South East Farmer March 2025

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EDITORIAL

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Email: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk

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Cover picture: Doe Show

©Richard Shepherd-Barron

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NEW HEAD OF COMMS FOR RED TRACTOR

With farm assurance schemes currently in the spotlight, Red Tractor has appointed a high flyer to head up its communications and engagement team.

Jo Miller has more than 15 years of experience in public relations, stakeholder management, corporate communications and digital content. She is described as “a seasoned communications professional with a strong background in food assurance and multi-stakeholder issues, including sustainable fishing, climate change, food systems and environmental management”.

Her appointment as head of communications and engagement comes soon after a UK-wide, comprehensive review of farm assurance called for a fundamental reset of the system in a bid to rebuild confidence amongst farmers.

The independent review, which made nine recommendations, concluded that farm assurance schemes needed to make some fundamental changes to address “growing frustration” amongst farmers.

Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley said Jo “brings a wealth of expertise in sustainability communications and stakeholder engagement which will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our messaging and build trust across the food supply chain”. He said her experience “makes her ideally suited to help us promote the values of Red Tractor and the benefits it delivers to farmers, food businesses and consumers alike”.

Red Tractor describes itself as “a signpost for safe, traceable, responsibly produced British food”.

DEFINITELY NOT MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS

They may have been in boats, but three farmers certainly weren’t “messing about” when they took the NFU’s Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign to the River Thames.

The three, South East Farmer correspondent and NFU East Sussex Chair Martin Hole, who farms at Pevensey, John Dinnis, who farms near Sevenoaks, and George Hosford, who farms near Blandford Forum in Dorset, displayed a giant banner while canoeing 10 miles along the world-famous river from Henley to Marlow.

Martin commented: “We wanted to make the point that farmers are being sold down the river by the government’s planned changes to inheritance tax.

“This is a very serious and heartfelt message, put across in a fun and light-hearted way to capture people’s imaginations.

“The three of us have been friends and canoed together for years so this is just something we came up with as a way of continuing to raise awareness of the campaign.

“We got some lively reactions and caused a lot of laughter from people walking by the river, but there were also lots of cheers and everyone we saw was very supportive.”

The NFU is calling on the Government to reconsider its planned changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR), claiming it has miscalculated the impact of its planned changes, which the union believes could force many small and mediumsized family farms out of business.

All the UK’s major supermarkets have publicly stated their concerns over the impact the changes could have on national food security and concerns have been expressed about the impact on the wider rural economy and the environment.

Martin went on: “This will rip the heart out of rural communities and damage the rural economy. Farmers are the chief deliverer of future nature recovery so an incredible amount of positive work in this area would likely discontinue if these changes do go ahead.

“The government should do the right thing, put their plans on hold and put them up for proper scrutiny and consultation.”

From left Martin Hole, John Dinnis and George Hosford

Jo Miller

FIGHTING TO KEEP BIRD FLU UNDER CONTROL

The South East seems so far to have escaped the worst impact of the ‘bird flu’ outbreak as DEFRA fights to keep it under control.

While the whole of the country is in an avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ), requiring poultry keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures, the region has to date avoided the bird housing measures now imposed in other parts of the country.

From 16 February, those measures were extended to cover Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire in addition to the East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston Upon Hull, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Shropshire, York and North Yorkshire.

The nationwide AIPZ was put in place by DEFRA towards the end of January “in response to the escalating number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza and continued heightened risk levels”. The department has said cases “are increasing in both kept poultry and wild birds across multiple areas of Great Britain”, following the discovery of the first cases of H5N1 and H5N5 in November 2024.

The AIPZ measures apply to all bird keepers, whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock and are, in DEFRA’s words, “essential to protecting flocks from avian influenza". Gatherings of birds including ducks, geese, swans, pheasants, partridge, quail, chickens, turkeys and guinea fowl are also currently banned across England.

A 3km protection zone around a premises just outside Rye in East Sussex has now been lifted, following “successful completion of disease control activities and surveillance” and has been replaced by a 10km surveillance zone. All poultry on the premises was culled.

An increasingly Alice in Wonderland world OPINION

Is it me, or has Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer got himself in a bit of a muddle over his growth ambitions?

In an increasingly Alice in Wonderland world, he continues to defend his budget proposals despite a considerable amount of evidence from a range of commentators suggesting they simply won’t work.

Boosting National Insurance contributions was always going to cut the ability and appetite of firms both to invest and to take on new workers, and seemed strangely out of kilter with the stated aim of boosting growth, which remains sluggish at best. Local councils are now pointing out that they are also going to have to cut services to meet the growing wage bill.

In the meantime, Sir Kier is doubling down on his decision to change inheritance tax rules in a move which many see as threatening the viability of family farms, which could be forced to sell off land to pay the bill.

The gloves came off in a recent television interview, when he announced that people couldn’t expect NHS waiting lists to come down while farmers enjoyed “tax breaks” – and it could have been me, but the words appeared to be accompanied by just a bit of a smirk.

It also seemed to highlight a contradiction in the PM’s approach to the rule changes that have inspired rallies and protests by farmers nationwide. If you recall, he has continued to suggest that most farms will not be affected by the changes, but in the interview he coupled an end to “tax breaks for farmers” with “interest rates coming down, the growth we need in the economy your waiting lists coming down”. That’s a pretty expensive shopping list for a tax change he insists won’t affect many people. “Curiouser and curiouser,” as Alice might have said.

The Country Land and Business Association was quick to point out that the prospect of big tax bills has actually curbed investment and threatened jobs in a reaction that is likely to put less money, not more, into the exchequer.

But then perhaps the PM has been talking to the Cheshire Cat, with whom Alice had the following exchange: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”

Time will tell whether or not the Government will be persuaded to think again on taxing inherited family farms, although it seems unlikely. Farmers have done a sterling job of making their point and have got some, but not all, of the public on their side, but thinking again is not often in the Treasury playbook.

Anyhow, I must finish. It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date.

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

® MALCOLM TRIGGS - EDITOR

DOE SHOW

PERFECT TIME TO INVEST IN MACHINERY

Richard Shepherd-Barron reports.

In surprisingly good weather for February, thousands of interested visitors congregated in Ulting, near Maldon in Essex, to visit this popular three-day show – the country’s largest agricultural, construction, groundcare, fruit and viticulture and specialist vegetable machinery dealer show. By 10 o’clock on the first day, the main car park was nearly full.

A first at the Show was the new Case IH AF10 combine with its 775Hp engine and the industry’s largest grain tank, plus a whole host of automation, connectivity and harvesting technology. Not to be outdone was the highest output combine in the world - the New Holland CR11 with a Macdon FD3245 header.

Angus Doe, managing director, said: “The tax year end is looming and, with some amazing 0% finance deals on offer, this is the perfect

time to invest in machinery. We’ve a broad range of new, used and ex-hire machinery, priced to sell.” An example was the huge display of lightly used New Holland combines with the slogan: “Harvest for freepay nothing until Sept ’25.”

Ernest Doe has been expanding its activities recently and now includes two of the Burden depots at Sutterton and North Kyme in Lincolnshire, taking the business’s total number of branches across the south and east of the UK to 21.

The specialist vegetable machinery section now includes such wellknown names as Ecorobotix, Agriplanter, Tumoba, Verhoest, Sieger, Tong Engineering and Tong Swift. Andy Willson, who was previously with Burdens, commented: “There is a lot of interest in this equipment from growers in the South East.”

No Doe Show would be complete without demonstrations of ploughing by historic tractors, ably organised as usual by Paul Wylie. Naturally, the Doe Triple D was well to the fore, with a wellpresented example greeting visitors at the main entrance.

A highlight this year was the visit from Shaun Garrod, the 2024 British Ploughing Champion, to demonstrate oat seed (high cut) ploughing. Tractors in operation included a 1922 Fordson Model F, 1938 Allis Chalmers WF, 1941 Oliver 80 Standard, 1974 Ford 50DD and a County 1174 - plus the 1916 and 1965 Doe Triple Ds.

Modern Case IH and New Holland tractors were demonstrating a variety of implements nearby, which made a most interesting contrast in operations (and sound). Another dynamic demonstration was the Hyundai excavator moving large quantities of Essex clay and, in complete contrast, the autonomous Husqvarna mowers, busy polishing a grassy area. The larger of the two was a “ride-on”, but without a driver catching many an eye and highlighting the fact

First time at the Doe Show –Agri-Planter vegetable planter

that the future is here.

Graham Parker, Doe’s sales director, said after the show: “This year’s show had a greater footfall than previously; we ran out of catalogues on Thursday.

“The order intake at the show was higher than last year, which was the second highest level in the show’s history. We sold more than half of the ex-hire tractors and nearly all the ex-hire combines, too.”

In addition to the wide range of tractors and machinery, there was a plethora of stands displaying spares, tools, clothing, tyres, small lawn mowers, lubricants, fire safety equipment, prints, paintings and more. Doe’s own permanent shop with tools, small garden equipment and countryside clothing was also open, offering some special ‘show discounts’.

Whatever your need - a combine or a mower, a tractor or a sprayer, a trailer or a wheelbarrow, an excavator or a shovel, it was here. Next year’s Show is on 3, 4 and 5 February.

Headers are getting longer

CHARITY RECEIVES MAJOR BOOST

The farming-focused charitable work carried out by RABI in Kent received a major boost when a cheque for a remarkable £10,690 was handed over to chairman Di Hickman at Ashford Livestock Market.

The sum, thought to be the largest single donation received by the group, was raised at the 2024 Ashford Primestock Show and handed over by show president Peter Joules (second from right in the picture), who was joined by director and head of auctions for Hobbs Parker Auctioneers John Rossiter (centre).

Di said the donation would be “incredibly helpful” in supporting the work done by RABI in the county. The charity has in recent months helped with winter fuel hardship payments, contributions towards school uniforms for farming families and mental health support.

“We work very hard throughout the year

and generally raise between £25,000 and £30,000 a year, so this generous donation will make a huge difference to the work we can do to help farmers,” she added.

Also at the presentation were Primestock Show supporters Justin Ellis (far left) and Brian Richardson (far right) from Virgin Money and Hobbs Parker rural surveyor Charlotte Bromley.

MORE THAN 20 BULLS

The annual Sussex Cattle Society sale of pedigree breeding stock will be held on 13 March in conjunction with South East Marts and the online MartEye platform.

More than 20 bulls and a good selection of maiden heifers have been entered by breeders across the South East, with detailed information, including photographs, available in catalogues that can be downloaded from South East Marts and The Sussex Cattle Society websites.

Detail on breeding lines, TB status and, where relevant, health status is included, along with Signet Breeding Services data, but potential buyers are encouraged to visit the stock on farm prior to the sale.

The auction will open at 5pm on Wednesday 12 March, with live bidding from 5pm on Thursday 13. Bids will be taken in catalogue order.

As the native breed local to the area, Sussex cattle are well suited to conditions in the South East, especially for conservation grazing. The

society points out that they are docile, hardy, have plenty of milk and show excellent forage conversion and good killing out percentages.

An additional advantage of choosing pedigree stock is that it qualifies for the DEFRA ‘breeds at risk’ grazing subsidy and attracts a

Reserve Burke Trophy winner

pedigree premium if animals have to be culled because of TB.

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www.southeastmarts.co.uk

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www.southeastmarts.co.uk

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BLENDING FOOD PRODUCTION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

West Sussex beef and arable farmer James Bray has been working with the Soil Association Exchange on initiatives aimed at showing how farming can benefit both the environment and food production.

James, who runs the farm near Compton with parents Angela and Nick, asked the Soil Association Exchange to assess the environmental performance of his farm. The report, funded by Lloyds Banking Group, suggested a number of areas to focus on, including biodiversity, carbon emissions and soil health.

