opportunity. The diversity and Routine and first opinion work Local 24 hour emergency cover independence of the beef and lamb sectors is its greatest asset. Of course, Direct line to experienced vet producers support the supermarkets either directly, through marketing groups at any time - free of charge or through livestock markets. Few, though, are going to be mad enough to say Flock and herd health planning their future lies within a world purely determined by the supermarket and its Routine fertility and scanning Milk quality monitoring consultants.

Mastitis consultancy Perhaps Arla has had a ‘supermarket’ consultant bending its ear. They are Bull and ram testing probably very clever people with experience, no doubt, in the poultry or pig Foot trimming & mobility services world. They have possibly taken secondments from UK supermarkets to work Benchmark and discussion groups Farmer education and training in factory style feed lots in South America before returning to the UK full of ambition to turn the industry on its head and destroying the stable structure of generations of farmers.

Contact your nearest practice for a FREE initial visit Farmers are, and must remain, independent, working in co-operation with Westpoint Horsham Westpoint Sevenoaks their neighbours and friends, coming together in marketing co-operatives such covering Surrey and West Sussex covering North Kent and East Sussex as Arla or combining together in their tens of thousands to use their livestock 01306 628086 01959 564383 market when it suits their business, often weekly but maybe less; certainly Westpoint Winchester Westpoint Ashford Westpoint Heathfield covering Hampshire covering East Sussex covering Kent and East Sussex always at a time of their choice.

01962 779593 01435 869047 01306 628208 Time to think again Arla; please co-operate with your industry as we are all in westpointfarmvets.co.uk it together!

westpoint farm vets

100% Farm Vets

Science

●

Commitment

●

Results

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

VET DIARY The nearer the cow is to clinical disease the more sensitive the tests become...

Infected or intermittent shedder

Infectious or “Shedder” cow

75% 30%

10% .com

February is a month of transition from dairy work to mostly beef and sheep. At Cliffe Farm Vets most of our dairy herds are autumn calving, and they now have their cows back in calf. As a consequence, routine fertility visits are winding up, with just a few mop-up routine visits after the sweeper bulls have done their job. So much of our attention inevitably turns to calving sucklers and lambing; hopefully the preparation in terms of management of ewe and cow condition, nutrition and disease control will serve our clients well.

We are increasingly screening beef herds for infectious diseases and we have had excellent uptake of free funding to search for BVD in 50 herds across the practice. This has been a useful springboard to discussing management of other infectious diseases in beef herds. As a result, we have recently engaged several beef farmers in Johne’s management plans to reduce the spread and prevalence of Johne’s Disease within their herds.

Johne’s Disease is a chronic wasting disease of adult cows, but they are usually infected with the causal bacteria in the first few months of life.

Detecting these infected animals before they become infectious in later life is very difficult, as antibody levels can remain low for years.

Johne’s Disease management in beef herds is always a difficult nettle to grasp. There is difficulty in determining prevalence in beef herds as the testing is time consuming and the perceived benefits are low. Consequently, we often only get invited to investigate when there has been a number of visible cases of wasting, scouring cows. The chronic nature

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Chance of diagnosis

Time

FEBRUARY IS A MONTH

OF TRANSITION of Johne’s means that these visible cases of “melting cows” are just the tip of the iceberg. For every animal that crashes, there are always several others which are actively shedding the bacteria and several more which are infected but not yet infectious.

The closer they get to shedding and spreading, the easier they are to detect.

One 120-strong commercial suckler herd I am working with lost seven cows (5%) in 2019 to clinical Johne’s, which visibly cost them £8,000 - £1,500 in disposal fees for worthless cows and a loss of approximately £6,500 in cull value. In addition, there will have been the ‘invisible costs’ associated with the increased incidence of disease prior to death. These include reduced fertility and lost calf performance due to reduced milk yield.

We implemented a plan to investigate and control the situation. Via blood sampling we identified 24 cows (20%) that tested positive to Johne’s last year, and although this was pretty scary to start with, we have been able to manage the situation. Through improved management, last year the farmer sold 23 of the positive cows as culls, realising their full value before they melted away to nothing. Only one of the positive cows crashed before sale and had to be disposed of.

We will continue to monitor the situation and this year we have found only six positive cows (5%).

These cows are all five to six years old, and despite being infected as calves five to six years ago, they all tested negative last year. Consequently, we need to continue annual whole herd monitoring to identify those animals that are infected, as soon as possible after they become infectious.

Johne’s disease in beef herds can be managed successfully, and crucially it can be done economically. However, you have to look for it to find it. All suckler herds should be testing thin or scouring cows as a matter of routine. In addition, screening all cull cows prior to sale is essential to establish the likely prevalence of Johne’s in the herd, without whole herd testing. Go and grasp the nettle!

NICK PILE

BVM&S MRCVS, director of Cliffe Veterinary Group T: 01273 473232 E: nick@cliffevets.co.uk www.cliffefarm.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

43

AT COLCHESTER MARKET

FANTASTIC

SHEEP TRADE

44

With this report being written just after the ‘Beast from the East 2021’ had been and gone, we still saw a fantastic sheep trade through the live markets, with old season lambs trading regularly from £130 to £150 per head with weight being no issue through the live ring.

As always there was a strong demand for handy weight lambs between 37kg and 41kg liveweight, these making the premium price per kilo, with Beltex and Texel Bred lambs at exceptional levels at over £3/kg. There were reports of numbers being short throughout the country and, with the floods and snow drifts of early February affecting supplies, demand seemed to go in one direction every week and that was up! More sheep could be sold to vendors’ advantage and there is no cut off at 21kg deadweight.

With the old season lamb trade being so dear, ewes also improved throughout the month, with plenty of Continental ewes well over £100 per head.

As always, ewes with finish but not fat met the strongest demand.

The cattle trade continued to be buoyant throughout the period, although as this report was being written in mid February there was some downward pressure on dead weights, although this was not seen in the live ring.

More cattle are required to meet demand, with buyers short every week. Best butchers’ cattle seen over 250p/kg liveweight, with any good commercial cattle well above 220p/kg. More importantly, weight is also paying, which is of course needed when you see the store cattle prices.

Reflecting fat trade, the store cattle trade continues to be as strong as previous months, with numbers totally inadequate; many more could be sold to advantage.

With farmers’ cattle yards desperately short of numbers, we are unlikely to see any change in demand; we have yet to see the effect on the trade of the new season grass, which historically means an increase in store cattle trade.

The cull cow trade is also increasing weekly, with more again required as processing meat is in very strong demand.

Animal nutrition specialist and premix manufacturer Premier Nutrition has strengthened its pig and poultry teams with two new appointments aimed at supporting farmers, feed compounders and the industry with nutritional expertise and research updates.

Commercial nutritionist for poultry Ralph Bishop has joined the team following six years' experience in nutrition roles within the compound feed sector after graduating with an MSc from the University of Plymouth.

“My new position involves supporting a base of customers made up of farmers, integrators and feed millers,” he said. “This includes everything from formulating diets to auditing support and quality control.”

Ralph explained that he particularly enjoys working directly with customers and being able to make a real difference to their businesses on a daily basis.

GRAHAM ELLIS FRICS FAAV FLAA

For and on behalf of Stanfords T: 01206 842156 E: info@stanfords-colchester.co.uk www.stanfords-colchester.co.uk Let us hope that with the anticipated relaxation, whenever that happens, of the Covid-19 regulations and opening of the hospitality trade, we will see even more demand.

In complete contrast to the sheep and cattle trade, the pig trade remained depressed and many pig producers are concerned about being able to stay in production. With the cull sow trade being almost non existent and average weight of pigs sold through the abattoirs increasing, all we are seeing is more pork being produced at a lower return price.

We need this to turn around quickly and hopefully that will happen when the better weather arrives and more processing pork can be produced for home use.

Exceptional cold and wet weather is putting a stop to normal arable land work in the Eastern Counties, with very little top dressing having been carried out and some crops beginning to suffer. Spring drilling had not started as this report was being written but hopefully this will change with better weather.

As always the uncertainty in farming is clearly apparent; that will never change, but farming being a resilient industry no doubt it will survive. At least we are seeing exceptionally good strong demand from butchers to sell through their local outlets, which is a step back in time but a very welcome one for quality livestock producers.

PIG AND POULTRY

TEAMS STRENGTHENED “This role is a fantastic challenge and I’m looking forward to being able to develop relationships with customers and apply my knowledge with the backing of an expert team at Premier,” he added.

Sam Wootton originally joined Premier in 2018 as a cross-species support nutritionist but has now been appointed as research co-ordinator for the pig team.

“Premier has four fully replicated UK trials facilities, run in partnership with farmer clients,” he said. “Two of these finish pigs from 35kg, including a new 80-pen farm opening in May 2021. The third is a growing and finishing unit and the fourth facility looks at lactation feed specifications. We also gather

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

and benchmark a lot of client performance data.

“I’ll be managing the work at these sites, weighing pigs and collating data to take away and analyse.

“We also plan to run a range of different trials, based on improving sustainability, testing out options for reducing soya use, producing more from less and considering the use of more sustainable raw ingredients.

“I hope the results will not only help producers improve their own performance, but in the long term make a difference to the bigger picture of the pig industry,” added Sam.

ADVICE FROM THE VET Production rates on farms are largely influenced by fertility and growth rates, both of which we can maximise by working alongside farmers. Common problems we encounter on farm which compromise these rates are inadequate nutrition for the stage of life, parasitism and disease. Trace elements, more specifically selenium, iodine, copper and cobalt, also play a role and may often go unnoticed due to their subclinical nature.

Animals may have single or combined deficiencies in their trace elements and may be affected at any point in life. There are, however, higher risk periods and groups for certain deficiencies. Even if the diet supplies enough of the essential minerals, interactions with the environment, disease or medication can affect the uptake or use of these elements. We can establish if your livestock are receiving adequate levels and detect deficiency before it presents itself clinically.