The assessment offer is part of a broader partnership between the Soil Association Exchange, the banking group and other industry partners which has established an environmental baseline acknowledging the current performance of more than 685 UK farms covering all agricultural sectors across 238,000 hectares.

James said taking part in this process had not only reaffirmed his existing environmental practices but had highlighted new opportunities.

He farms 502 hectares of owned and tenanted land, finishing 600 head of beef cattle a year for processor ABP. The cattle are bought in at two weeks old and are reared to finish on a diet consisting primarily of home-grown barley, maize, and grass silage, supplemented with minerals and some concentrates.

James grows wheat, spring barley, winter barley, maize and oats, but

is considering switching to grain maize next year to boost starch levels in the cattle's diet. He has also noticed that spring barley is more costeffective than winter barley, with similar yields but lower inputs.

"The environmental benefits of spring barley, linked with Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options, help improve gross margins by £200 per hectare, making it an attractive option," he said.

The farm’s cropping approach aligns with the government’s SFI scheme. “We’re already doing many of the practices the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) wants us to, like planting herbal leys and growing cover crops,” James explained.

Herbal leys are a key focus on the farm, as are cover crops such as stubble turnips. A neighbour’s sheep graze these fields, providing an extra income as well as adding soil organic matter. Forage rape is grown before spring barley, while cover crops and reduced insecticide use under SFI further strengthens their environmental impact.

James works hard to improve organic matter through cultivation techniques and the crops he grows. Five years ago, he introduced strip tillage for better water infiltration and reduced soil disturbance, and the farm is transitioning to direct drilling and conventional tillage to maintain soil health and improve efficiency.

The Exchange report detailed soil organic matter across his fields ranging from six to 10%, with permanent pastures higher in organic matter.

Farmyard manure (FYM) and sewage sludge are also applied to boost fertility and organic matter. Sewage sludge, in particular, has significantly increased barley yields. “Winter barley yields have jumped by one tonne per acre since applying sewage sludge. It’s a really high phosphate fertiliser,” he said.

The report suggested further improvements in nutrient management. "We’re considering enhancing FYM by adding effective microorganisms, similar to bokashi. This could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manure and improve its quality,” added James, who hopes that improving soil organic matter will reduce his need to buy in fertiliser.

Findings from the report also highlighted how growing legumes in grassland or winter bird food could improve grassland, both of which pay more under the SFI than herbal leys and is something James is contemplating.

This would add to the work James is already doing to increase biodiversity on the farm, with 10% of the farm already planted with pollen-rich and nectar-rich crops and wild bird food mix, with six metre margins around most fields as part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

James said conservation efforts had paid off, with a noticeable return of wildlife to the farm. The wild birdseed margins and supplementary feeding, along with predator control, have helped bring back key species. “We’ve seen more hares, barn owls, and even lapwings,” he added.

The Exchange report highlighted 17 different bird species on the farm, including two on the Royal Society for the Protection of Bird’s Red List. The report suggested ways of further developing biodiversity, such as increasing the variety of crops in rotation to support feeding and nesting and creating wetland features, although the farm’s chalky soil may make water retention challenging. He does, though, plan to prioritise hedgerow management, which is not only eligible for SFI funding but also supports wildlife habitats.

Despite all the environmental initiatives, James is clear about his primary goal. “Our number one priority is producing food. If we can take less productive land out of arable rotation and use it to benefit the environment, all the better. But our main focus will always be farming.”

By funding over 80% of the farms that have taken part in the Soil Association Exchange assessment, Lloyds Banking Group has, for the first time, developed a baseline for the ongoing measurement of on-farm environmental improvements.

Holborough Shoot Dispersal Sale

Photos: Rob Freeman, Limehouse

LETTERS

PROTECTING NATIONAL ASSETS

Dear Sir,

While I have sympathy for Name Withheld (NW) (“Why do farmers think they are so entitled?”, February letters page, Rachael from accounts and the rest of her inept and envious Cabinet gang are only repeating Harold Wilson`s 1974 land nationalisation threat by the back door, and inheritance tax is a blunt force instrument with unpredictable collateral damage.

To compare a peaceful London demonstration at which farmers donated free food which overwhelmed the food banks and all the rubbish was cleared up by the attendees without a single arrest, with the degradation that Just Stop Oil caused to national treasures and the childish disruption of entertainment venues and roads does not help NW’s credibility.

Had not a Labour Government post-World War Two recognised the value of national food security, we farmers would not have survived this long. While NW`s family hereditary income was able to sustain the home for 160 years, most small farms will not survive this latest ‘class hate’-inspired legalised robbery.

The winners will be large conglomerates with little interest in England`s green and pleasant land besides a profit margin. NW will have to get used to American chlorinated chicken, Australian beef-lot steaks from holdings of up to 70,000 cattle which never see a blade of grass, and genetically produced cereals, plus the carbon footprint of importing.

We need three towns the size of Maidstone built each year to match the 633,000 annual increase in population that will mop up 450 square miles annually of green, or should that now be grey, land.

No farmer feels entitled to a tax-free ride, but neither the Conservative nor our present socialist bigots have previously actually tried to exterminate farmers; that`s a new low in stupidity. NW and family must have had serious assets to pay the IHT over six months, so to suggest farmers sell a "bit of land" to

pay the tax shows a lack of business acumen. A government of intelligent politicians who have previously had a real job and, like farmers, think in decades/generations, rather than fighting a five-year battle to retain their seats, is long overdue and needs serious Reform.

David Steed Manston, Kent

ASTONISHED

Dear Sir,

I was astonished at a recent comment by the Prime Minister that it was not possible to have NHS waiting lists come down while maintaining 'tax breaks' for farmers.

This reckless and irresponsible outburst shows the Prime Minister does not understand the outcome of his own policy. His inheritance tax reforms have forced farmers and other family businesses to cancel planned investment, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk. There will be less money going into the exchequer not more, and public services will suffer as a result.

Farmers want to feed the nation and protect the environment. The public know that and respect farmers for it – and they will rightly see straight through this latest attack. Tim Bamford, South East Regional Director Country Land and Business Association (CLA)

CONCERN

Dear sir,

There has been a tendency to hang on to land until we die because each generation can pass it on tax free. One of my friends from agricultural college is now in his sixties and his mother, in her nineties, still owns the family farmland.

Eventually it will pass to my friend (and his brother), but is he going to start farming it now? I doubt it. His career has developed in a different direction even though he was brought up and worked on the farm when younger.

We are always saying we need to

encourage young people into farming and the new inheritance tax rules could be an opportunity. Instead of making children work all their lives on a promise, perhaps now they might actually be gifted land when at their prime of life, energetic and innovative.

My real concerns are the complex subsidy regime that makes planning ahead impossible, unfair competition from countries with lower standards of animal welfare and the loss of local abattoirs.

Rupert Emerson, Springfield, Hampshire

FREE SPEECH

Dear Sir,

I write to make one observation following your letters page contribution last month from Name Withheld ("Why do farmers feel they are so entitled?") which you published despite saying you usually avoid using such letters.

I appreciate the comments of this lady, although I don’t agree with her for a number of reasons. I do, however, feel that people should put their name to their opinions and not hide behind “Name Withheld”. Do we not still live in a country where we are allowed to say what we think?

Marianne Harris, Limpsfield, Surrey

EXEMPT FROM IHT FOR ONE GOOD REASON

Dear Sir

I write in response to the letter in last months’ South East Farmer (“Why do farmers feel they are so entitled?”).

I hear your side of the story, and sadly you got caught with inheritance tax (IHT) and you paid for it at a remarkable speed. You were obviously asset and cash rich.

Farming has been exempt from IHT for one good reason. It enables farms to grow and invest in machinery and people and derive an income thanks to economies of scale. In doing so, it becomes a business and a way of life which pays income tax and supports its

local community and its country with good, reliable and well monitored and traceable food. The surplus is exported to help with the balance of payments of this country.

Our home (our farm) is our factory floor, with a high value and big value machinery (assets). My threshold will be £1million. My IHT bill will be nearly £5million. My farm does not earn that sort of income, even if payable over 10 years.

There would have to be assets sold to pay the bill or land would have to be developed if an opportunity arose, making the farm smaller, which makes economies of scale more difficult. So food security and production slows down and less monitored and traceable food is imported, upsetting the balance of payments.

IHT will hit all hand-me-down family businesses. We are just one type of business with some very big figures to worry about, along with stamp duty and capital gains tax.

So, I will drive my tractor where I choose in a considerate manner and protest if it raises the issue to wake this government out of its stupid idea (an idea which will not fill Ms Reeves’ black hole in the short term) and save my loved and cherished, historic, sweatsoaked, five-generation farm and business, which has always paid its taxes.

IHT just fragments and destroys businesses, and you know what a broken heart is like. I trust this helps explain a farmer’s frustration.

Simon, Essex farmer

(Full name and address supplied)

FOOD LOSS AND WASTE

Dear Sir,

The UK Government recently published its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to 2035, and I’m delighted to see food loss and waste within this comprehensive and important document.

Food waste happens across the supply chain, and while homes are the largest area where food goes to waste, food surplus, loss and waste is a significant factor for UK farming.

Food loss and waste has huge impacts on the natural world and on people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC0 estimates that the food

UKRAINE VEHICLE HUB EXPANDED IN KENT

The support being given to the people of war-torn Ukraine by a Kent motor dealer, supported by local farmers, continues to grow.

The owner of Kent Suzuki and KGM Motors (formerly SsangYong) dealership Humphries and Parks Marcus Joy is offering to source trucks and other heavy duty 4x4s from within the trade, and sent the first vehicles to Ukraine in mid-January (pictured).

Humphries and Parks has extended its trade network and auction access to the Ukrainian group Car for Ukraine and is also looking out for part-exchange situations that allow the dealership to take in an ex-farm pick-up with dents and scrapes that is mechanically sound but not good enough for resale in the UK.

Marcus originally, met Car for Ukraine at the 2023 Kent County Show and offered Ukrainian and British charities a ‘hub’ to store vehicles before they were shipped to Ukraine, whether by volunteer driver or in a Polish lorry. Since then, dozens of pick-up trucks, SUVs and donated cars have found their way to the West Malling home of the family owned and run dealership. Car for Ukraine UK representative Richard Lofthouse said: “Marcus and his sons Bruno, Sam and Soren have been extremely generous and efficient in offering us workshop facilities at cost price. Soren even drove one of the vehicles right out to Medyca, on the border with Ukraine in Poland. They have really thrown themselves behind us.”

The dealership is principally interested in vehicles such as the long wheelbase Mitsubishi Shogun, L200s and Hiluxes from 2009 to 2014 in the £3,000 to £5,000 price range, ideally with fewer than 130,000 miles on the clock. Transport to Ukraine, painting, armouring and final delivery to a unit of soldiers nearly doubles that price, but once in Ukraine they are “saving lives on a daily basis whether through medivac on rough terrain or simply through transport to and from hotspots,” Richard explained.

system contributes 37% to all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and yet some one third of food is wasted. It generates 8% to 10% of GHG emissions, almost five times that of the aviation sector.

Were it a country, food loss and waste would be the world’s third largest GHG emitter after China and the USA.

WRAP has been urging all governments to prioritise food waste commitments in their NDCs for a number of years. Last year we reviewed all 195 NDCs submitted by nations attending COP29 and found that just 24 mentioned food loss and waste, representing just 12% of world governments attending this

19 January 2025: Three vehicles just before leaving Humphries & Parks for Ukraine, driven by volunteers

critical climate conference.

Setting food loss and waste in the UK’s NDCs is, then, a hugely important move, not only as a continued priority of the UK government but as inspiration to other countries to follow suit and join us in transforming our broken food systems.

WRAP is proud to work with businesses across the value chain to reduce the amount of good quality food that goes to waste in our homes, our food outlets and retail stores, in manufacturing and from our fields and farms.

Dr Richard Swannell, Director Impact Growth WRAP

Photo: Richard Lofthouse

MONICA AKEHURST AT THE KITCHEN TABLE

At this time of year, we anxiously count the bales in the barn, wondering if they’ll see us through to turn out time. Our stores of hay and bedding are dwindling fast. The wet autumn and the timing of our TB test dictated the cattle’s housing in November, but how soon will we witness the delights of turn out day?

We eagerly anticipate the heartwarming sight of our cattle frolicking in sheer exuberance, kicking up their heels and charging about the field, celebrating before settling down to feast, wrapping their tongue around the fresh grass, ripping it off, munching contentedly. Many such scenes are shared on social media.

I haven’t seen many videos capturing the farmer’s joy, but believe me, we feel a sense of freedom too; released from the daily routine of providing food, water and fresh bedding. No more worrying about water levels in the rain harvesting tanks, keeping the filters clean or ensuring water flow despite freezing conditions. No more scraping out feed passages, cleaning out the sheds, avoiding dust when bedding down and unrolling bales along the feed face, forking up the hay or silage. It falls under the term stock-work. While rewarding in its own way, it’s time consuming, and competes with other farm tasks demanding attention.

Tightening up farm security has been a major concern lately, with numerous break-ins reported in our area. Don’t think it won’t happen to you; we’re all at risk. It’s

TIGHTENING UP FARM SECURITY

unsettling to know that people are snooping around our farms, looking for opportunities to steal our tools and equipment.

While I sometimes mutter about modern technology, I must admit that our local WhatsApp group, Farmwatch, is brilliant for alerting us to uninvited visitors in our locality. If you don’t have a similar group in your area, I strongly recommend setting one up. It’s also invaluable for reporting escapee sheep or cattle and warning about unattended dogs that could harm livestock.

Earlier this winter, I discovered a different kind of break-in. Unlocking Jimny in the farmyard, I was horrified to find ‘calling cards’ – a few rat droppings deposited in a feed bucket. I’d kept a small bucket of sheep cake in the passenger footwell as it is a handy aid for catching sheep. After a thorough rodent check by the dogs (who assured me it was clear), I ventured inside. I was astounded to find the devils had gnawed a large hole in the webbing surrounding the 4WD gear stick. Needless to say, I no longer leave food in this vehicle overnight.

Not long after that incident, we faced the opposite problem. In hindsight we

really need to get a spare key for Jimny. You probably guessed it; yep - my three collies were loaded into Jimny, all the windows were closed, and I stupidly left the key in the ignition. Thankfully the engine wasn’t running. My workmates and I were heading off to tend to the sheep when, just ten paces away I heard a click. I knew instantly what had happened. The dogs had managed to lock themselves inside.

Ironic, isn’t it? The rats got in more easily than we did. At that moment, I wished I had the skills of the thieves who break into vehicles; clearly my talents are lacking in this activity. It took several of us over an hour, much muttering and a mix of brawn and brains to regain access. In the end we sent an SOS to our local mechanic, Billy, who came to our rescue and performed an ingenious retrieval of the key. Lesson learned by me, but not by the dogs. Glad to be freed, unfazed, they simply resumed their work.

I’m happy to report that this year there’s enough space in the sheds to bring in all but the smallest of my hoggets for finishing. It’s a far better alternative to feeding outside, where sloshing around in muddy conditions

is no fun. Indoor feeding is infinitely easier, and the young collies relish their task of herding the hoggets into a pen, allowing us to put feed in without disruption.

I’ve enjoyed getting back into the swing of market days, and so far prices have been good; long may it last. That said, I’ve realised I’m a bit out of practice. This became obvious when I was standing in the pen with my finished animals, the auctioneer was proceeding at speed nearby and a buyer asked me: “have you got a van?” I looked at him blankly.

My mind drifted back to the early days when just starting out. We hadn’t two shillings to rub together, so we bought an old, ex-GPO van. Back then, when needs must, we transported sheep in the back of that van. Right at that moment, though, I couldn’t think why I needed a van…

Seeing my expression, he rephrased the question: “Are you farm assured?” The penny dropped; he was referring to a Vet Attested Number. I felt such an idiot. I really need to keep up with the lingo.

I was particularly pleased with the sale of cull ewes. I also parted with ‘Mr Bump’, a Suffolk/Texel ram with plenty of character. He sired good lambs, but his broad shoulders meant that his offspring’s journey into the world wasn’t always easy. This tupping season we kept him in reserve and, though I felt a twinge of regret, sometimes the head must rule the heart.

Back at home, the grass is getting a well-deserved rest, but come March the ewes will return from grazing the marshes. They’re looking well, but they’ll soon need extra nutrition and immunisation etc., in preparation for lambing. The winter calves are thriving and we’re bracing ourselves for the main batch of cows to calve. Some will be the progeny of Emerald, our new young Angus bull; I’m hoping all will be well.

Finally, our 2024 Farming Equipment & Technology Fund grant application claim has been acknowledged. The Rural Payments Agency has stated that all valid claims should be paid by 20 June. Finger crossed. In my opinion, there should be a new political rule: stop blaming previous governments. Unfortunately, this one isn’t listening to reason. But take heart, food is vital for life, and farmers will always be needed.

Was that really necessary? What’s wrong with grass?

A gathering of geese

I taped up the hole where the rats entered Jimny, they did it again!

These three weren’t repentant about locking themselves inside

The Spaniels relaxing, not much room for us

The three collies are always keen to help

Jimny

By Peter Knight, managing director of Burgate Farms Ltd, Hambledon, Surrey.

The recent announcement of resistance to glyphosate being confirmed in ryegrass on a farm in Kent should not have come as a surprise. Roundup arrived on the UK market in 1975, transforming the control of couch grass along with other perennial weeds such as docks.

Having been around for 50 years and used regularly and more frequently over the past 25 years, resistance should not be a surprise, especially as there have been confirmed cases of resistance in other countries, including in Europe.

The issue is what happens going forward. There are other suspected cases of ryegrass resistance being tested at present, and they are not all from Kent. If, as more samples are tested in the next few months, the problem turns out to be more widespread, we are in a difficult situation.

Hopefully the Kent case is isolated, or at least any new sites are not widespread; if it is localised there is more chance of containment with robust management.

Farming methods today rely heavily on glyphosate for total weed control. Direct drilling, regenerative methods and minimal soil movement all use glyphosate. There are no alternatives; glyphosate is the only total herbicide on the market and we are told there

GLYPHOSATE RESISTANCE – HOW CONCERNING IS IT?

is not even an alternative being developed. There needs to be a very robust glyphosate stewardship protocol developed to reduce the chances of resistance becoming widespread. This should include increasing the amount of active ingredient applied to fields with known ryegrass. The days of using 540g/ha are gone; if glyphosate is required, use 1,080g.

If plants receive a sub-lethal pre-drilling spray, they are still there when the autumn residual is applied and not controlled. By the spring they are large plants that will not be controlled by any chemical. In such situations it will not be long before resistance develops.

The next area of concern is physical movement of ryegrass seed on combines and balers. Everybody must tighten up on hygiene, making sure everything is thoroughly blown off before moving between blocks of land and farms. Many farmers and contractors are traveling and working over wider areas, and this is the most likely way of

moving resistant seed from farm to farm.

To improve soil health, more manure is being applied to arable land. This is not always home produced, potentially allowing ryegrass to be inadvertently bought in. Even in the case of a straw for muck deal, is it only straw from your farm that is being bought back and spread?

There are no mandatory restrictions or rules applied to land that hosts herbicide resistant weeds. The industry needs to come up with its own protocols, which need to be robust and practical. There are two ways to tackle resistance; prevent physical transfer of seed and use every management tool available to prevent it developing on farm. A simple decision tree or flow diagram would help us all make the right decisions to protect glyphosate.

All farmers need glyphosate to continue to be a cost-effective herbicide. We all need it!

In most cases we have learnt how to manage blackgrass, but it looks like it is could be far more difficult to get a grip on ryegrass.

MAKE THE BEST OF FORAGE

Forage is one of the cheapest available feeds for cattle and is capable of sustaining good levels of animal performance even in the autumn and winter. Forage, though, provides an inconsistent source of nutrients and without a balanced nutrient intake, feed digestion and animal performance will suffer.

Crystalyx Cattle Booster is a high energy feed lick that also contains generous levels of all essential minerals and trace elements sufficient to correct all likely mineral deficiencies and imbalances found in forages.

The high sugar content helps feed the rumen bugs so they work harder at digesting forage. Young cattle in their first year typically eat approximately 100g Cattle Booster/head/day at grass, with bulling and in-calf heifers eating about 150g/day. Increased daily liveweight gains of up to 36% have been recorded. For bulling heifers there are potential further benefits of improved in-calf rates over grass-fed controls. In a large New Zealand study with 319 dairy replacement heifers divided into four mobs (two Crystalyx and two control mobs), mated by natural service

at grass, both Crystalyx-fed mobs recorded a 100% pregnancy rate, compared with a 95% pregnancy rate in the controls.

Crystalyx never replaces forage, but complements and balances it, so the rumen bugs digest the forage faster and with improved efficiency.

LIME AGRICULTURAL

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LOCKING CARBON INTO THE SOIL

This month, Nigel Akehurst visitsed Brodie Farms in Brockham, Surrey, to meet farmerturned-biochar maker Alex Brodie, his son Tom and farm manager Andy Jackman. Together, they’re embarking on a pioneering venture, using biochar to radically improve their own soils and exploring a host of new opportunities.

Pulling up at Felton Farm on the outskirts of Brockham, I’m greeted by a very solid looking green sliding gate. After pressing the buzzer and parking opposite a sizeable modern barn, I meet Alex, Tom and Andy. It’s immediately clear this is more than your traditional farming operation.

A FARM IN TRANSITION

Standing outside the wood chip screening barn, farm manager Andy Jackman reflects on how the farm has changed in his 45 years with the family. Once they farmed the land in-house

and even rented an additional 600 acres, running 1,700 commercial ewes alongside arable. By the late 1990s, farming margins were squeezed, prompting a shift.

In 2000, the Brodies launched a wood recycling business at Felton Farm, taking in logs, brash and wood chip from local tree surgeons, and let out a few barns. Over time, this diversification thrived. By 2015, Alex was researching how to move the business forward again.

“Most of our wood was being trucked north,” he explained, “some to be composted,

some to landfill. It wasn’t an efficient use of resources.” Various feasibility studies followed, exploring renewable heat incentives and other ideas, yet the numbers never quite stacked up, until a consultant’s report in 2020 casually mentioned biochar.

WHAT IS BIOCHAR AND WHY IS IT VALUABLE?

For anyone unfamiliar with biochar, I asked Alex to explain it in simple terms. It is a carbonrich material created when organic biomass, in this case wood chip, is heated in a low-oxygen

environment (pyrolysis), he said. Whereas charcoal is made when wood is burned at between 200°C and 300°C, biochar is produced at 400°C or higher; Felton’s pyrolysis unit can reach up to 900°C.

The result is a stable product that can lock carbon into the soil for centuries, mitigating climate change. It also improves soil fertility by boosting nutrient retention, microbial activity and water-holding capacity (it can hold six to seven times its weight in water and release it when sodden, meaning it acts like a sponge), potentially lifting yields and reducing irrigation needs. Biochar can help curb greenhouse gas emissions like methane and nitrous oxide, while also providing a solution for forestry and agricultural waste.

SECURING FUNDING AND FACING DOWN THREATS

Initially, Alex explored grant funding for the biochar plant but found it “wasn’t deemed innovative enough”. Equity funding also felt unsuitable, so he ultimately secured a green loan from his bank (HSBC). In his business plan, he tackled potential threats head-on:

• Supply of biomass: They’re well placed in one of England’s most wooded counties, with strong links to local tree surgeons.