Clinical trace element deficiencies present in a number of ways. One example, an approach to poor weight gain, is depicted below. If you can rule out insufficient energy intake and disease as causes for reduced growth rates, you should consider trace element deficiencies. Other clinical signs may lead you to think one element deficiency is more likely

SELENIUM

Selenium plays a major role in the immune system and in resistance to infectious diseases. It is found in pasture, plants and forage and these levels can vary greatly between regions and seasons. Subclinical consequences are reduced submission and conception rates, early embryonic deaths, increased retained foetal membranes and the birth of weak or stillborn neonates. A general ill-thrift may suggest an issue with selenium, with slow growth and poor production proving costly.

Supplementation is necessary in these animals, whether injectable or oral. A clinical consequence of selenium deficiency is white muscle disease, typically seen in young lambs, which affects the skeletal, cardiac and respiratory muscles.

Unfortunately, this condition results in death, as does mulberry heart disease in piglets.

IODINE

Iodine deficiency may be due to deficient soils or ingestion of legumes and brassicas. As with selenium deficiency, a lack can result in fertility issues because iodine is crucial to ovarian function.

You may experience high perinatal mortality rates or still-borns on farm, in addition to retained foetal membranes. Clinically an individual may have an enlarged thyroid gland. Supplying minerals, boluses or treating the water or pasture may be suggested to those who experience iodine deficiencies in their livestock.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

HOW TO SPEND OR SAVE

ON TRACE ELEMENTS POOR WEIGHT GAIN

ARE THEY BEING FED ENOUGH?

CHECK NUTRITIONAL INTAKE IS SUITABLE FOR AGE, TIME OF LACTATION/GESTATION

RULE OUT DISEASE

PARASITISM; DENTAL DISEASE LAMENESS; INFECTIOUS DISEASE

ARE THEY SICC?

ARE THERE OTHER SIGNS THAT SUPPORT THIS?

SELENIUM

IODINE

COPPER

COPPER

A copper deficiency can present itself clinically in a variety of ways. It may be caused by deficient pastures or the antagonising effect of sulphur or molybdenum in the soil. Because an important role of copper is in the formation of nerves as well as collagen, insufficient levels of this trace element can lead to a condition called swayback, with animals displaying weak or paralysed hindlimbs and a poor prognosis. Coat discolouration, the appearance of spectacles around the eyes and diarrhoea may also result. Sub-clinically, reduced fertility rates can be experienced, along with anaemia in untreated animals. Copper supplementation is widely available.

COBALT

Cobalt is essential to glucose production and energy and is therefore required for any process in the body. A deficiency can lead to a whole host of clinical signs involving the hair, skin, and nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Clinically affected animals may be small in stature with poor appetite, may be lethargic and show general ill-thrift, with

OLIVIA CASEY

Bsc (Hons) BVetMed MRCVS

COBALT

nervous signs in severe cases. Sub-clinically they may develop anaemia and be more susceptible to parasitism. Cobalt is a component of vitamin B12, so treatment with this can help kickstart glucose production. Boluses or drenches can provide cobalt too.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

We can help to assess the likelihood of a trace element deficiency on farm and run blood tests to confirm this. The advantage of this is that you can assess the levels of multiple trace elements in one hit, which is useful as deficiencies can be linked. For example, a selenium deficiency can lead to an iodine deficiency, as well as being associated with lack of storage and retention of copper.

The same bloods can be used to screen for diseases such as leptospirosis, Johne’s, IBR and BVD. We can liaise with laboratories to advise you on the best course of action and direct you to the best treatment. It is important to prevent these issues occurring further down the line to improve production rates and avoid unnecessary treatments or inappropriate overdosing.

If you would to discuss anything covered in this article contact your local Westpoint practice

ANDY RICHMOND KATHY HUME

Westpoint Horsham Westpoint Ashford T: 01306 628086 T: 01306 628208 E: info@westpointfarmvets.co.uk

EMILY OZOLS JACK BALKHAM

Westpoint Sevenoaks T: 01959 564383

www.westpointfarmvets.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

45

NICK ADAMES WEST SUSSEX DIARY

CHECK DEMANDS CAREFULLY NICK ADAMES

> Owen Thomas’ drilling rig at work

Former dairy farmer

46

Back in early January an email arrived which struck me as a potential scam, not least because we get so many of them these days. It was from a body asking for a fee from us, and presumably similar companies, for ‘storing data’. They demanded payment almost immediately. No invoice, no clear explanatory letter, it appeared a classic scam. I sent it to my accountant and asked him what he knew about it. He said it ‘looked genuine’ and said he would check, but I heard no more, so I gave it to Emma to investigate.

Whether a scam or not, it appeared to be another ‘government body on the make’; to get yet more cash out of businesses for doing something we were actually being instructed to do, not because we wanted or needed to store the data.

Emma straightaway confirmed: “Yes,” it had indeed come from the Government. So we went through the online conditions, came to the conclusion that they didn’t apply to us and sent a message to that effect, which they formally acknowledged, via their webpage. Matter hopefully closed. Although

they were only asking for some £40 a year it was just one more valueless outgoing. All the £40 payments soon add up, don’t they?

Many of you running businesses have probably had the same thing. I’m sure you check such demands carefully. Many of the matters we are told to do electronically could indeed result in downloading data but, in most instances, I imagine, much is then printed or deleted as irrelevant, rather than downloaded.

We store no data which the law doesn’t already require us to. Accountants, agents, or lawyers handle the rest. My thoughts being that if government requires us to store data, why should we pay to do their work? I expect you are thinking: “He’s a difficult b…..!” Probably, but only if you come in ‘enforcement’ mode!

Without any cattle now, we are well ahead of ourselves this year. Emma has been doing contract work for the vineyard as others erect the wirework trellis/ frames for the first 50,000 vines planted last May. It’s a huge job but with greatly www.otdrilling.co.uk www.otdrilling.co.uk improved systems, using metal supports as opposed to wood so that costs, while initially higher, are greatly reduced, and the framework should last many years.

They are also slowly mechanising the bulk of all vineyard operations, thus greatly reducing the need for extra labour. That’s just as well, because the availability of good European workers is much reduced since the virus hit.

I imagine specialist vineyard machinery sales will be growing fast and, one hopes, much of it will be British made. Initial signs are that developments are rapidly gaining momentum.

Up to Scotland, where I am informed, since it has been quite difficult to cross the border recently, tree planting is under way. It’s frustrating to be barred by the virus from seeing this all taking place, so instead I rely on progress reports from the agents there, Scottish Woodlands, and from neighbours Donald and Nell MacBean, whose cottage nestles below the main forest and has an excellent view of all comings and goings on the land.

Donald shoots the forest for pheasants, deer, foxes and corvids and will soon be operating as well on the new land which, amongst other things, has a n Water Well Drillers large disused water reservoir where he and some friends have had some good ■ Water Well Drillers wildfowl ‘flighting’ (geese and duck). Nell herself has a handful of rare Scottish n Geothermal Boreholes ■ Geothermal Boreholes Deerhounds, which she shows around the North Country. Due to the virus rules n Deep Bore Soakaways ■ Deep Bore Soakaways this has been considerably restricted, but the dogs need exercising, so between n Site Investigation these interests the pair are kept very busy.

Talking about water reservoirs, we finally got around to testing the borehole Call us or email us for a free quote and geological survey Tel: 01622 884944 / 07970 782581 site which the late George Applegate identified for me 10 years ago here on the e-mail:enquiries@otdrilling.co.uk Tel: 01622 884944 Mobile: 07970 782581 home farm.

Email: enquiries@otdrilling.co.uk 07 052 14 mailer A5.indd 1

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

18/07/2014 11:20

ORGANISED CHAOS ANITA HEAD

Thank goodness we are now (hopefully) past the worst of the weather. Having been carting buckets of water during the recent snow spell, I can say I shall look forward to the lighter evenings and warmer weather that we hope will make an appearance soon. Hopefully by the time you read this the fertiliser will be on the grass and silaging will be on the distant radar.

Life on the farm continues at great speed.

A hole in my wellies was proving to be a large issue recently and it would appear I picked the wrong time to buy wellies. The local store seems to have sold out and a search on the internet couldn’t find any. The supply comes from Europe and the issue appears to be that they are unable to import any at this time. The same applies to exporting hay and straw; the UK government say we need an animal health certificate and Europe says we need a plant health certificate.

Wrapped hay and straw appeared on the Brexit agreement but apparently DEFRA didn’t realise that the UK exported naked hay and straw. Until the governments can agree, we are facing the unfortunate scenario of being unable to export hay and straw. The ability to export hay and straw to the continent is imperative, especially in the south of England, where we rely heavily on this trade.

With many European dealers already securing their next year’s supply of hay and straw from Denmark, Sweden, Germany etc it seems incredibly difficult to see, without lightning action from the UK government to resolve this, that there will be a continued strong hay and straw trade next season at all. This will have a huge impact on the price of

ANITA HEAD Farmer

HUGE IMPACT ON

MENTAL HEALTH straw. We have all enjoyed fortuitous pricing this year due to the lack of yield, but when the tables are turned it may go from a lack of yield to a lack of customers.

Another lockdown birthday has been celebrated.

Ted, aka “Chubby”, turned four. Where has the time gone? He starts full time school in September and we shall need all the strength we have to persuade him that school is an essential life skill and that Ashford market will still be there when he finishes.

Loading and unloading calves is the highlight of the week.

I have just read an article published by the University of Reading on farmers and their mental health during the pandemic. It looked at the experiences and challenges that farmers face and how the charities are dealing with and providing support during these challenging times. They also studied how DEFRA and other government bodies can better target support for farmers and rural communities in times of crisis. Farming can be a rather lonely occupation at times and even more so when you come under financial pressure. Having someone to talk to and run ideas past can make the world of difference.