• Reliability of technology: Alex and Andy visited their Welsh supplier, WoodTek Engineering, to see the Woodtek C1000 biochar system working first hand. Mick Jones has been engineering biochar production plants and farming using biochar since 2021. Since being

commissioned in September 2024, the system has been operational 75% to 80% of the time, with a few minor issues that Mick and his team have either been able to troubleshoot remotely or have visited to sort out.

• Commercial market: The UK biochar market is still emerging, but Alex is optimistic. He’s collaborating with other small UK producers and selling to private horticultural clients via his website (www.broiebiomass.co.uk).

Elsewhere in the world, biochar adoption is more advanced. “In the US, farmers are already being paid to apply it to their fields,” Alex remarked, adding that Europe’s biochar market is also growing quickly and has been valued at an anticipated USD 2.71 billion by 2032.

PLANT TOUR

As I was keen to see a bit more of the operation, Alex and Andy took me to the wood yard first, where local tree surgeons drop off wood chip, brash and logs, all stacked in large piles. The biochar plant consumes roughly 100 tonnes of wood chip a week. A JCB telehandler loads chip into a screener, segregating it into three streams; one fraction heads for pyrolysis, one for compost and anything too large goes back into the brash pile for further shredding. Screening and drying: Wood chip is dried in the main barn until it reaches the correct moisture level and is then conveyed into a second shed where it is screened a second time before being collected by JCB to be transported to the next door shed for pyrolysis. >>

FARM FACTS

• Just under 550 acres across three farms, including 474 acres of arable (contract-farmed by Ford Farms), 62 acres of woodland and 52 acres of grass, grazed by Tom’s polo ponies

• Diversification: A 25-year wood business at Felton Farm, commercial lets and a new biochar plant

• Under a Countryside Stewardship mid-tier agreement

• Biochar trial: Baseline readings taken on arable land at Felton Farm for on-farm compost and biochar experiments

• Plant capacity: Consumes 100 tonnes of wood chip weekly, producing 17.5 tonnes of biochar

• Biochar is recognised by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) as a form of carbon sequestration and therefore generates carbon credits which can be sold

• It also increases soil organic matter and displaces the need for chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS: BRODIE FARMS

<<

Pyrolysis in action: In the pyrolysis shed stands a tall, black, spaceship-like machine. Heated in a near-vacuum at over 800°C, the wood chip is transformed into biochar. Through a glass panel, I glimpsed the lower chamber where wood becomes biochar. Afterwards, the biochar is discharged into a neighbouring bay, ready for loading.

Future renewables: A final bay is reserved for an eventual renewable energy project; plans include generating electricity from the pyrolysis heat and potentially selling it back to the grid. The heat produced already heats the water which goes to the drying barn to dry both the wood chip and agricultural produce.

MIXING WITH COMPOST AND ON-FARM TRIALS

Hopping into Alex’s pickup, we head to the compost yard a short drive away along a farm track. As we near the yard, he points out a 120m-long windrow (about 1,500 cubic metres) composed of biochar, compost and horse manure.

FARMING AND ENVIRONMENT FOCUSED JOURNALISM AND DIGITAL CONTENT CREATION

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“You need to inoculate biochar with compost,” he explained. “On its own, biochar is inert, but when you mix it with compost, you populate the biochar’s pores with microbes and nutrients. This is what brings real benefits to the soil.”

He has taken baseline soil samples from Felton Farm’s arable land and plans to spread the compost/biochar mix this autumn. If the trial delivers higher yields, reduced input costs and elevated soil organic matter, Alex reckons they could see a net improvement of at least £60,000 to the bottom line.

In the compost yard, we inspect different piles of biochar and various windrows. Using a Compost Manager toolkit, Alex monitors temperature, oxygen and other variables, accessing data securely in the cloud and turning the piles at optimal times.

LIVESTOCK BENEFITS

Biochar isn’t beneficial only to arable farmers; livestock could also reap rewards from it, explained Alex. Studies suggest that,

when used as a feed additive, biochar’s high absorbency can suppress gut pathogens and improve overall digestive health, leading to better feed efficiency and weight gain. It can also bind nutrients in manure, creating a nutrient-dense compost/fertiliser product that might replace petroleumbased fertilisers, cut odours, and generate new income streams for farmers. Similar benefits apply to the poultry market. As a peat-free compost, it is also of interest to the horticultural market and vineyards.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND CREDITS

With the global carbon market in a boom, Alex is finalising the life cycle analysis of his biochar operation and aims to sell carbon credits soon. Each tonne of biochar represents around 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ sequestered, which is worth 2.5 carbon credits.

“After brokerage fees, that’s roughly £150 per tonne of biochar produced,” he said. Producing 2.5 tonnes of biochar daily, his

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annual target of 900 tonnes could yield 2,250 credits—enough to make a substantial dent in the plant’s financing costs.

BEYOND AGRICULTURE

Beyond farms, other industries are taking notice. Alex has sold biochar to horticultural clients in one-tonne bags priced at £600, while exploring larger bulk deals.

At the recent Bio360 Expo in Nates, France, he found a company using biochar for 3D printing, valuing it at £3,000 per tonne. Asphalt and cement companies are interested, as are brick manufacturers, who see its potential as a coal substitute for colouring bricks. As an alternative to activated charcoal, biochar can also be used in water filtration systems and for land remediation.

LOOKING AHEAD

Back at the main yard, Alex hands me more information on biochar. I ask for his ultimate vision. He references Terra Preta (by Ute Scheub, Kaiko Pieplow, Hans-Peter Schmidt and Kathleen Draper), a seminal work that has fueled the recent surge of interest in biochar: “If we, by means of climate farming, were to raise the humus content of soil by 10% within the next 50 years, the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere could potentially be reduced to preindustrial levels.” Adding biochar to the soil, Alex believes, is one key piece of a much bigger puzzle. However, he’s convinced it can be transformative, not just for Brodie Farms but for agriculture, the environment and beyond. He’s eager to prove the concept through his on-farm trials, share his experiences and watch this pioneering project flourish in the years ahead.

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DEFRA Secretary of State Steve Reed addressed just over 100 members of the Farmers Club last month. He was brave, as frankly, it was an evening that many thought might not happen.

With the extensive campaigning around the proposed inheritance tax changes, he was never going to have an easy time, though we perhaps need to have some sympathy as, apparently, he didn’t know about the proposal until the evening before the announcement, as blindsided as the industry he now has in his portfolio.

He began by expressing gratitude for the warm welcome, stating it was the first time he had been to the Farmers Club. He also said that he was looking forward to the question-andanswer session to come! He emphasised how important it was to recognise the expertise and experience represented in the room, reiterated how important the sector was to the UK, our significant role in the health of the nation and our role in caring for the green environment.

Steve talked about his recent appearance at the Oxford Farming Conference, where he shared his vision for the future of farming, highlighting the significant changes in the farming sector, citing our exit from the European Union and the transition from Basic Payments to the Environmental Land Management scheme. He acknowledged the difficulties faced by farmers such as volatile input costs, tight margins, supply chain imbalances, skilled worker shortages, excessive paperwork and extreme weather conditions.

Part of his Oxford Farming Conference speech had been the announcement of a farming roadmap aimed at making farming and food production sustainable and profitable. The roadmap will focus on three main strands: food production, income diversification and restoring nature.

The importance of restoring nature for sustainable food production was highlighted, with significant investments planned to help farmers transition to nature-friendly farming methods. This generated some comment from the room as the Secretary of State strayed out of his comfort zone and tried to talk about yields in relation to organic systems vs contemporary production methods.

He said the Government was committed to using its purchasing power to support

STEPPING INTO THE LION’S DEN

British produce and ensure fair trade opportunities. It also plans to introduce new rules for various sectors to ensure fairness and support innovation. He highlighted examples of technology and innovation in the sector, such as transparent solar panels on soft fruit polytunnels and precision breeding technology, aspects of UK excellence that are delivering real change and benefit to an international market with its roots in the UK. Steve also touched on the Government’s investment in flood defences and reviewing existing regulations to help farmers deal with severe weather conditions and environmental challenges. The flood defences statement generating a lot of grumbling around the room about lack of dredging and decades of neglect of public waterways leading to loss of land and a significant issue to rectify now. He moved onto the plans to introduce reforms to support farmers in diversifying their income and building business resilience. This

includes planning reforms to make it easier for farmers to build necessary infrastructure and repurpose redundant buildings to deliver income opportunities and encourage business opportunities in rural areas.

And inheritance tax? Well clearly this wasn’t going to go well. We must accept that this was landed on him; he is in a difficult situation where the party line doesn’t land well when you have other policy elements of real benefit proposed that your directorate is trying to deliver in parallel.

More progress is being made on a national food strategy that talks more than in recent years about farming and its role in delivering food security than in recent years, with farming’s place in the nation’s diet and overseas trade aspirations getting greater prominence with its pivotal position within the circular economy strategy led by Emma Bourne. There is a lot happening and much that the farming sector can influence.

SARAH CALCUTT ARA g S Chair, Fruiterers Awards Council

SET STRONG FOUNDATIONS WITH A TIMELY T0

The challenges that brown and yellow rust posed to wheat crops in 2024 highlight the importance of protecting crops from the outset this spring, explains Hutchinsons regional director James Short.

Rust management is a numbers game. You must act early to slow it down before inoculum builds, and in most situations that starts with the growth stage 30 (T0) fungicide.

Eastern counties typically face the highest yellow rust risk, and last year we saw particularly early appearance of brown rust in many wheat crops across southern England. Very few varieties have seedling stage resistance to brown rust, so if it does come in early, risk must be managed promptly. Yield loss to brown rust infections can be very high, and susceptible varieties must be managed accordingly.

Whether last year’s high rust pressure means more inoculum this spring remains to be seen, as it may be countered in part by January’s cold weather. Several hard frosts (at least -5°C or below) can delay rust onset,

while milder conditions could result in earlier pressure again.

Traditionally, yellow rust favours cooler conditions, but there are signs it is adapting to warmer weather, while the opposite appears true of brown rust, which seems better at coping with cooler temperatures.

KEEPING CROPS CLEAN

A good T0 is therefore a sensible option, as it sets the foundations for effective disease control and, crucially, helps manage the pressure on subsequent GS 32 (T1) treatments and key yield-building leaves.

With a wide range of drilling dates and crop development across the region, priority should be given to earlier-sown, forward wheats.

Strobilurins or azoles (notably tebuconazole) are the main options for curative rust control at T0, and those looking to boost Septoria protection should consider including a multisite like folpet. It is best to avoid mainline azoles that will feature later in the programme, such as prothioconazole.

Remember, though, late-sown and stressed crops can be susceptible to yellow rust as plants are less well developed and natural defence mechanisms are reduced, even in varieties with higher varietal ratings. This was evident last year, so is worth recognising if crops have sat in wet, waterlogged soils for prolonged periods this winter.

BUILDING SHOOTS AND ROOTS

Although rust has become the focus for T0 fungicides, it is important not to overlook the importance of this timing for manipulating crop physiology too.

As tillering stops and crops enter stem extension, we can use plant growth

regulators to manage apical dominance and help balance the flow of nutrients and energy into leaves, tillers and the grain sites beginning to develop. The aim is to give plants the best chance of supporting as many productive tillers as they can.

There is an important distinction between this early growth ‘manipulation’ and the use of PGRs at the later GS 31/32 or 37/39 timings, where the focus is on growth ‘regulation’ by shortening and strengthening the stem to reduce lodging risks.

Phosphite-based biostimulants are also worth considering at T0, as experience shows they can help stimulate and maintain tillers and promote root growth, with all the knock-on benefits that brings in terms of nutrient/water uptake and crop health.

Finally, although there is a wide range of drilling dates and crop development coming out of winter, crops are very good at catching up as rising temperatures and day length drive growth. This can make spray timings tricky, so monitor crops closely and ensure you identify growth stages correctly. Good coverage is vital, too, so while there is an understandable desire to get the job done quickly when workloads are busy, crops are growing rapidly and weather is catchy, this must not be at the expense of product efficacy.

JAMES SHORT Regional Director

T: 07721 567083

E: james.short@hlhltd.co.uk

Canterbury: 01227 830064 www.hlhltd.co.uk

The winter months can often be good for reflection, and the last period has seen much to discuss, review and consider. However, as we move into spring, it’s more important to look forward and plan for upcoming activities.

With so much going on around the agricultural industry in terms of policy and tax changes delivering direct impact to all businesses, it is understandably easy to get distracted by the many things we have no control over. Times like this provide a great opportunity to look over the fence and see how others are adapting to, or dealing with, these headwinds.

In my experience of supporting both farming and other industries, the most successful business owners seem to retain a steely focus on their own strategies, which could be sales growth, maximising production, ruthless cost efficiency or driving down their environmental impact.

Within all their targets and key performance indicators, their focus is on the things they can control. This is, of course, much easier said than done, but even in the last few difficult years there are standout farming businesses with levels of performance that, based on any number of measures, do not relate to their scale, industry or age/experience.

This is because those individuals just don’t get blown off course, and that is what makes my role so satisfying. It is the people that make businesses work. Do they have a clear, long-term strategy, and does this influence short-term decision making or not? How are challenges approached? How do they manage people and those other stakeholders who may influence their operating environment? How much time do they spend away from their business, not just looking over the fences but getting under the skin of the drivers of performance of the best businesses out there? It does, of course, depend on financial management, too, and all the same challenges apply. There will continue to be pressure on farming incomes because of climate change, geopolitical pressures,

CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES

Justin Ellis, senior director, agriculture and large estates, for Virgin Money, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural industry and the importance of maintaining a forward-thinking mindset.

commodity prices and government policy, but none of these variables outside a business owner’s control should divert attention from what can be done to mitigate, insure and diversify a business to build resilience.

Another issue I often debate with customers is that of grants. I am trying in this article not to get blown off course myself and blame government policy, so I come back to my challenge that any investment opportunity really should stand on its own merit. If an investment makes good business sense because it will deliver a return, be it financial, environmental, in greater efficiency or whatever measure you value, then waiting for a grant to appear potentially just delays the benefits.

I recognise the value of grants, and you don’t want to miss out if they are available, but do they actually distract from prudent decision making that supports an overarching logical strategy? At the same time, the availability of a grant does not justify an investment in itself.

As funders, we think in terms of risk and risk mitigation, and recognise that the agricultural industry right now has everincreasing exposure to the free market, with subsidised food production now almost non-existent. This is systemic change, and farmers and landowners in the future will need to be even more agile, ever closer to their customers, the consumer and end users

of their products, and to some degree reduce their sole reliance on food production from their land or business.

While we support the various campaigns that may positively impact central government decision making, maybe such campaigns can, more importantly, more positively engage the UK consumers. It is an inevitable reality that farming businesses will require the pursuit of diversification opportunities around their core enterprises to deal with ongoing demand and price variability, sustain pressures from imports and build resilience to reduce risk across the sector. Reducing the gap between the population and how our food is grown and sourced is a responsibility for us all in the industry but also allows a variety of other opportunities to be pursued.

As bankers to such a critical sector, we remain positive about the future of farming and food production. We anticipate ongoing change, and we consider that as an opportunity to support forward-focused businesses with the agility and vision to move forward towards their goals whatever headwinds that materialise. Mindset is critical in delivering positive outcomes and I share that positive approach with our customers. I encourage you to surround yourselves with those whom you look up to, learn from the focused and forward-thinking and don’t spend too much time on those things you just can’t control.

JUSTIN ELLIS, B.SC. PMIAGRM Senior Director, Agriculture & Large Estates –Virgin Money

E: justin.ellis@virginmoney.com www.virginmoney.com

ARABLE NOTES

LAYING DOWN FOUNDATIONS

This month’s article is by technical director Peter Cowlrick.

March is always a busy month. Along with drilling, it is a key time of the year for some important agronomy inputs that lay down the foundations of canopy management, early season disease control and ultimately final yield potential in winter crops.

WINTER CEREALS

There are essentially two cereal crop scenarios to manage this spring, those that were early October or November-sown, with around 60% to 75% of winter wheat crops here in the south being sown in November.

Later-sown crops are backward following the relatively cold conditions since the new year and will need careful management to fulfil their potential. Winter barley and second wheats should be prioritised for nitrogen applications, followed by November-sown wheats, then September/ early October sown-wheats and finally winter oats from month’s end.

Later-sown small, backward crops will need spoon feeding with nitrogen, as poor root structure limits their ability to pick it up. Applying 40kg/ha to 50kg/ha in early March followed by a further 50kg/ha to 75kg/ha

towards the end of the month will ensure crops have ample nutrition without running the risk of significant leaching losses.

As well as nitrogen, remember that where sulphur is being supplied in the form of polysulphate, applications should be completed as a priority as it has a slower, steady release over six weeks rather than being readily available.

March is typically the optimum month for tidying up any grassweeds that have survived autumn residual herbicide programmes, as a combination of longer days and active growth confer optimal efficacy to the various acetolactate synthase (ALS)-based contact herbicides available such as Pacifica Plus, Atlantis Star and the newly approved Broadway Ultra for combined brome and (sensitive) blackgrass and ryegrass control. Additionally, if bur chervil is a problem, then this should be targeted as soon as possible using an effective herbicide such as Ally Max, Harmony M or similar.

Earlier-sown wheat and barley crops will be approaching GS30 by late March and are likely to benefit from an application of a plant growth regulator to strengthen stem bases, enhance rooting and suppress apical

CCC AGRONOMY

Chichester Crop Consultancy is a farmer member run co-operative agronomy service that aims to deliver truly independent, research/ science-led agronomy advice with no commercial bias and now covers the South of England.

CCC works closely with Crop Advisors, which supplies independent group purchasing on crop inputs as well as sourcing cover crop /environmental scheme seed mixes.

dominance to help promote tiller survival and retention. If brown or yellow rust is evident, including either Tebuconazole or an approved strobilurin would be prudent to damp down disease ahead of later T1 inputs. Later-sown wheat varieties that are yellow rust-susceptible will also need careful monitoring and treating if the disease is becoming active.

WINTER OILSEED RAPE

Many winter oilseed rape crops have been plagued by pigeons throughout the winter, but hopefully are now beginning to respond to February-applied nitrogen and starting to produce new growth. Viable crops that have been pigeon grazed will need further nitrogen applied to support growth from early March, with all crops needing final applications completed by the late green bud stage. Where broad-leaved weed control is required, then the herbicide Korvetto can be used from 1 March onwards; remember that the latest application time is before flower buds are visible above the leaf canopy.

Peter Cowlrick

STEPHEN CARR

PROVERBIAL RED RAG

It all started so well. I’d not had any real contact with anyone from my bank for over two years and I desperately needed a face-to-face meeting with a qualified person to tackle a couple of issues I’d found impossible to sort out using the bank’s call centre. He’d very kindly come to my farmhouse.

He couldn’t have been more helpful in dealing with my concerns but should have left at that point. Instead, he made the terrible mistake of asking me if there was anything else the bank could do to improve the service it was offering.

I’ve never been very fond of banks, so this was the proverbial red rag. The relaxed atmosphere evaporated faster than you can say ‘overdraft arrangement fee’ as I reminded my visitor that I’d banked with his employer since before he was a twinkle in his father’s eye and, in those far-off, halcyon days, all transactions on my bank account had been free of charge. So, why was I now being levied fees?

I then pointed out that the large amount of money I borrowed from the bank in my youth was only ever charged at a lending rate of 1% over base. So, why was it that, with my current modest overdraft facility, I was now being charged 2% over base?

He tried to explain that when base rates are low, banks tend to increase their lending margins, but I barely heard him as I was now on a real roll. Instead, I complained that rather than receive an occasional visit from the bank by a representative covering several counties in the South East, I once used to be able to visit my local branch whenever I liked. There, in a lovely panelled office, would be the familiar face of the manager with whom I could chat through any worries or problems I had. Better still, these meetings all happened over a nice cup of tea served in fine bone china. During the afternoon, indeed, there were even scones on offer, brought in on a nice silver tea tray. “And what happened to that lovely old branch and friendly staff?” I demanded from him, not waiting for him to answer. “Closed and sacked, respectively!”

Trying to lighten the mood, he pointed out how nice it was to come to visit farms and “get away from the office for a bit”. I replied that he should think himself lucky to be allowed on my property at all as my grandfather had always told me to “never let a banker on your farm”. In his day (the farming recession years of the 1920s and 1930s) even the sight of a banker walking across a farmer’s field was taken to be a ‘foreclosure visit’. If reported locally, agricultural merchants would immediately cut off any lines of credit to the farmer.

He was now looking at me as if I were a madman. Then, just as I was launching into a tirade about the idiotic collective tendency of banks to increase lending just when they should be anticipating a recession and reducing lending, he declared that he was “already late for his next appointment” and made his escape.

I wonder when I’ll get my next visit from the bank? I fear it could be longer than two years.

STEPHEN CARR

Stephen farms near Eastbourne in East Sussex in partnership with his wife and four of his daughters. The farm has a pub, the Sussex Ox at Milton Street, which serves the farm's pedigree Sussex beef, Southdown-cross lamb and fruit and vegetables from the farmhouse kitchen-garden.

SOIL HEALTH

MAXIMISING YIELDS AND THEREFORE PROFITS

Soil is the fundamental building block for arable farming, and keeping that soil in prime condition is the ultimate goal of farmers who are looking to maximise yields and therefore profits.

That ambition can often mean adding fertiliser, lime or organic matter to the soil in order to keep it in top condition or replenish nutrients, but with the cost of inputs coming off the bottom line, it’s equally important to add only what is necessary to achieve the soil’s maximum potential.

The only cost-effective way of achieving the best soil at the lowest price is to assess its current make up accurately enough to allow the farmer to add exactly what is needed.

That ambition needs careful and comprehensive soil sampling and mapping, which is where Farm Image, based just outside Faversham in Kent, can play such a vital part in boosting soil health and productivity.

With 25 years’ experience in soil nutritional management services, the company offers a range of mapping and sampling services and uses the latest technology to help farmers understand what’s below the surface of their fields and how they can improve it cost effectively.

That technology includes a state-ofthe-art Veris U3 scanner that can identify the amount of organic matter at a range of points across a field and can also be used to map water capacity and nitrogen risk and inform variable rate planting, particularly for high value crops.

Standard soil sampling for pH, phosphate, potassium and magnesium is carried out by Farm Image using the standard RB209 method to give accurate averages for each field, while colour coded results highlight what action needs to be taken. Farm Image can also provide a nutrient management plan for the following four years.

“The Environment Agency has upped the number of inspectors and is increasingly keen

to make sure farmers comply with

“In addition, most Sustainable Farming Incentive actions and accreditation schemes require the farmer to know the make-up of his or her field, besides which it plays a big part in how productive it is.”

While hand augurs are still used on occasions, most of the work is now done using Can-Am all-terrain vehicles mounted with Wintex automatic samplers. While the standard depth for a sample is 15cm, Farm Image has also invested in a Wintex 3000, which can reach 90cms into the soil and can take three samples, one at 0cm to 30cm, one at 30cm to 60cm and one at 60cm to 90cm and is used for soil mineral nitrogen and carbon sampling.

the rules,” explained Farm Image director Louise Burley.

SOIL HEALTH FEATURED COMPANY:

Farm Image has built up an impressive reputation and its fourstrong soil sampling team is kept busy year-round sampling fields from as far afield as York, Birmingham, Cornwall, Cumbria and the Isle of Wight, as well as the whole of the South East.

Georgia Straker, who looks after environmental compliance for the Farm Image team, pointed out that it wasn’t just larger farms that needed to be aware of their responsibilities.