Working long hours, often in isolation in a stressful job, seems to affect four out of five farmers or farm workers, according to RABI. This past year, under pandemic conditions, seems to have had a huge impact on the mental health of farmers and workers alike. With some of the key social events cancelled (on-farm demos, ploughing matches, agricultural shows and the pub), it has highlighted the major part

I have for a long time thought it would be prudent to have our own supply, for several reasons, but had been held back by stories that several bores sunk locally had produced brackish/salty water of variable quality, unlike the pure samples from higher up on the Downs. When I suggested this to George, though, he assured me this site was ‘good’ and that the water, instead of being 80m down, would be found little deeper than 20m; so, 10 years later, the decision was finally made.

I contacted George’s earlier nominated borehole driller, Owen Thomas of OT Drilling from Sittingbourne, who did the earlier successful drill on the hill farm.

A very efficient operator is Owen. The accuracy they can drill to is amazing and the earlier result up there was exactly as George predicted.

The Friday the rig arrived we would have found a wonderful supply of water at around one metre, such were the saturated ground conditions… The team appeared with the same rig as earlier, we carefully cut some overhead branches off a large ‘London plane’ for safe access, Owen positioned it and set it up ready.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

that these events form in a farmer’s calendar.

The effects are expected to have a time delay on many farmers and workers. Many charities now find themselves stretched to the limit and have been inundated with calls for help. Their helplines are open every day 7am till 11pm. These charities have also lost a huge part of their income due to not being able to fundraise.

There are, of course, many other charities that deserve a mention. When we are eventually allowed to socialise and interact with our fellow farming friends, please remember to support these charities that have done so much to help the industry through these torrid times.

www.fcn.org.uk give pastoral and practical farming support.

www.yanahelp.org give help for all those involved in farming and rural business affected by stress and depression.

www.rabi.org.uk provide financial support to farming families of all ages facing hardship.

I had not seen him for some nine years, but he knew our area like the back of his hand, having previously drilled bores locally.

Drilling took two days, through about ten metres of sandy clay, flints and finally solid chalk; the drill was encased at 20m within six inch steel tube into the solid chalk, then just an uncased bore for another 10m, with the pump set two metres from the bottom of the steel casing. It will be pumped off till it runs clean then sent for testing. Much holding of breath, while hoping George was right about purity, because were it to be saline, it would be money and effort wasted. As I write this on 10 February, Owen Thomas and his crew are departing to snowy Kent, so fingers crossed.

And finally, while it won’t appeal like Lady Chatterley’s Lover once did, there will be bits of my new book that will resonate with many country people. It’s not written to be a best seller but records the latter 20 years of a still-working farmer’s life. The book is available through me for £13 (£2 per sale donated to RABI) by emailing hamletpublishing20@gmail.com

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

47

SARAH CALCUTT FOCUS ON FRUIT

BUILDING THE WHOLESALE

MARKET OF THE FUTURE

48

It’s all systems go at London’s New Covent Garden Market, and despite a turbulent past 10 months due to Covid-19, the market is really looking to the future. There is great collaboration between the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) and the market’s traders, which is paving the way for a wholesale venue for the future, and some of the successes it has seen over the past year offer a glimpse into the positive future it holds as a food hub for London.

There are more than 150 wholesalers based at the market, offering everything from British-grown greens and seasonal fruit to specially cultivated tomatoes and the very best British asparagus. New Covent Garden Market has long been a trusted supplier of top-quality fresh produce for London’s fine dining restaurants, greengrocers, cafes, staff canteens and beyond. With many of the traders recently diversifying their businesses and introducing new direct-to-consumer delivery options, the CGMA team has been supporting tenants in a number of ways, including a really good marketing campaign driving the growth of the weekly box scheme. There is now a myriad of products (including house plants for the home working environment) being delivered straight to doorsteps.

Last year marked a new chapter for the market, with the CGMA and the Covent Garden Tenants’ Association (CGTA) reaching a final agreement about the redevelopment of the market. This was a hugely positive moment in the history of New Covent Garden

SARAH CALCUTT Executive Chair, National Fruit Show

Market and one from which I know those of you who deal with wholesalers based on the market will benefit.

The agreement has meant that phase two of the market’s redevelopment is now well underway, and the plans are really impressive. Work started in 2013 and is due to be completed by 2026. The redevelopment will deliver 500,000 sq. ft of modern market facilities, including a purpose-built food trade warehouse and a beautiful, temperature-controlled flower market.

The market site will occupy 37 acres of land at the end of the redevelopment, with surplus land being transformed into a high quality residential neighbourhood comprising 3,000 new homes as well as retail and leisure facilities for the local Nine Elms community. The plans have already seen the opening of the Food Exchange, a collaborative office space for some of the brightest minds in food, and Mission Kitchen, a commercial kitchen workspace for food entrepreneurs. In the years to come chefs, caterers, independent cafe owners and London locals will be flooding to Nine Elms to enjoy some of the capital’s best fresh produce-focused food culture.

Leading the redevelopment is a restructured

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

CGMA team, headed by Chairman of the Board David Frankish, truly impressive in the chair and a thoroughly nice man too. A major team reshuffle in September 2020 saw the creation of seven new roles.

Each has specific responsibilities to help improve communication across the market, identify new revenue streams and provide the traders with added expertise to help them build their businesses. There is a bright, non-executive director board supporting the new, excellent senior management team (well, with one fruit focused exception…). It has been really exciting being a part of the board, supporting the ongoing negotiations and dealing with the twin pains of Brexit and Covid-19 and the effects they continue to wreak on marketing business. It’s a well-constructed group of people with excellent knowledge that will help New Covent Garden Market in the years ahead.

It’s clear that New Covent Garden Market has much to look forward to, and access to state-ofthe-art facilities will transform it from a historical fresh produce and cut flower market to a market for the future. Some of the forward-thinking changes the market has made in the past year will not only safe-proof it in these turbulent times we’re living through but will also cement its place as a lynchpin of London’s hospitality and food scene. I can’t wait for it to be easier to take visitors to the site; so much has changed already and so much is planned.

FRUIT

LECTURES IN The first in a new series of annual lectures named in honour of an inspirational figure in the world of fruit will be held at the Marden Fruit Show Society’s (MFSS) annual meeting on 14 April.

The first James Nicholls Lecture will be held in memory of the former chair of trade body English Apples & Pears, who died in 2009.

The MFSS says the lecture will aim to harness James’ “ethos of collaboration, engagement and holistic thinking”. It will see Professor Louise Manning, Director of Knowledge Exchange at the Royal Agricultural University, discussing

ADVICE FOR FUTURE PEARENTS

British Apples and Pears has teamed up with leading nutritionist Lily Soutter to persuade expectant mothers that pears are one of the best foods to consume during pregnancy in order to give baby a well-nourished start in life.

Soutter explained: “Pears are low in calories and have high nutritional value, which is essential for the development of > Lily Soutter a healthy pregnancy. The regular peak in births in late September indicates the biggest pregnancy boom is at the start of the year, making it a perfect season to enjoy more pears.”

Pears are also an excellent source of dietary fibre, with just one pear providing 20% of an adult’s daily fibre requirement. Fibre is crucial for digestive health, which can be sluggish during pregnancy.

Soutter explained: “Pears are a tasty way for expectant mothers to consume vital nutrients such as potassium, folate, vitamin C and vitamin K, all of which, alongside a nourishing diet, contribute to our daily requirements.

Pears also provide an array of antioxidants which lie within the skin. It’s important to enjoy the skin of a pear as well as the flesh, as peeling the skin has been shown to result in a 25% loss of these beneficial plant chemicals.”

She added that a healthy balanced diet throughout pregnancy was important to help the baby develop and grow, with mothers needing to pay special attention to nutrients such as iron, omega-3 fatty acids and folate.

“When introducing your baby to solids, pears are a great fruit to try in the early stages of weaning,” she said, adding that the fruit should be peeled for young babies.

Ali Capper, Executive Chair of British Apples and Pears, said: “Britain has the perfect climate to grow delicious pears, which are readily available in supermarkets across the UK, all year round. There has never been a more important time to incorporate healthy foods into our diets, and this is especially important for pregnant women who need to closely monitor the foods they consume for their own health and for their baby’s.”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

HONOUR OF AN

INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE how the fruit industry can work together to make a positive impact on the nation’s health.

“James did a huge amount of work to effect change and raise the profile of the industry,” said the National Fruit Show’s executive chair Sarah Calcutt. “A lot of people miss him, and we wanted to do something to remember him and how he inspired change and made a difference. He was also a huge supporter of the National Fruit Show.”

Sarah said the new lecture tied into MFSS’s aim of helping share knowledge among both the fruit industry and the wider public. She said the society was continuing its valuable educational programme, run by Sam Smith and supported by sponsors AC Goatham & Son and Avalon Produce.

“The programme reaches thousands of schoolchildren from early years up to key stage four and provides a range of materials and even the opportunity for Scouts to work towards their environmental and healthy eating badges,” said Sarah.

“New developments in the programme include virtual-reality footage of crop picking and an orchard fly-by, offering the chance for children otherwise unable to visit a farm to enjoy the experience and learn about British production.”

Better people Best placed SEASONAL LABOUR PLACEMENT tm ui

u t.e en

0 6 78 9 1227 8 |0

ag re cr

> James Nicholls receiving the 2008 Worshipful Company of Fruiterers Ridley medal for services to the fruit industry

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

49

Legal services for farmers & rural businesses Call us today or visit our website:

01227 763939 furleypage.co.uk

SOLAR FARM CONTRACTS NEED CAREFUL CONSIDERATION

50

Rising green energy demand is bringing a new wave of solar-related opportunities for farmers and landowners, but the devil is in the detail when it comes to contracts, a leading land agency has warned.