“We had a call last year from someone with a 12-acre holding on which she kept a small flock of sheep,” she explained. “She had had a visit from the Environment Agency, which then sent her a long list of requirements which she was struggling to understand and deal with.

“We were able to advise her on their requirements and we also analysed her soil and pointed out where the organic matter from her flock would improve the soil, whereas she had just been spreading it anywhere. It’s not just a matter of complying with the rules, but of making the best use of what you have. She was delighted that we were able to help.”

Being able to create detailed maps of where nutrients are lacking allows farmers to use variable mapping when applying the necessary fertilisers and avoid using more than they need.

Another popular service offered by Farm Image is providing a pH analysis and mapping service, usually at one-hectare intervals, and creating a variable rate spreading map for lime. “Oilseed rape and barley, in particular, benefit from the right pH level, and the relatively low cost of precision mapping avoids spreading lime where it isn’t needed,” said Louise. Farm Image offers a full liming service, including supplying and variable rate spreading.

Farm Image’s free online SoilSmart system also allows the farmers themselves to access all the data, which is stored in ‘the cloud’ and is available not just to the company’s expert analysts but to the individual farmer, who can use the data however they wish. The data

itself is supplied by an independent laboratory to which Farm Image sends the samples it collects.

In another nod to rapidly advancing technology, Farm Image also offers satellite imagery using either the Sentinel 2 or Planetscope systems. Optical sensors mounted on satellites measure the variation in the crop canopy during the growing season and can allow Farm Image to prescribe variable rate nitrogen and plant growth regulator applications aimed at boosting low performing areas.

“Again, the farmer can use SoilSmart to identify areas that need more nitrogen and create their variable rate application programme themselves, or they can ask one of our team to set it up for them,” said Louise.

Other important members of the customer-focused Farm Image team are sales director Steve Hammond, Hannah Gorman, who looks after agricultural sales alongside Steve, and Bel De’ath, who handles compliance admin.

Hannah and Louise

Plumpton’s courses are ideal for students who want to learn more about the broader aspects of agriculture. The courses prepare students competently at the start of their careers and support them as they progress onto the next level of qualification, allowing them to develop skills at a higher level and prepare for management.

The courses allow students to develop underpinning knowledge while practising skills essential in the agricultural industry. The college focuses on practical work experience, with classroom sessions to help build understanding.

Students benefit from excellent facilities and expert staff. They study a range of subjects, including livestock husbandry, machinery and crops.

They will have an opportunity to work on the college farm and undertake work experience. Their work will be a balance of theoretical knowledge of animal and plant systems and practical work to underpin the theory.

Here is a summary of activities that students have been involved with over the past month:

OLLY

I am a year one, level 3 agriculture student studying at Plumpton college. The theory side is very engaging, teaching us the scientific side and how tasks would be completed on a farm.

The lecturers do an amazing job of teaching us; there is never a dull day in the classroom. We do varied tasks such as research reports, information leaflets and other tasks that give us the knowledge to perform to the best of our ability in the classroom and on the farm.

The lessons really complement the practical side of the course by backing up practical knowledge with theory knowledge.

BRIDGING THEORY AND PRACTICE EDUCATION

How Plumpton College prepares students for a successful agricultural career.

The teachers are all from a strong industry background, which is much valued by the students. Industry links mean that experienced speakers come into the college and share their industry knowledge and visits to their farms are always very interesting and informative.

MORGAN

Practicals at Plumpton College really help you further understand and gain knowledge in many different areas of agriculture. For example, if we learn about sheep in livestock practicals, we get the opportunity to do everything for them, from collecting them to giving them the actual injections, which many other places and some farms wouldn't let you do. This experience really helps us stand

out as a potential candidate for jobs. My favourite practical sessions by far are machinery practicals, as we get the opportunity to do tasks such as cultivation, including drilling, which on many farms is not something you are trusted to do for a number of years.

When there isn't anything to do in the fields we get to spend time in the workshop, gaining an understanding of how to rectify mechanical issues which may occur in the workplace. College leavers are more attractive to an employer if they have the skills to fix a piece of machinery, as it will save on downtime.

I am looking forward to drier conditions and starting fieldwork again, as spring is just around the corner. I am also looking forward to lambing and calving.

If you are an employer and would like to know more about the benefits of taking on an apprentice, the college would be delighted to help; get in touch with our apprenticeships team at business@plumpton.ac.uk

AT COLCHESTER MARKET

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

SKY THE LIMIT FOR BEEF TRADE

It appeared as this report was being written in early February that the sky was the limit in the beef trade. Prices advanced sharply from Christmas, and on a weekly basis we were seeing Colchester prime cattle at over £4 a kilo, with averages for the whole sales going from 330p/kg to 370p/kg for all grades. This is a tremendous return caused totally by supply and demand, with numbers totally inadequate throughout the country for both live weight and dead weight buyers. Reports are that prices will advance even further throughout 2025, but it is still difficult when speaking to retail butchers to see how the increased price that is being paid for cattle can be turned into profit in the shop. Let us hope British beef does not become a luxury.

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As stated, trade throughout the live markets was extremely fast, with buyers desperately short of stock and the trade in 2025 some 60p/kg and approximately £300 a head more than during the same period in 2024.

It is most unusual for the trade to increase throughout January and February, which often sees a lull in the beef trade.

We saw cattle in Colchester trading at over £2,800 a head, prices that we would not have dreamed of 12 months ago.

As a result of the increase in the prime cattle trade the over 30-month trade was also substantially dearer, advancing sharply on the year with best cows trading well over 200p/kg and clean over-age heifers and steers trading up well over £3 per kilo.

As a result of the beef trade, store cattle are also exceptionally dear, with numbers as usual at this time of year extremely short. Farmers are looking to replace cattle in yards buoyed by the finished cattle trade.

In the sheep market we also saw prices well above 12 months ago in January and early February. It must be remembered that the real surge in the sheep trade last year happened in April and May, so it will be interesting to see where we go this year.

Best hoggets were regularly trading from £160 to £200 a head for heavier weights, with export weight lambs the dearest per kilo, trading at over £4 per kilo live weight. This trade was some 30p/kg dearer than in 2024.

Many more sheep could be sold to advantage through the live system, which has resulted in an increase in the dead weight quotes as well.

The cull ewe trade is exceptionally dear, with numbers generally shorter than required. Best heavy ewes have been trading at over £200 a head and North Country Mules trading at anything from £80 to £160, depending on quality. More could again be sold to advantage.

Store sheep also reflected the increase in the finished sheep trade, with prices again well above 12 months ago.

For the first time in many months, the finished pig trade was under some pressure as supply exceeded demand. With the benefit of cheaper feed, pig producers are still in a far better place than they were three years ago, but it is disappointing to see the downturn in the pork trade compared with that for sheep and cattle. Cull sow trade was also more difficult, with the reports of cancellation on loads noted.

The next month looks to be interesting for livestock producers in the sheep and cattle trade, and we hope the signs continue to be positive when the next report is written in early March.

ASHFORD SEEING SOME OF THE STRONGEST PRICES IN THE COUNTRY

Since writing in these pages at the end of 2024, we are well past the Christmas and new year period, which brought with it not only some good days’ trading in the market but also a welldeserved week off for the team after what was a very busy year’s trading in 2024.

Last year saw many highs and also some frustrating low points, with records broken in the sheep pens in the spring followed by a difficult time of selling in the autumn with restrictions imposed on us by the bluetongue virus.

In hindsight, when the restrictions were newly upon us it seemed a very daunting prospect, and I can assure you that standing on the rostrum with 6,000 sheep to sell and only five or six counties from which buyers were able to buy is not a feeling that brings back happy thoughts. But I have to say that it’s a distant memory and we got through it with what turned out to be a good trade. From November onwards the sheep trade was unaffected by the restrictions, and by December and after Christmas, Ashford was seeing some of the strongest prices in the country for both store and finished sheep on a weekly basis.

The cattle section was impacted differently to the sheep as we are not as reliant on large numbers travelling to finishers from further west, and they showed little or no signs of impact until October, when many finishers were weather affected and some of the longer term cattle were slightly harder to sell.

During the run up to Christmas, a small spark ignited in the cattle industry with the realisation that numbers are just not out there anymore. This spark has now grown into a full fire and the prices being seen in the cattle ring have gone into overdrive, and we have seen levels in excess of £2,000 for store cattle for further finishing and almost £4/kg for finished beef cattle. By the time you read this, these prices could easily have been superseded!

Last year in the finished hogget section, we saw a lift week on week until we were at levels that were once only ever seen for champions at primestock shows. We have since found a new price level for both finished and store sheep that is greatly improved on two years ago and appears to be sustainable for all involved in the supply chain. All is happy in the sheep industry.

The beef industry could easily do the same this spring, with prices now at unprecedented levels and, at the time of writing, regular rises are being seen each week. This creates a difficult choice as to when to sell your cattle, but our advice is not to attempt to predict the top of the trade but instead sell when it suits your cattle and yourself, to take full advantage of the prices available. Any product can be too dear at times for some to buy, but supply is critical at present and this will not change for some time.

We have a very full calendar of sales outside of the livestock market in the coming months. A major farm dispersal sale on Friday

JOHN ROSSITER

Reporting on the market at Ashford T: 01233 502222

www.hobbsparker.co.uk

14 March at Intercrop Ltd, near Deal, will comprise 35 tractors, large amounts of farm machinery and farm vehicles, along with good quality workshop equipment and spares. Saturday 29 March brings us to near Snodland for another dispersal sale, this time for the Holborough Shoot, which contains some modern machinery and a large amount of equipment suited to rearing game birds.

The farming climate is unsettled, and with changes on the horizon for many businesses the need for advice on asset organisation and, potentially, disposal is certainly important. We can offer fully confidential advice in all of these matters to anyone who may have concerns for the future, so please make contact directly via email or telephone.

SUSSEX CATTLE SOCIETY

SALE

Live 5pm Wednesday 12th March

Final Bidding 5pm Thursday 13th March

Catalogues available mid February from South East Marts Hailsham (01323) 844 874 https://southeastmarts.co.uk info@southeastmarts.co.uk

01580 880105

enq@sussexcattlesociety.org.uk www.sussexcattlesociety.org.uk

LAMBING IS UPON US

By the time this drops through sheep producers’ letter boxes, lambing will for many be underway; a bit of reading material may provide a useful distraction in those quiet, pre-dawn hours in the lambing shed. Hopefully all the hard work and preparation devoted to getting ewes to the point of lambing will be reaping dividends; good luck.

As I’ve said on previous occasions, lambing can be a period of juxtaposition. Things can swing from joy to deep depression all within a matter of a few hours; sheep, ewes in particular, seem to thrive in being enigmatic, no more so than at lambing. They have no concept of norms, nor empathy for the shepherd; in reality it often appears to be quite the opposite, they seem to delight in presenting with the odd conundrum, a challenging lambing, guaranteed to kerb the risk of any hubris.

There can’t be many other things in life that one looks forward to with so much enthusiasm, but, once started, one looks forward with equal or greater eagerness to their ending. Lambing is a time with long days of potential highs and lows, when things can get a little wearisome. With this in mind, just consider that a phone call to a fellow sheep producer may be both beneficial and welcomed, a call that provides an opportunity to share problems with someone in the same situation. Problems won’t go away, but the simple act of sharing just makes those tribulations feel a little less personal.

It is also a good time to reflect on a persistent and seemingly ever present problem, that of lamb mortality; lamb losses are regrettable, some almost inevitable, but average lamb mortality for the UK and across much of Europe has remained stubbornly at around 15% for decades; as an average this figure represents a spectrum, meaning that for all those producers managing to keep mortality relatively low, there will be others

exceeding 15%. This is a figure I suspect most sheep producers are neither proud of nor would wish to share with the general public, but some seem to regard 15% as acceptable; it isn’t. It is a waste of one in every seven lambs born, and there are obvious costs associated with every lamb delivered, whether or not it survives. This level of mortality represents fifteen pence in every pound invested into producing those lambs simply being written off.