Farmers are well placed to benefit from solar site demand, and infrastructure upgrades mean that projects that have previously been thwarted by lack of grid capacity may now be able to go ahead, explained Lauren Gibson-Green, Head of Energy at Strutt & Parker.

But with rental agreements lasting for up to 40 years, she said it was vital

Supporting the rural community for over 230 years We have a real commitment to the rural sector, providing responsive and accessible legal advice to farmers, producers and their suppliers.

If your business needs help with: • Contracts and transactions • Diversification • Property purchase and lease negotiation • Equine law • Employment If you would like help with: • Family law and divorce • Residential conveyancing • Tax planning and trusts • Wills and estate administration

Contact us today Canterbury 01227 643250 Maidstone 01622 698000 Tenterden 01580 765722 enquiries@whitehead-monckton.co.uk www.whitehead-monckton.co.uk Whitehead Monckton Limited (no. 08366029), registered in England & Wales.

Registered office 5 Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3EN Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 608279.

SEF1220

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

that when dealing with a developer, landowners put themselves in as strong a position as possible from the outset.

“Landowners are currently being approached by developers or third party ‘site finders’ offering attractive deals in an attempt to secure sizeable parcels of land, typically 60 to 120 hectares, to build large, up to typically 50 MW arrays, which give developers economy of scale,” she said.

“Contact details are often acquired via the Land Registry, which means enquiries don’t always go to the main decision maker, and even when they do, details about exactly what is being offered can be rather vague and somewhat speculative.

“Letters may suggest land is ‘suitable for a solar farm’ and ask that individuals sign an exclusivity agreement and/or letter of authority allowing them to apply for a connection to the local electricity grid.

“But before agreeing to anything, it is essential to step back, think carefully about what is being offered and seek professional advice. It is all too easy to sign up to something that looks good on the outside but then discover hidden caveats and costs, or find you could have negotiated a better deal in the first place.

“Many farmers are good negotiators, but the solar energy sector is far removed from traditional farming and estate ownership, so it almost always pays to seek specialist advice and find out whether that deal really is ‘too good to be true’.”

She said while some landowners had been offered a guaranteed, indexlinked rent of £600/acre for 40 years, which sounded attractive compared with the £150 to 200/acre from a farm business tenancy, other agreements were nearer £950/acre plus an additional payment if batteries were installed or could be in the future.

She added that with solar panel technology and efficiency improving all the time it was also worth negotiating an additional percentage payment linked to gross annual income from the scheme.

“If solar is the right option, avoid the temptation to sign up to the first person that comes knocking on the door. Landowners with suitable sites and close proximity of land to a local grid with available capacity are in a relatively strong negotiating position, so it pays to ‘shop around’,” said Lauren.

“Using a consultant offers a significant advantage in this respect, as we know the market and regularly work with a range of developers we know and trust, so can help you find the best deal and conduct the necessary due diligence on the companies involved. In most cases developers will also pay the consultancy and legal fees for new projects.”

LEGAL

LAND RIGHTS AND THE IMPORTANCE

For any land owner, effective land management is an ongoing consideration. Many of the broader public issues surrounding land management feature heavily in the press, for example the recent summary of responses to DEFRA’s Environmental Land Management scheme. With the spotlight on the broader issues, landowners should remember to consider the equally important private rights issues that can impact them as part of their day-to-day land management strategy.

OF PROFITS A PRENDRE

WHAT RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS AFFECT MY LAND?

The rights and obligations relating to land use and ownership are complex.

The Law Commission has previously identified that more than three quarters of all freehold properties are affected by one or more rights, including easements, covenants and profits a prendre. To differentiate: • An easement relates to a right to use another person’s land e.g. a right of way • A covenant is a contractual promise to do or not do something upon the land e.g. not to build on the land • Profits a prendre is the right to take something from another person’s land that can be owned e.g. the soil, timber, fish.

Profits a prendre are less well known than easements and covenants, but they are just as important. There are different types of profits a prendre, depending on the ownership of the land and who enjoys the profit; this can be a sole person (excluding the landowner) or a number of people including the landowner.

The latter, known as a ‘profit in common’, should not be confused with rights of common for the purposes of the Commons Registration Act 1965, which relates to common rather than private land. Rights of common are likely to be one of the following, as listed by the Land Registry in its Practice Guide 16: • Rights of pasture (including cattlegates or beastgates – rights to pasture a specified number of animals) • Rights of pannage (to turn out pigs to eat acorns etc) • Rights of turbary (turf cutting) • Rights of estover (to collect wood) • Rights of piscary (fishing) • Rights of common in the soil (to take stone, gravel etc).

• there was a period of at least 20 years’ use • the use of the profit was enjoyed for 20 years by the person claiming the profit, or by their predecessors. However, the person claiming the profit cannot take into account any time during which a stranger had exercised the profit prior to them • the right was exercised without force, secrecy or permission • the right claimed is not a customary right.

The rights can be given for all time, or by way of a lease for a certain duration or for a specified period, for example, certain weeks or months each year.

WHY DO I NEED TO BE AWARE OF PROFITS A PRENDRE? At its most simple, having clear oversight of what is happening on your land means that you can ensure that it is managed correctly and in line with regulations. Taking stock of the rights which you have given over your land or are exercising over someone else’s land will enable you to ensure that these rights are properly documented and that all Land Registry requirements have been fully complied with.

From a strategic perspective, it is worth considering the use of profits a prendre for financial gain. Selling the rights to your land can be a worthwhile investment – but this will depend on the type of profit a prendre, as mentioned earlier. Similarly, it is important to keep up to date with what is happening on your land so that you don’t unintentionally find yourself in a situation where profits a prendre are created by prescription, if this is something you want to avoid.

Used properly, profits a prendre can be an important and sometimes profitable part of your business strategy. However, the law governing them is ancient and complex and the type of profit a prendre is dependent on a number of different criteria. Before making any decisions about land rights, you should always seek professional legal advice.

HOW IS A PROFIT A PRENDRE CREATED?

Broadly speaking, profits a prendre can be created expressly, by agreement between the land owner and the recipient of the profit, or by prescription, where the right is acquired through long usage. Where the right being claimed is through prescription, a similar test such as the one relating to easements is used. Evidence will need to be produced to the Land Registry which establishes that:

ALLIS BEASLEY

Partner, Brachers LLP T: 01622 776454 E: allisbeasley@brachers.co.uk www.brachers.co.uk

Helping our agricultural community to thrive and grow Legal services which deliver long-term solutions to support the future of farming Call us on 01622 690691 Visit us at brachers.co.uk

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

51

A 3

PLAN SHED 1 - ROOF PLAN

ELEVATION SHED 2 - SIDE ELEVATION

B

SCALE 1: 100

ELEVATION SHED 2 - FRONT ELEVATION

SCALE 1: 100

SCALE 1: 100

ELEVATION

A FAMILY BATHROOM

SHED 1 - FRONT ELEVATION

LAUNDRY ROOM

pond.

BEDROOM 3

DOWN

BEDROOM 2

C WALK IN WARDROBE

ELEVATION

D

SCALE 1: 100

SHED 2 - SIDE ELEVATION

ELEVATION SHED 2 - REAR ELEVATION

SCALE 1: 100

BEDROOM 4 MASTER BEDROOM BEDROOM 5

Bat Box

Chestnut post MASTER EN SUITE and rail fencing to boundary

BEDROOM 6

Bat Box

APPROX 166sqm footprint

2

PLAN SCALE 1: 100

SHED 1 - FIRST FLOOR PLAN

Proposed Soft Landscaping

ELEVATION

B

SHED 1 - SIDE ELEVATION

2

UP

WC

STUDY/OFFICE

PLAN SHED 2 - ROOF PLAN

SCALE 1: 100

ENTRANCE HALL Cpd.

GARAGE

Sheepfold

Gravel Surface

Garage

LIVING AREA

KITCHEN

DINING AREA

Bat Box

Bat Box

UTILITY ROOM

APPROX 199sqm footprint

1

PLAN SHED 1 - GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SCALE 1: 100

1

PLAN SHED 2 - GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SCALE 1: 100

SCALE 1:100

C

ELEVATION

0m

1

2

5

10

SHED 1 - REAR ELEVATION

FOR DISCUSSION PLANNING SCALE 1:100 0m Job

1

2

Hawkhurst Place Oast, Rye Road, Hawkhurst TN18 5DA

ELEVATION

D

0m

1

APR 2019

Date

A - Render to Cladding & Bat Boxes B - Window Elevation B Shed 1

Drawn

C - Site Plan removed

Drawing

1908-04C

PLANNING PROPOSED PLANS - SHED 1 and 2 2

5

10

10 Revisions

As Noted @ A1

Client

SIDE ELEVATION

SCALE 1:100

5 Scale

HW

Drawing No

Contact:

Battle Haywards Heath Pulborough Tunbridge Wells

01424 236145 01444 415151 01798 877501 01892 502840

Letting your property?

Contact us for our free help guide to stress free letting batchellermonkhouse.com/lettings

RESIDENTIAL AND GRASSLAND FARM BRENCHLEY | KENT

OIEO £1,150,000

BTF Partnership has launched for sale Milking Pail Farm, a residential and grassland holding with a good range of modern agricultural buildings arranged around a concrete yard with 52.7 acres of hedge/fence enclosed pasture fields. The farm is located near Brenchley in Kent and is being offered for sale with a guide price inviting offers in excess of £1,150,000. A further 9.7 acres is available as a separate lot, for which offers in excess of £100,000 are being invited.

Located in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and seven miles from Royal Tunbridge Wells, the single storey farmhouse measuring 1,423 sq ft was converted in 2013/14 from the original milking parlour and has three bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms.

The land is divided into hedge/fence enclosed fields with a block of native broadleaf woodland extending to approximately 10 acres plus additional woodland shaws, including one with a pond.

The outbuildings are located in a concrete yard

i

52.7 ACRES

53

and consist of a five-bay concrete frame barn measuring 107ft x 74ft and a five-bay steel frame cattle shed measuring 100ft x 44ft.

Lot 2 extends to approximately 9.7 acres and comprises a single parcel of pasture with a triangular shaped block of native broadleaved woodland extending to around one acre.

Tim Crundwell at BTF Partnership commented:

“This is a good-sized holding in a rural but accessible area of the High Weald and it offers a good opportunity for those looking for a lifestyle change or wishing to expand their existing farming enterprise. Only a limited number of farms have been openly marketed during the past 12 months and I anticipate that this one will attract interest from a wide range of buyers.”

www.btfpartnership.co.uk/property/cuckoo-lane-brenchley-tonbridge/

P O T TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

K C PI

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

LAND AND FARMS

BECKLEY | OXFORDSHIRE

54

OIEO £7 MILLION

A barn conversion with links dating back to the Roman period sits at the centre of Wadley, an impressive 377-acre agricultural estate near Beckley, Oxfordshire.

Accessed from a sweeping driveway lined by oak trees, the stone barn conversion provides 5,824 sq ft of family accommodation over three floors. Facing south, the property looks out to a large paved courtyard with extensive rural views, while to the rear lies a walled rose garden, barbeque area, tennis court and studio space. The barn was converted by the current owners into a substantial six bedroom family home providing immaculate, modern open plan

377 ACRES

EXCEPTIONAL

OXFORDSHIRE ESTATE living with period features and far-reaching views of the county.

The estate extends to over 377 acres, including 287 acres of arable farmland, currently farmed under a contract farming agreement,

woodland and an established shoot. There is also a rear access drive for agricultural vehicles and deliveries.

The farm is being marketed by Savills for offers in excess of £7million.

P O T MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

K C PI

Knockholt, Kent

LD

LE

SO

SA A ring-fenced parcel of agricultural land with woodland shaws and ponds

Grade II Listed farmhouse with farm buildings and licensed caravan site

In all approx. 30.46 acres

In all approx. 87 acres

In all approx. 21 acres

Challock Office

FO

R

Brightling, E. Sussex

LD

Nr Brenchley, Kent

Winchelsea, E. Sussex Mixture of arable and pasture land sold in 4 lots

4-bed farmhouse and 2-bed converted oast house with unconverted Sussex barn

2/3-bed farmhouse with p/p to replace. Outbuildings, pasture & Woodland

3-bed converted milking parlour with modern agricultural outbuildings

In all approx. 15.11 acres

In all approx. 10 acres

In all approx. 62.3 acres

Heathfield Office

Challock Office

LE

SO

SA

LD

LE

Challock Office

SO

Challock Office

Frant, E. Sussex

R

Equestrian smallholding with buildings (one with p/p for conversion) & paddock land

SA

1.31 acres allocated in the Sevenoaks District Council Local Plan for 21 dwellings

Faversham, Kent

R

4-bed house with part converted agricultural building

Benenden, Kent

FO

Sevenoaks, Kent

FO

FO

R

SO

SA

LD

LE

Land & Property Experts

Heathfield Office

Heathfield Office

In all approx. 96 acres Heathfield Office

Nr Mayfield, E. Sussex 4-bedroom farmhouse with barn for conversion, pasture, woodland & lakes In all approx. 77 acres Heathfield Office

Christopher Linton Buying Agent

T 01233 740077/ 07423 656274 E christopher.linton@btfpartnership.co.uk

www.btfpartnership.co.uk E heathfield@btfpartnership.co.uk E challock@btfpartnership.co.uk

T 01435 864455 T 01233 740077

LD

Our property search service is available to those ready to buy and is led by Christopher Linton, who has nearly thirty years’ experience of buying, negotiating and selling all types of property across Kent & Sussex. Christopher’s indepth knowledge, attention to detail and understanding of the market along with his down to earth and straight forward approach, will provide retained clients with the experience and expertise to buy with confidence.

SO

FO

R

SA

LE

BTF Finders Property Search and Acquisition

Meopham, Kent 4-bed Grade II Listed house with timber framed barn with residential planning consent In all approx. 3.37 acres Challock Office

LAND AND FARMS ASH | KENT

GUIDE PRICE: £1,850,000

1.31 ACRES

FORMER NURSERY SITE WITH

SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL

56

BTF Partnership has launched Oast House Nursery in Ash, near Sevenoaks, for sale with a guide price of £1,850,000. The site consists of a four-bedroom detached oast house with a detached former agricultural building with prior approval for conversion into a residential dwelling, (part developed) and a former nursery site, stables and land of which 1.31 acres has been allocated in the Sevenoaks District Council Local Plan for 21 dwellings.

Oast House Nursery extends in total to 2.58 acres and would allow the incoming purchaser a range of opportunities, whether for residential development, equestrian use, nursery use or general residential amenity.

The Oast House has its own individual access, ample off-road parking and lawned gardens to the front and rear and measures 1,631 sq ft internally, with modern and spacious accommodation throughout.

The agricultural building has the benefit of prior approval for conversion into a residential dwelling under Class Q Permitted Development, with the majority of the structural and conversion works already undertaken.

This dwelling would provide four double bedrooms with open-plan

i

accommodation on the ground floor in a good plot area.

The stables, tack room and paddock land extends to 1.04 acres and is situated to the west of the former nursery site and oast house. There is access for a horse box directly off the public highway along with consent for the erected stables and equestrian use.

The remainder of the site is a former nursery with Solspan glass house, large twin span Clovis-Lande poly tunnel storage buildings, workshop and numerous smaller sheds/polytunnels. Approximately 1.31 acres was allocated in the Sevenoaks District Local Plan for 21 dwellings under reference H0402.

The village of Ash has a good range of local facilities and nearby road and rail links to central London and beyond.

Alex Cornwallis at BTF Partnership commented: “This is a very interesting site in a much sought-after location with a number of possible uses for an incoming owner, either as a whole or to be divided to reflect the different residential permissions. I anticipate there will be significant interest from a range of potential owners.”

www.btfpartnership.co.uk/property/oast-house-nursery-ash-road-ash-sevenoaks-2/

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

FARMLAND VALUES EXPECTED TO HOLD FIRM

Now could be the right time for farmers thinking of retirement to put their farm on the market – with pent up demand and farmland’s reputation as a “safe haven” for investment during volatile times offering opportunities to both buyers and sellers.

According to the latest Savills Farmland Values Survey, farmland prices in the South East of England remained remarkably resilient in 2020 and were largely unaffected by wider economic uncertainty.

However, for the second consecutive year supply was at a record low and pent up demand coupled with greater political stability is expected to ensure prices hold firm.

Chris Spofforth, Savills head of farm agency in the South East, said: “In terms of buyers there will continue to be farmers who want to expand their enterprise and seek opportunities for further investment, so best-in-class commercial farms will likely remain in high demand.

“The appetite for lifestyle and residential farms also looks set to last. The latest lockdown only seems to have reaffirmed people’s desire to move and those with the financial security to do so will continue to be on the lookout for properties with more space and access to the countryside.

“However the real opportunity will be for buyers looking to demonstrate an awareness of the environment. Whether rewilding, woodland or habitat creation, the idea of natural capital and biodiversity net gain is starting to gather momentum and is already high on the political agenda in the new Agriculture Act and Environmental Land Management scheme.

“The concept of ‘polluter pays’ will encourage more and more businesses and organisations to look at farmland and the environmental benefits it can provide as a way to offset their carbon footprint. It’s likely to become a very competitive market and one that people should start to seriously consider if they want to get ahead of the rush.

“As a result, I think if you’re a farmer who is considering retirement then now is a good time to weigh up your options.

“At the moment there is a large pool of very committed, motivated and active buyers who are willing to invest. Couple that with very little land actually coming to market and there is considerable pent up demand. There are also potentially changes to capital taxes coming down the road which could affect the amount sellers receive net of tax.

“If one compares wheat prices to land prices across the last 30 years, the former has barely changed while the latter has increased fivefold. The market has remained incredibly robust. Prices continue to hold firm and are almost as strong as they have ever been in relative terms.”

According to the Savills survey – which tracks sales over 50 acres – just 83,900 acres of farmland were brought to the public market in England in 2020, 5% less than the previous year’s 88,000 acres and the lowest since Savills started tracking the farmland market in 1993.

Meanwhile, average values across all land classes in England increased in the 12 months up to December 2020, with the ‘all types’ indicator price up 0.8% to £7,408 per acre. Average prime arable and Grade 3 arable values were up around 1% at £8,874 and £7,828 respectively, while average livestock land increased by 0.7% to £6,200 per acre.

Chris continued: “Location, land type, sector exposure and local market dynamics are all expected to strengthen as market drivers over the coming years and will continue to result in a large range of prices achieved either side of average indicators.

“Furthermore the fundamentals that have historically underpinned the sector’s performance should strengthen – shortage of supply, demand from competing land uses and a thriving consolidated rural sector.”

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

Bespoke Planning Advice

for your planning journey

Now recruiting!

Seeking a rural planner or surveyor for Cranbrook

www.therpp.co.uk CRANBROOK 01580 201888

CIRENCESTER 01285 323200

office@therpp.co.uk

Retaining History.

Chartered Town Planner

0345 340 5215 acorus.co.uk

The conversion of agricultural buildings to residential use, and in particular more modern buildings, has come under much criticism since the adoption of Class Q Permitted Development Rights. It is evident though through recent television programmes such as Grand Designs for example, that there are significant benefits and in many cases the history of the buildings retained.