In half a century-plus, I have experienced numerous lambing sheds and different systems of managing lambing, both indoor and out, in all sorts of locations from hill farms in North Wales to the marshes of Kent, and I can guarantee that those with the least structured systems and untidy lambing sheds are those that are the most likely to have the highest levels of lamb mortality.

Minimising lamb losses (significant disease issues to one side) is generally about attention to detail and good observation, both in the approach to and preparation for lambing; nutrition, health and welfare of the ewe, facilities, etc. and during the lambing season; good observational and lambing skills, good hygiene, monitoring the new born lamb, endless patience and unflappability, etc.

lambs at lambing, often giving rise to an increased mortality, is simply unforgiveable. Without being anthropomorphic, a caring and nurturing approach to lambing is not being “soft” it is just common sense. It is also about attitude. Rather than accepting a 15% loss as the norm, setting a target of say, less than 10% mortality, will make a difference simply by virtue of the additional focus. Trade may be good at present and prospects for the year look reasonably promising, but the sheep production environment is dynamic, prone to changes and challenges; each and every lamb has a value.

ALAN WEST Sheep farmer

Probably the most valuable tool during this critical period is the shepherd’s eye, followed closely by endless patience. In my opinion, rough handling of either ewes or

I know it is a busy time, that lambers may be under considerable pressure, but that should not be an excuse; why spend a lot of time, effort and resources in maximising lambing percentage at one end of the process and accept what will, in most situations, be the biggest hit to the final lambing percentage at the other? Cutting corners and saving a bit of time may ease things at lambing time, but every lamb lost is potentially lost revenue, possibly £150-plus, an expensive way of saving time. For a flock scanned at 180%, mortality at 15% represents a loss of 54 lambs per 200 ewes; at a potential sale value of £150 per head, a revenue loss of £8,000-plus. Reducing mortality to 10%, which is not unrealistic, will cut income loss by about £2,600, a sum that will buy quite a bit of extra time at lambing. Give a thought for the lambs!

VET DIARY

INCREASING CALLS

Dairy breeding season is coming to an end for the predominantly autumn block-calving South East of England, and calving and lambing has already started. Only last week we had a commercial sheep client bring in three ewes for caesarean section. All three were twin-bearing ewes and had cervical prolapses.

Given the fantastic value of cull ewes and the buoyant lamb price, it was a ‘no brainer’ to ensure that the lambs had the best chance of survival and the ewes could then do their job, rearing the lambs before being culled in the autumn.

We are receiving an increasing number of phone calls relating to bluetongue virus (BTV) and the risk for 2025. We have seen some unusual, unexplained, sheep scanning results, along with abortion and some infertility in cattle this autumn. It is easy to try and pin this on BTV in the absence of anything else, but I believe it is more widespread than we think.

Every farmer will make up his or her own mind on whether to vaccinate or not, depending on multiple factors; their actual risk, their attitude to the risk, the value of their stock etc. This year could be different to the preceding two seasons. Last winter, 2023/24, the bluetongue incursion was so late in 2023 that no disease was seen, the level of virus so low that it was only discovered on routine surveillance screening.

These animals were then culled, so that we had the best chance of the country being virus negative heading into spring 2024. This policy was successful, and BTV-3 only arrived in late August 2024, when a vaccine was almost available and after the peak transmission period of May to July. Some clinical disease was seen, but I suspect a lot of subclinical infection has been undiagnosed and that it has been significantly under-reported.

This year may be different because the virus is already here in advance of the high transmission season. If disease re-emerges in Spring 2025, the disease will be more widespread and more severe, due to midges being infected before the warmer temperatures seen in June, July and August.

Midges acquire BTV3 by feeding on the blood of a ruminant that has the infection, ingesting the virus into its stomach. The virus then moves from the midges’ stomach to its salivary glands and begins to multiply.

The ambient temperature determines the rate at which the virus multiplies inside the body of the midge. When temperatures are below 15°C, the virus multiplies very slowly, taking around 25 days. A midge lives for about 30 days, so at temperatures below 15°C a midge infected with BTV3 virus may only have enough virus in its salivary glands to be infectious for the last three to five days of its life. When ambient temperatures are between 25°C and 30°C, replication can occur in five days, so a midge may be capable of spreading virus for 25 days of its 30-day lifespan.

Vaccine is likely to be freely available and stock should be vaccinated well ahead of the expected high-risk period. Please discuss your options with your vet.

AT TURNOUT

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ADVICE FROM THE VET

THE BENEFITS OF A HERD/FLOCK HEALTH PLAN

Over the past three decades, a variety of industry-led and retailer-led farm assurance schemes have been introduced in a drive to implement preventative healthcare and increase consumer confidence. These schemes required participating farmers to have a health plan.

Initially, these were basic ‘tick box exercises’ that often did not require veterinary input. These have evolved over time to have a wider focus, including all aspects of animal health and welfare, with a strong veterinary input. Improving animal health and welfare leads to increased and more efficient production, thereby improving farm profitability.

In its most basic form, a health plan is a document that provides evidence of active management of disease and promotion of good animal welfare. These are often still seen as a tick-box exercise by many farmers to satisfy the requirements of farm assurance schemes. To get the most out of your health plan, however, it should be a comprehensive, written strategy developed by you and your vet with input from other relevant professionals and used as a tool to help manage the farm.

The purpose of the health plan is to improve animal health and, with it, production, by preventing disease and improving welfare and husbandry. The plan focuses on animal welfare, disease monitoring, disease prevention (including vaccination schedules), parasite control and overall management.

A dynamic health plan should be regularly reviewed and updated to adjust to the farm’s ongoing needs. The plan should include the farmer’s aims and health and production targets and should work towards achieving these targets. A farmer may not correctly perceive the main health issues on the farm. It can be easy to become fixated on a certain problem. The data should be checked to make sure the priorities are the correct ones. All this should improve the profitability of the farm.

Health planning can identify disease risks that can then be prioritised and targeted to

Why every farmer should prioritise a health plan.

either reduce the risk of the disease or mitigate its effects. Using data analysis, seasonal patterns of disease can be identified, and management changes implemented, to reduce the disease incidence.

Dairy farmers who follow the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board mastitis control plan have been shown to reduce their mastitis incidence by 36%.

Full implementation of the FAI sheep lameness five-point action plan can reduce the incidence of lameness dramatically. On wellmanaged farms the incidence of lameness can be below 2%.

A parasite control plan can help the farm reduce its risk of developing wormer resistance by such things as improving pasture management, worming based on faecal egg counts to avoid unnecessary treatments, using narrow spectrum wormers where appropriate and by quarantine treating purchased animals with the most effective treatments before introduction.

Good biosecurity can prevent costly outbreaks of introduced contagious disease. Health checks at regular times such as body condition scoring, mobility scoring and calf scoring can be important for animal health. These can all highlight potential health issues early, allowing prompt action to minimise health risks.

Early detection and prompt treatment of disease, or better still, prevention of disease, minimises negative effects on production. Happy and healthy animals will be more productive in terms of better growth rates, better fertility and higher milk/egg production. Better animal health will result in lower antibiotic use and a reduction in unplanned veterinary visits. Better health outcomes reduce mortality and involuntary culling rates.

Health plans help to ensure compliance with animal welfare codes and best practices. They can reinforce in the mind of the farmer the requirements of statutory animal health obligations such as reporting cattle abortions

and fallen stock, and monitoring for notifiable diseases.

A health plan is a requirement for Red Tractor, RSPCA-Assured, organic certification and other health schemes.

A health plan is only as good as the data it has been based on. I cannot stress how vital good record keeping is, whether as a written or digital record. Details are important, so don’t just record the animal ID, the date of the health (or production) event, the event type (e.g. mastitis, lameness, culling, etc.), treatment given and withdrawal periods, but also the response to treatment, further details (such as the udder quarter(s) affected, the leg/ toe affected and the cause of the lameness, if diagnosed, the main reason(s) for culling, etc.). All this detail will help in the analysis of data should a health problem arise. By regularly monitoring the data, new problems can be detected earlier and action plans put in place to address the problem promptly.

In summary, the key benefits of a herd/flock health plan are improvements in animal health and wellbeing, economic gains, improved compliance with statutory regulations and certification requirements, and better farm management. I would encourage you all to invest some time and effort into developing and regularly updating your health plan, as it will pay off in both the short and long term.

ORGANISED CHAOS ANITA HICKSON

ANITA HICKSON Farmer

AMAZING LAMB AND BEEF PRICES

The protests from farmers across the country keep on happening, but is the Government listening? I fear we are being led by donkeys, with an agenda completely alien to the majority of the UK population.

DIFFICULT TO LOBBY

The figures the Government seems to be using are completely fictitious and they appear to have no concept of the consequences. The NFU is no doubt trying its hardest, but it would appear to be rather difficult for the union to lobby MPs when the Government is so blinkered.

There have been several reports from various accountants, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), auctioneers, the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), NFU and many more. All these reports have different numbers and potentially different forecasts for the various outcomes. One would surmise the effect might be slightly stronger if we all got together and spoke with one strong voice, as it seems it is far too easy for the Government to play them all off against one another.

We all pay taxes in various forms, but taxing the spanners of a mechanic or the lathe of a woodturner seems absurd.

STARMER UNWILLING TO GIVE UP

Mr Starmer appears to be relishing his position of PM and will be unwilling to give this up at any point, although any member of his cabinet could find themselves unemployed if it were deemed necessary to get him out of a hole. Rachel Reeves could find herself high on this agenda in the not-too-distant future, one hopes.

It would appear that Mr Starmer’s thoughts are along these lines: “I promised you anything that I thought you wanted, then backtracked as soon as I won the election. I have created a country of hate and divide and poverty while sending money to every other country with a sob story. I can’t believe you fell for it.”

This country is a disgrace at present and things need to change, but I fear we are changing for the worst at a rapid rate of knots. The wheel appears to be spinning out of control, and we are all pawns in the game.

The arable side has been rather stagnant over the past month or so. Annual leave and the weather played a huge part in this, but with spring around the corner and the longer days coming, things are looking brighter. The deadline of 15 February has now passed and we able to spread slurry on the land, providing the weather will allow.

I am sure that farming by date is a good idea in the eyes of the

Environment Agency, but in reality it is somewhat harder. The prices of lamb and beef have been amazing and so we have been having a good clear out of some of the staler cows in the herd. Who would have thought that a Jersey cull cow would make over £1,000? This is where the dilemma comes in, as the prices are so high but the margins are so thin. Costs are astronomical and this leads us to cull harder, based on every performance factor that may contribute to loss of production.

We celebrated Teddys eighth birthday at the end of February. I seriously cannot believe where the years have gone. Our football/ rugby/cricket/farm-mad child is definitely the boss in our house and appears to have an answer for everyone and anything. His competitiveness is definitely off the scale. I wonder where that comes from? Mr Grumpy has a lot to answer for.

Until next time, stay safe and keep well.

SATURDAY 24TH MAY 2025

Legal services for farmers & rural businesses

Call us today or visit our website: 01227 763939 furleypage.co.uk

SELLING RURAL LAND

Selling rural land can be complex and daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the nuances of the market.

It’s not just a case of finding a buyer and signing on the dotted line. There are multiple considerations – legal, financial and logistical – that need to be addressed. For a smooth transaction, one of the most important steps you can take is assembling the right team of professionals who are experts in rural land sales.

This is especially important in the current market, which is hotter than usual. According to Savills, at the time of writing land supply is at its highest level in 22 years. It reported the area of farmland in Great Britain brought to the open market to the end of June 2024 had increased by 36%, to a total of 118,200 acres, from the same period in 2023, marking the eighth highest supply level since 1995.