Depicted is one of many cases that Acorus has been actively involved.

From an initial instruction to consider the diversification options and feasibility of utilising a range of mixed buildings, we proceeded to design a scheme and submit a Class Q proposal. The scheme was approved and Acorus progressed with the preparation of construction drawings and advised the client on the tender and contract management stages. The conversion to form two residential conversions, of an exceptionally high standard has enabled the retention of these buildings. In total, consent for 11 dwellings was achieved on the site.

Acorus are a national company specialising in rural development. We are a ‘one stop shop’ offering clients a turn-key solution based on planning, design, project management and property sales. For more information, please visit our website or call us to discuss your potential project.

Planning. Design. Property

ask@acorus.co.uk

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

57

LAND AND FARMS

HOW TO PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Housing delivery is firmly on the Government’s agenda and this controversial topic is rarely out of the headlines of both national and local news, but who really decides where these houses will go?

LOCAL PLANS VS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS

58

Although the Government sets the housing target for each authority area, the responsibility is passed to Local Planning Authorities to prepare a Local Plan which determines where those houses will go. Every area in England and Wales is obliged to have an up to date Local Plan in place and this must be reviewed every five years.

Councils can choose to identify specific sites or allocate a number of homes to a specific village or town. Local Plans will also include policies which are used to manage the character and appearance of development. These will include policies for biodiversity improvements, affordable housing and the size of homes to be built as well as specific energy and design requirements, all of which will influence the overall number, type and appearance of the homes which are built. While Local Plans are evidence-based documents, they are subject to stakeholder consultation which feeds into their drafting.

Local Plans are not the only plans determining where housing will go or what it will look like.

Introduced through the Localism Act 2011, Neighbourhood Plans became part of the wider

Local Plan. These plans were introduced to allow communities to have more influence and control over their area to ensure they get the right type of development for their neighbourhood. While these plans cannot be used to block development identified in the Local Plan, they are an extremely powerful tool when it comes to determining where development will go and potentially what it will look like.

These plans identify a vision for the area and set objectives for the next 15 to 20 years. These are produced by an authorised local community organisation such as a parish or town council but can also be produced by a separate Neighbourhood Plan Group. There is not the same requirement for these to be regularly updated, but they must be in general conformity with the adopted Local Plan and are therefore often subject to review following the adoption of a new Local Plan.

Where a Local Plan seeks to allocate a housing figure to a settlement, a Neighbourhood Plan has the ability to identify where those houses will be built. It is important to note that these plans can also protect land from development which is considered to be of particular importance to local communities. Local Green Space can be land which holds a particular local significance, of which the definition is quite wide. However a site’s recreational value is a common justification; its beauty, historic significance, tranquillity or richness of its wildlife are also potential valid reasons to seek designation. It is important to note

that for a site to qualify as a Local Green Space it does not have to be open to the public or have permission from the landowner to be allocated.

Once designated the land has a similar level of protection as Green Belt Land.

WHO DECIDES?

Neighbourhood Plans and Local Plans are both part of the overall Development Plan for an area once adopted, and therefore both have the potential to determine where development will and will not go. To ensure the right promotion strategy for your land it is important to understand the timetable for the council’s Local Plan, the level of housing likely to be directed towards your town or village and whether or not a Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared for your area. However, the important point to note is that both plans are the subject of consultation; it is important to actively engage with the plan-making process and ensure that the council is aware of the availability of your site and that you can show it is achievable and deliverable. The best way to do this is through the council’s ‘Call for Sites’ process. A similar exercise is often completed as part of the Neighbourhood Plan process.

Our planning system works best if development is properly planned, and so understanding how the council’s Local Plan intends to identify housing sites and the role that a Neighbourhood Plan could have in the selection of sites is vital to ensuring your site has the best chance of success.

Could your land have development potential?

Find out more about land promotion

VICTORIA GROVES

Associate Planning Director, Catesby Estates plc T: 01256 637914 E: victoriag@catesbyestates.co.uk W: www.catesbyestates.co.uk

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

carterjonas.co.uk

SO LD

U O ND FF E ER R

U O ND FF E ER R

Offices throughout the UK

OXFORDSHIRE

Beenham

Ewelme

A 483-acre ring fenced arable farm with village farmhouse, equine and sporting interests.

A ring fenced residential farm of about 870 acres in an excellent edge of village setting.

A 334-acre ring fence of arable land in large enclosures with woodland shelter belts and copses.

Guide price £5,500,000

Guide price £2,000,000

Guide price £2,900,000

SO LD

U O ND FF E ER R

BERKSHIRE

Marlborough

U O ND FF E ER R

WILTSHIRE

ISLE OF WIGHT

HAMPSHIRE

KENT

Newport

Bordon

Tunbridge Wells

Approx 550 acres including partially irrigated arable land, down, building and cottages.

A detached dwelling in need of modernisation with mature grounds and a ring fence of 27 acres of pasture.

A well located rural smallholding of over 20 acres within commuting distance of London.

Guide price £4,900,000

Guide price £750,000

Guide price £1,000,000

In 2020, the Carter Jonas rural agency team dealt with £45m worth of farms and land across the South East alone. If you’re thinking of buying or selling this year, or would like any advice on valuations or refinancing, get in touch.

Winchester 01962 833386 | winchester@carterjonas.co.uk Newbury 01635 263010 | newbury@carterjonas.co.uk Oxford 01865 297700 | oxford@carterjonas.co.uk

Andrew Chandler 07880 084633 andrew.chandler@carterjonas.co.uk

LAND AND FARMS

COUNTRYSIDE AND RIGHTS OF WAY ACT People need somewhere to walk and exercise, but they also want routes that connect with open spaces as well as with other towns and villages.

60

If lockdown has taught us one thing, it’s that this country needs a properly maintained, sensible network of public rights of way that serves local communities and provides good access to green spaces in the right places.

People need somewhere to walk and exercise, but they also want routes that connect with open spaces as well as with other towns and villages. In reality, though, paths often go nowhere and are in many cases poorly maintained, partly because local authorities are having to spend much of their rights of way budgets on legal fees and admin costs.

That money – along with a considerable amount of staff resource – is in many cases being used to deal with reinstatement claims regarding old rights of way that once existed but no longer serve any useful purpose. How much better off would we be if councils could instead focus on creating a network of well-connected paths?

It’s a problem that is likely to get worse over the next five years unless those at the heart of the rights of way debate can be persuaded to adopt a more co-operative approach to the conflict between access on one hand and privacy and security on the other.

The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act of 2000, welcomed by walkers, ramblers and the fresh air-loving public in general for providing the ‘right to roam’ they had been seeking for many years, had an unexpected consequence.

The Act set 1 January 2026 as the last date on which individuals or groups could put forward a former right of way for reinstatement, and by setting a deadline for the first time, it galvanised groups such as the Ramblers, the British Horse Society and the Open Spaces Society into action.

With the deadline now less than five years away, councils and landowners are braced for more claims as the clock ticks down.

The Ramblers’ Don’t Lose Your Way campaign claims to have found 49,138 miles of rights of way missing from the definitive map for England and Wales. It is racing to save them by 2026 as otherwise, it says, they will be “lost forever”.

Since in this country it is a rule of law that “once

a highway, always a highway”, campaigners have often been successful in adding new footpaths, bridleways and byways to the map, regardless, in many cases, of where they go or what, if any, purpose they serve. If they can prove a route existed at any point in the past 300 years or so, the local authority is already on the back foot, and challenging the application can end up at an expensive public inquiry.

In some cases, no harm is done and a new line is simply drawn on the map. In others, where campaigners seek to show, for instance, that in 1786 there was a footpath that once led from a long-gone farm to a derelict dairy via what is now the immaculately manicured front garden of a recently built home, such a claim can lead to a long and complicated legal battle as the owner seeks to protect his or her interests.

Those who seek to reinstate every historic path simply because they can, tend, in my view, to miss an important point. Many of the routes became disused for a good reason; no-one used them any more because they no longer went where anyone wanted to go. But that doesn’t stop those who want to reopen every last ‘road to nowhere’.

By setting a time limit of January 2026, CROW provided some light at the end of the tunnel for those who fear their enterprise may be threatened or their privacy invaded by the discovery of a long lost track that is of little relevance in 2021.

But while that means no more claims will be able to be made beyond 1 January 2026, it also means that the next five years is likely to see a flurry of last-minute applications from user groups keen to roll back the clock as far as they can.

It is also worth remembering that while applications are supposed to be determined within 12 months of the date they are submitted, the reality is that the substantial backlog and limited resources facing most councils mean it will be many years before the final file is closed.

While as a firm we are clearly keen to take instructions from landowners affected by such applications and we have the experience to support their objections, another five years of such attrition

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

is surely not in the best interests of anyone.

Most people don’t want to walk a short stretch of footpath that cuts through someone’s garden, even if they might have needed to follow that

route to gather firewood 200 years ago. They want sensible, joined up routes that allow them to make the best of the countryside as it is now.

A change in thinking by organised user groups allied to an equally conciliatory response from landowners could surely help to achieve a sensible network of paths that would allow walkers to enjoy a stroll in our green and pleasant land without cutting across valuable arable land or unintentionally invading someone’s privacy.

It would also need a more sensible approach to diverting paths – something that was promised but not delivered by the CROW Act – and it would need the Ramblers and other campaigners to accept that paths are a modern necessity, not a slice of history that needs to be preserved at all costs.

CROW promised a “better approach” to path diversions based on better dialogue and designed to create a more connected network, but as

Michael Wood, director at ET Landnet Ltd, pointed out, it simply didn’t materialise.

“DEFRA consulted on the provisions in the CROW Act for several years, but then decided that improving path diversion procedures was all too complicated and that further legislation was required,” he said.

“The Deregulation Act passed in 2015 sought to address this, but the procedures needed to make the changes – which I and others expected to take a year or 18 months to enact – are yet to materialise. In the meantime, while some local authorities are sympathetic to the idea of a more negotiated, joined up approach, there is no legislation to back them up.

“That means campaigners have five years left in which to find every possible footpath, bridleway and byway that ever existed and start to get it reinstated. One recently succeeded in arguing

the case for a footpath in Suffolk that ends in the middle of a field. It’s totally pointless but the farmer now has to go to the trouble and cost of trying to get it extinguished. If there are objections he will then face a public inquiry for which he will have to pay.”

The alternative would be for everyone to take a step back and work together for a more joined up approach to something that we all want to see; a sensible network of fresh air-delivering footpaths in the right bits of the countryside.

The additional benefit of that approach, of course, is that local authorities would no longer need to spend time and money endlessly reviewing claims for footpaths to be reinstated, and could instead spend their limited budgets on maintaining existing rights of way. And when fighting one case at a public inquiry can cost £50,000, that’s a lot of maintenance.

61

To discuss any rights of way issues concerning your land please contact:

CHRIS TIPPING FRICS FAAV E: c.tipping@batchellermonkhouse.com www.batchellermonkhouse.com

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

CLASSIFIEDS

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION

Industrial & Commercial | Structural Steelwork | Agricultural & Equestrian

G. J. ELGAR

CONSTRUCTION Ltd

Shufflebottom Agricultural Buildings Steel-frame buildings for your farm + Supply only or supply & erect + Construction all over the UK + Award winning company

• • • • • • •

62

Steel frame buildings Sheeting and cladding Guttering and repairs Groundworks and drainage Demolition and asbestos removal Refurbishment and change of use Concrete frame and steel frame repairs • Insurance and general repairs • Concrete floor and block paving

Strength, Security, Style Contact us for a free quotation 01269 831831 enquiry@shufflebottom.co.uk www.shufflebottom.co.uk Shufflebottom Ltd Cross Hands Business Park, Cross Hands, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire SA14 6RE

www.gjelgarconstruction.co.uk For more information contact us: t: 01233 623739 m: 07860 414227 e: simon@gjelgarconstruction.co.uk

G.E.WHITE & SONS Ltd

Based in Lewes, East Sussex

AGRICULTURAL, EQUESTRIAN & INDUSTRIAL STEEL FRAMED BUILDINGS We supply CONCRETE PANELS – Any size to suit your needs

formabuild.co.uk

 01273 492404  info@formabuild.co.uk  www.formabuild.co.uk We specialise in the supply and construction of steel framed buildings together with the repair and refurbishment of existing farm buildings.

Based in the heart of Sussex, covering the South East.

Sussex builders since at least 1605.

Forma offer all aspects of steel framed construction and cladding together with groundworks and electrical fit out if required.

All our buildings are

marked

“You tried the others, now try the brothers”

All our panels are marked

All aspects of steel work, cladding & groundwork.

Family run business with 45 years experience.

100% British designed & built

Over 35 Year’s experience

Site visits Call to arrange a site survey

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

All refurbishments & repairs undertaken.

Call for a free quote today.

Gary White 07812 599679 Jason White 07941 274751

CLASSIFIEDS

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION Supplying profiled roofing products to contractors, builders and farmers

���.lanesconstruction.co.uk -m;v omv|u 1ঞom bv - =-lbѴ u m 0 vbm;vv b|_ o ;u ƓƔ ;-uv o= ; r;ub;m1; bm |_; bm7 v|u ĺ ); -u; 0-v;7 bm -bѴv_-lķ -v| " vv; -m7 1o ;u -ѴѴ o= |_; "o |_ -v|ĺ

visit www.southernsheeting.co.uk for our full range or call 01342 315 300 to speak to our friendly sales team NATIONWIDE DELIVERY

•

LARGE RANGES IN STOCK

We are specialists in: ]ub1 Ѵ| u-Ѵķ ;t ;v|ub-m -m7 Ѵb]_| bm7 v|ub-Ѵ 0 bѴ7bm]vĺ mŊ_o v; =-0ub1-ঞom -m7 rѴ-mmbm] v;u b1;vĺ

Call us today: 01323 848686 Or send an email: denis@lanesconstruction.co.uk dean@lanesconstruction.co.uk

ENWARD

S3111 SS SE Farmers ad 93x60mm.indd 1

17/12/2020 15:27

FARM BUILDING REPAIRS We will continue to work through coronavirus, and we will be available to attend site and estimate customers projects and/or insurance repair/works.

We have now insisted that our employees wear suitable personal protection equipment on any such works until further notice.

LET’S KEEP WORKING!

REFURBS, BIG 6 ROOF SHEETS, ROOF LIGHTS, RIDGES, VERGES, VALLEY GUTTERS, BOX GUTTERS, BOUNDARY GUTTERS, ASBESTOS, SHEETING Single Sheet To Whole Roof Roller Shutters Accidental or Storm Damage Works Demolition Refurbishments Waste Clearances

63

We are available to carry out ESSENTIAL REPAIR WORKS to AGRICULTURAL LIVESTOCK/STORAGE BUILDINGS etc Kenward Construction based in Horsham, West Sussex offer a full design and build service for your next steel framed building including composite cladding, concrete panels, roller shutter doors and bespoke designs to meet individual planning conditions.

Kenward Construction also offer a wide range of services offering a truly one stop shop for your next farm building project. Demolition, plant hire, access roads, drainage, sewage treatment plants, rainwater harvesting, biobed wash downs, paving, concrete foundations / slabs, walling and site landscaping.

Arrange a site visit with one of our contracts managers to discuss your project in more detail by emailing enquiries@kenwardgroundworks.co.uk or call 01403 210218

www.kenwardgroundworks.co.uk

SOUTH EAST CLADDING LTD Professional Services to the Agricultural, Industrial & Equestrian Sectors

CALL TO DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT!

FREEPHONE: 01233 659129

from BT land-line

MOBILE: 07813 142 145 charlie.woodger@btinternet.com

To advertise in South East Farmer telephone 01303 233883

®

CONSTRUCTION

Agriculture ~ Cold Storage ~ Equestrian ~ Industrial ~ Waste Recycling • Agricultural Buildings • Cold Store Buildings • Equestrian Buildings • Industrial Buildings • Waste Recycling Buildings TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

01323 890403 www.danddconstruction.co.uk info@danddconstruction.co.uk

• Structural Steel • Drawing Services • Design Services • Mezzanine Floors • Custom Steelwork

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

CLASSIFIEDS

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION

JPR “ROOFING” & GUTTERING INSTALLATIONS LTD

Fully insured and licensed. 23 years family run business.

Covering all KENT & SUSSEX We will continue to work through coronavirus, and we will be available to attend site and estimate customers projects and/or insurance repair/works.

We have now insisted that our employees wear suitable personal protection equipment on any such works until further notice.

Penfold Profiles

Asbestos removal Sheeting Guttering RAMSA K M

M

B

E

R

Specialists in agricultural and industrial buildings

LET’S KEEP WORKING!

ASBESTOS

Asbestos Sheet removal Roof & gutter repairs New roofs & cladding Refurbishments Roller shutter doors Demolition & clearance

64

E

GUTTERS

Survey Removal Disposal

Aluminium liners PVC liners Accessories

SHEETING Complete buildings New roof system for conversions Repairs – Rooflights

07864 823 476 07889 481618 penfoldprofiles@btinternet.com www.penfoldprofiles.co.uk

We are available to carry out ESSENTIAL REPAIR WORKS to AGRICULTURAL LIVESTOCK/STORAGE BUILDINGS etc

Contact: Chris, for a no obligation quotation: Tel: 07813 142145 or 01233 659129 (7 days) www.jprmaintenance-construction.co.uk

Penfold Profiles. Lees Paddock, High Halden, Ashford, Kent

CONTRACTORS

SHORTLAND STRUCTURES LTD

G & S BROWN

Drainage Contractors Working with farmers since 1947

● LAND DRAINAGE ● DITCHING ● POND WORK ● WATER SUPPLIES ● SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS ● GROUNDWORKS ● PLANT HIRE 360° EXCAVATORS

• STEEL FRAMED BUILDINGS • CLADDING • ERECTING • • EXTENSIONS • ALTERATIONS • CONCRETE PANELS • ROLLER/SLIDING/PERSONNEL DOORS •

FOR ESTIMATES & ENQUIRIES

(01622) 890884

Tel: 01732 460912 Mobile: 07976 287836 Email: sales@shortlandstructures.com

www.shortlandstructures.com

Email: info@brownsdrainage.co.uk

www.brownsdrainage.co.uk DESIGN • PLANNING • PROJECT MANAGEMENT • DEMOLITION • GROUNDWORKS • CONSTRUCTION • FIT-OUT • LANDSCAPING

RESIDENTIAL AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIAL tom.bower@salamandergroup.net / 07507 639 560

Salamander is focused on delivering high quality sustainable developments within the residential, agricultural and industrial sectors. We offer the full range of services from planning through to completion, providing a unique perspective on how to get the most value from your assets.

www.salamandergroup.net

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

john.houlton@salamandergroup.net / 07813 747 361

S W ATTWOOD & PART

LAND DRAINAGE

   

FIELD MAPPING CONTRACTORS

DRAINAGE SURVEYING DESIGN DRAINAGE

FROM £220 PER ACRE

PONDS, LAKES & RESERVOIRS construction and maintenance GROUNDWORKS & CONSTRUCTION primary excavations, aggregate sub-base, agricultural construction and concreting

ENVIRONMENTAL HABITATS water course maintenance and improvement works



FIELD MAPPING

 

DESIGN SWA DRAINAGE

CONTRACTORS  DRAINAGE SURVEYING

LAND DRAINAGE, EARTHWORKS, GROUNDWORKS & CONSTRUCTION FULL LAND DRAINAGE SERVICE sportsfields, amenity and irrigation systems using Mastenbroek trenchers

LAND DRAINAGE CLASSIFIEDS SW ATTWOOD & PARTNERS

S W ATTWOOD & PARTNERS FROM £220 PER ACRE LAND DRAINAGE

S W ATTWOOD & PARTNERS LAND DRAINAGE

   

For all enquiries call 01233 860404 07770 867625 (Harvey) or 07768 115849 (Dave)

FIELD MAPPING DRAINAGE SURVEYING DESIGN DRAINAGE

Grubbing, timber & groundwork services FROM £220 PER ACRE

• fallen tree removal

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US OR VISIT OUR • cultivations WEBSITE: • pond dredging

• ground contouring

• reservoir construction

• orchard grubbing

• land clearance

• windbreak removal

• excavations

• timber extraction

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PHONE: 01795 880441 • FIELD MAPPING • DRAINAGE SURVEYING W.H.Skinner & Sons US OR VISIT OUR 01622james@swattwood.com 744640 - 07711 264775 PLEASE CONTACT • DESIGN • DRAINAGE EMAIL: www.whskinnerandsons.co.uk WEBSITE: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

www.attwoodfarms.com PHONE: 01795 880441

PLEASE CONTACT JAMES OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE

To advertise in South East Farmer telephone 01303 233883

TOM: 01795 880441 or 07943 192383

EMAIL: james@swattwood.com EMAIL: james@swattwood.com GRAIN STORAGE & TESTING

 65  LANDwww.swjfattwood.com DRAINAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION  PLANT HIRE OUR PLEASE CONTACT US OR VISIT INERT TIPPING WEBSITE:   GRAIN STORAGE &  CLAY SALES PHONE: 01795 880441 ®

www.attwoodfarms.

Competitive Direct Drilling Service  james@swattwood.com

LAND DRAINAGE

Using our proven Simtech Aitchison direct drill we seed • When ‘stitching in’ or rejuvenating grassland, Nitrogen EMAIL: application is not recommended as this can encourage into all surfaces - grasses, clovers, brassicas, cereals, pulses, existing vegetation to compete with the germination process. maize and all mixtures. The unique T-slot boot allows a If drilling into a recently desiccated seed bed, Nitrogen perfect environment for the seeds to germinate, along application can be bene�icial. its 3m sowing width with 20 rows (15cm). This method saves time and money compared with more traditional • Rolling post-drilling should always be considered, but not re-seeding methods, but is also capable of stitching and always done. Our drill, with its inverted T-slot leaving the GRAIN STORAGE & rejuvenating existing crops. seed on a �irm base surrounded by tilth, is creating an ideal (mini-greenhouse) environment for germination. It would be • Our Drill likes a �irm tight seed bed. For example, when LAND DRAINAGE a mistake to close the slot too much or too soon, so timing and stitching into an existing crop, post cropping or grazing is choice of roller needs careful consideration – many jobs do ideal, so reducing competition. not require rolling.

PLANT HIRE

  

PLANT HIRE

INERT TIPPING www.attwoodfarms.com

• When desiccating, for best results, we need to drill ‘at the green stage’ in other words, just prior or post spraying. If drilling is carried out when existing vegetation is dead, this can affect germination due to decomposing organic matter and toxins. Also, blockage of the tines can occur.

   • If drilling into a weedy seed bed, topping is normally not  INERT TIPPING recommended as drilling with our front press and pre-cutting disc, will directionally �latten any vegetation for the following  a loose matted CLAY drill. Topping can leave massSALES which can cause

CLAY SALES TESTING

blockage.

Town Place Farm, Haywards Heath Tel: 01825 790341 Mob: 07970 621832 Email: Charlie@townplacefarm.co.uk

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

CLASSIFIEDS

FENCING CROP DRYING

Redhill Farm Services: Fencing Division

ALL TYPES OF FENCING & GATES

Supplied and erected & Repairs Tel: 01737 821220 Mob: 07768 931891 Email: redhillfarmservices@gmail.com Manufacturers of centrifugal, low volume and portable fans, air tunnels, drive over floors, grain stirrers and gas burners

PELLCROFT

HAULIERS 07860 728204 Hay & Straw Merchant | Machinery Haulage

www.pellcroft.com | sales@pellcroft.com | 01526 342466

EVENTS

HIRE SPECIALISTS ACROSS THE SOUTH EAST HAY & STRAW IN STOCK | ROUND & BIG SQUARE BALES

• Toilets & Showers for hire

Find us on Facebook

• Large range of Temporary canteens, stores & welfare units

66

PRESSURE WASHERS

• Effluent Tank Emptying • Events also catered for with chillers & toilets

FOUR JAYS GROUP

Tel: 01622 843135 Fax: 01622 844410 enquiries@fourjays.co.uk www.fourjays.co.uk

To advertise in South East Farmer telephone 01303 233883

®

FENCING

PHILIP JUNIPER Fencing Services

Specialists in Stock, Deer and Equestrian Fencing Covering the South East Tel: (01403) 700509 Mobile: 07836 219344

www.philipjuniper.co.uk

SALES, SERVICE & HIRE OUT of Pressure Washers, Vacuums, Scrubber Dryers, Sweepers & Dry Steamers from the leading manufacturers!

Fully Stocked mobile engineers with full manufacturer training.

Over 45 YEARS in trading!

TEL:01293 554750 TEL:01293 WWW.PRESSURECLEAN.CO.UK WWW.PRESSURECLEAN.CO.UK

STORAGE TANKS KING

Manufacturers of Chestnut Fencing Products

Horizontal Cylindrical Tanks From 54,500 litres to 27,250 litres (12,000 - 6,000 gallon)

Hardwood gates

Single and twin compartments, with cradles

Cleft post and rail

Bunded Tanks From 27,000 litres to 10,000 litres (6,000 - 2,000 gallon)

Stakes and posts

With cabinet, guage and alarm

Chestnut fencing

CWP fenci f n ng

STORAGE TANKS

Tel: 07985298221 www.cwpfencing.co.uk

MARCH 2021 | WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET

All suitable for fuel, water and effluent Call today for details

Tel 01638 712328

www.thekinggroup.co.uk/tanks

CROSSWORD ®

VINEYARDS

COMPLETE OUR CROSSWORD TO WIN One bottle of Gribble Bridge White, one bottle of Gribble Bridge Rosé and a bottle of Gribble Bridge Sparkling White

1

2

3

4

5

8

6

ACROSS

7

1 5 8 9 10 11 13 16

9

10

11

13

16

12

14

15

17

18

21

22

23

25

26

1 2 3 4 6 7 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 22 23 24

Important (6) Debris; rubbish (5) Electronic cigarette (4) A person full of energy and new ideas (7) Traditional term for an English county (5) One who takes part in a contest (7) Method of transport (3) Welsh ---------, rare breed duck (9) Look (3) Two animals born at same birth (4) Bite (3) Expertise (5) Strike (3) Informal speech (5) Sophia -----, actress (5) Vertical post in cricket (5) Cricket term (5)

DOWN

19 24

20

18 20 23 25 26 27

United (9) Starry shaped perrenial (5) Classification (8) Units of beer (5) Facial feature (4) Pleasant (7) Large tree producing conkers (5,8) Small migrant bird seen on southern coast (7) Forge (6) Jumping plant lice (7) Halt (4) Part of a firearm (3,6) Not deriving from living matter (9) ---- shot, cricket term (4)

27

Crossword by Rebecca Farmer, Broadstairs, Kent

PRIZE ANAGRAM: Left behind after harvest (5)

To enter, simply unscramble the

anagram (5) using

the green squares.

Email your replies with your name, address and phone number to sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk Correct entries will be entered into a draw which will take place on 23 March. The winner will be announced in the April edition.

TO ADVERTISE CALL 01303 233883

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS: 1

D

VINEYARDS To celebrate Mothering Sunday (14 March) we are offering readers the chance to win one bottle of Gribble Bridge White, one bottle of Gribble Bridge Rosé and a bottle of Gribble Bridge Sparkling White. Biddenden Vineyards is Kent’s oldest commercial vineyard producing award winning wines, ciders and juices. For more information about the vineyards, please visit www.biddendenvineyards.com or call 01580 291726. *Subject to availability

I

E 8

M N

S

M

I

S

4

S

E

R

A

I

P

E

T

E

P

A N

S

I

D

O

17

F

D

I

O

20

N

B

R

P

B

F

E

R

E

22

L

E

R

J

9

S

10

P

U

P

T

E

18

U

S

A

M

B

7

S

T

C E

A

N

R

Y

L

K

E 15

R

I

S

T

L

19

W

A C

A

K

I O W

R

N

R

R R

O

E

F I

T

E 26

6

D

R

W 25

E

Z 12

L 13

L

S

B

H A 14

S

I

U

D

16

3

U

A 11

2

L

O

E

R E

R

A R

A

D

24

B

U

L

R O

A

G

L

R

U

I

27

N

M

E

N 23

G

M U

T

E

Correct answer: Kohlrabi LAST MONTH’S WINNER: Roger Deadman from Frith End, Hampshire

WWW.SOUTHEASTFARMER.NET | MARCH 2021

67

SMALL FARM INSURANCE THAT WORKS AS HARD AS YOU DO At NFU Mutual we understand what it takes to keep a smaller farm running. That’s why our Farm Essentials policy provides specific cover for livestock, hill farms and simple diversifications.

To see how we can help farms of all sizes contact your local agency, or search NFU Mutual Small Farm.

The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited (No.111982). Registered in England. Registered Office: Tiddington Road, Stratfordupon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 7BJ. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. A member of the Association of British Insurers.