Here are five top tips to ensure your land sale goes without a hitch.

1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT AGENT

When selling rural land, it’s crucial to work with an agent who specialises in rural property. Selling land differs from selling residential property; it requires in-depth knowledge of local land values, agricultural restrictions and potential development opportunities. A specialist land agent will have the skills and experience to market your land effectively, highlight the unique selling

Louise Trist, Associate Solicitor, Mayo Wynne Baxter gives five top tips for a smooth transaction.

points and identify the right buyers.

After all, you wouldn’t hire a plumber to paint your house, so why ask anyone other than a land agent to handle your rural land sale?

2. ENGAGE A SOLICITOR WITH RURAL LAND EXPERTISE

Not all solicitors are created equal, and the expertise required to handle a rural land sale can differ greatly from a standard property transaction. Rural land comes with its own set of legal considerations, from agricultural tenancies to easements, covenants and development opportunities.

3. INVOLVE A TAX ADVISER AND ACCOUNTANT EARLY ON

Getting professional tax advice early can save you significant headaches and money later on. Selling land may trigger capital gains tax, or have inheritance tax or even VAT implications, depending on your situation. By consulting a tax adviser or accountant who understands the agricultural and rural property sector, you can plan ahead and minimise your tax liability.

These professionals will help you understand your tax obligations and advise on the best way to structure the deal and the potential reliefs

available to reduce your tax exposure.

4. SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS AND TIMELINES

Managing expectations from the outset is crucial for ensuring a smooth transaction. Set clear goals for when you want the sale to complete and make sure your professional team is aligned with these deadlines. If you have a specific timeline in mind, communicate it to all parties involved from the outset. Be aware that unexpected delays can happen. For instance, one party in the chain might not be able to meet the proposed timeline. Checking with each professional, including those acting for your buyer, that they can realistically work to your schedule before engaging them will help you avoid unnecessary delays down the line.

5. MAINTAIN OPEN COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS

Ensure regular contact with your team and keep track of key milestones in the process. This not only means everyone is on the same page but also allows you to address any potential issues before they escalate into bigger problems.

Succession planning is not just a strategic move; it's a survival plan for your farm's future, ensuring the survival of your business, your farm, and in many respects, your family. A well thought-out succession plan can offer financial stability and certainty for the future.

PLAN FOR SUCCESSION

A key aspect of succession planning is open communication within the family. Discussing the future of the farm, identifying potential successors and understanding each family member's perspective helps to align expectations and prepare the next generation for their roles and responsibilities.

In the agricultural community, common issues often arise during succession planning. Many farmers struggle with having no clear successor. Family issues, such as divorce and relationship breakdowns, can also be extremely detrimental to a farming business. Additionally, farmers often face challenges in ensuring fairness and equality between multiple children, as well as considerations like retirement housing and income, which may impact their decisions.

Another critical element is the legal and financial framework. This includes updating wills, setting up trusts and understanding tax implications. Professional advice from accountants, lawyers and financial advisers can help navigate these complexities and ensure that the succession plan is robust and legally

YOUR SUCCESSION PLAN IS A SURVIVAL PLAN

Sarah Mannooch, a Partner at Brachers specialising in estate planning for agricultural and business clients, shares her insights on the importance of succession planning in farming.

sound. Discussing wills and future plans is a good starting point for succession planning. Bespoke support, such as estate and tax advice, discussions around business structures, and crisis management, can be invaluable. Moreover, succession planning should also consider the operational aspects of the farm. This involves training the successors, transferring knowledge about farm management practices and gradually involving them in decision-making processes.

CHANGES TO APR AND BPR

Starting from April 2025, significant changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) will come into effect. The government has announced that the scope of APR will be extended to include land managed under environmental agreements with public bodies or approved responsible bodies.

From April 2026, the full 100% relief from inheritance tax will be capped at £1 million per person for combined agricultural and business

SARAH MANNOOCH

Partner, Brachers LLP T: 01622 767735

E: sarahmannooch@brachers.co.uk www.brachers.co.uk

property. Above this threshold, the relief will be reduced to 50%. This means that while the majority of estates will remain unaffected, larger estates will see a reduction in the relief available. Which ever category you fall into, you will benefit strongly from reviewing your plan.

TOP TIPS FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING

Firstly, talk about it. Discuss your plans with professional advisers—your solicitor, accountant, and land agent— and also with your family. Next, identify the problem. Whether it's having no clear successor, retirement housing, income, or relationship concerns, identifying the problem is crucial to finding a solution. Finally, don't think of your will as the entire succession plan – also consider other crisis management measures and business arrangements.

In conclusion, through careful planning and addressing both the human and financial aspects of succession, you can ensure a smooth transition and secure your family's farming legacy.

Need more guidance? Tune in to Brachers’ new podcast series dedicated to the upcoming changes to inheritance tax reliefs. To listen to our latest episode scan the QR code on the ad below or go to www.brachers.co.uk/IHT

Turning low-yielding farmland into profit through BNG

Turning low-yielding farmland into profit through BNG

Joseph Soul of Wood Farm in Buckinghamshire wanted to transform his lowest-yielding areas of arable farmland to increase biodiversity and make a profit.

He needed something to support his existing business – a working farm and family-run campsite – and found real success by diversifying through Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

Joseph is one of a growing number of rural landowners who are currently integrating BNG Habitat Banks into their farm businesses.

New habitats are now being created across a 95-acre parcel of Wood Farm – including meadows, hedgerow, scrubland, and grassland – increasing biodiversity and building resilience for Joseph’s family farm business.

“The best results for nature and my land business”

I ultimately chose to work with Environment Bank because it’s something that needs to be overseen by ecologists to get the best results for nature and my land business.

Working with them really feels like a joint effort. It’s clear that they care just as much as I do about making a positive change to my land and I’ve had no shortage of support.

There was no upfront expenditure for me because they covered all the habitat creation costs, and it’s been really reassuring to know that they take on all the risks and longterm responsibilities of BNG.”

“Our campsite is sure to attract more customers”

“A year ago, we started planting to turn the arable fields into diverse grassland and lowland meadows with hedgerows and a belt of dense scrub.

“If we hadn’t diversified our income with Environment Bank, it would be very difficult to see as much profit from the land”

“I was interested in BNG for a while and investigated doing it myself.

My farm is right beside an area of ancient woodland, so the ecologists designed the new habitats with this in mind to try and build natural networks that will help encourage rare native species like nightingales, garden warblers, and turtle doves to return.

From a financial point of view,

our campsite is sure to attract more customers if the land surrounding it is more biologically diverse. A greater range of wildlife will create a better landscape and make the environment more beautiful for visitors.”

“It’s great to know you’re doing your bit”

“It’s been a really comprehensive process so far, and Environment Bank’s ecologists did all the research to get the best possible future for my land from the start.

They combined cultural landscape studies with historical mapping data and a geological approach to make a bespoke habitat management plan for us.

The ecologists return every year to assess the Habitat Bank and monitor its progress. If anything needs changing to get a better result, they adapt the plan.

Over time, we expect to see a dramatic increase in the quality of the soil, so it’ll hold more water, sequester more carbon, and support better air and water quality.

It feels great to know you’re doing your bit to combat the biodiversity crisis we’re currently facing, which is also a key part of working against climate change.”

“A welcome bonus during the cost-of-living crisis”

“The benefits of protecting nature are abundant, but a partnership with Environment Bank also allows us to guarantee an income for the next 30 years, which is a welcome bonus during the cost-of-living crisis.

If we hadn’t diversified our income with Environment Bank, it would be very difficult to see as much profit from the land, and the whole process only took around three months from first registering.

I think my main piece of advice for landowners and farmers would be to take the plunge. It doesn’t feel as scary knowing that someone is by your side throughout the journey.”

Visualisation of the 95 acre Habitat Bank

BNG Habitat Bank before and after

Joseph Soul and ecologist Sophie Moy

REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN FARMING

A key to combating climate change.

The agricultural sector is no stranger to the challenges posed by climate change, and the need to curb energy consumption has never been more pressing. Farmers are acutely aware that fossil fuel dependence contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating global warming and its associated impacts of unpredictable weather, increased pest pressures and declining yields.

Beyond environmental concerns, rising energy costs and evolving consumer expectations for sustainable practices make energy efficiency an economic imperative. For sectors like viticulture, where operations demand high energy input, strategic reductions in consumption are essential for long term resilience and profitability.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN VITICULTURE

Viticulture is an energy intensive sector, with key operations requiring significant fuel and electricity input. Understanding where energy is consumed can help vineyard owners pinpoint areas for reduction. The breakdown

of energy usage in viticulture is as follows:

• Spraying: 30% to 40% of total energy use, as tractors and sprayers consume large amounts of diesel.

• Trimming and leaf stripping: 10% to 15%, primarily through mechanised equipment.

• Pruning: 15% to 20%, requiring manual labour supplemented by powered tools.

• Weeding: 10% to 15%, depending on whether mechanical or chemical methods are used.

• Irrigation and storage: 15% to 20%, including pumping water and maintaining optimal storage conditions.

METHODS TO REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION

Farmers can take several steps to optimise energy use and reduce their overall consumption. Some of the most effective methods include:

1. OPTIMISING FUEL USE

Fuel consumption can be reduced through efficient machinery operation and maintenance. Regular servicing, correct tyre pressure and proper calibration of sprayers and tractors can lead to fuel savings. Additionally, transitioning to electric or hybrid farm machinery can drastically cut emissions and long term costs.

MEGAN FITZPATRICK MRES

Horticultural Agronomist at Hutchinsons, SFI Specialist and BASIS qualified

2. ENHANCING STORAGE FACILITY EFFICIENCY

Storage facilities, including cold rooms and wine cellars, require consistent energy input. Installing solar panels to generate renewable energy can significantly cut electricity costs. Additionally, presence detectors for lighting and high efficiency insulation can reduce wasteful energy use. Research suggests that upgrading lighting systems alone can lead to energy savings of 30% to 40%.

3. PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND SMART TECHNOLOGY

Using precision farming techniques, such as GPS-guided tractors and automated irrigation systems, can lead to more targeted applications of water, fertilisers and pesticides, reducing unnecessary energy expenditure. Smart sensors can monitor conditions and ensure that energy is only used when necessary.

4. ALTERNATIVE WEED AND PEST CONTROL METHODS

Reducing chemical applications and moving toward integrated pest management (IPM) strategies can lower the need for fuel intensive spraying. Techniques such as mechanical weeding and cover cropping not only reduce energy consumption but also enhance soil health and biodiversity.

Energy efficiency in agriculture, particularly in viticulture, is a pressing concern, with both environmental and economic implications. By understanding energy consumption patterns and adopting smart strategies to reduce usage, farmers can play a crucial role in the fight against climate change while ensuring long term profitability and sustainability.

Investing in renewable energy, optimising fuel use and embracing technological innovations will help future proof farms against both financial and environmental uncertainties.

ALKHAM VALLEY | KENT

9,000 VINES

GUIDE

VERSATILE EAST KENT PROPERTY WITH VINEYARD

BTF Partnership is offering for sale a private and versatile property in the historic Alkham Valley Area of National Beauty, easily accessible from London (by road and rail) and Europe (via the Channel tunnel) with established vineyard, holiday cottages, ancient woodland and further potential for business development with a guide price of £3,300,000.

Chalksole Manor combines modern luxurious countryside living with easy accessibility and is ideal for both local and city-based buyers seeking a weekend escape or permanent lifestyle change with home office, being ideal for family life and entertaining

Chalksole Manor consists of an 8,000 sq ft fully restored and modernised main residence originally built in the Arts and Crafts style in the 1920s with generous reception rooms, galleried landing, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a large modern leisure and party suite including indoor pool, steam room, gym and large bar/recreation room with a large office suite above, plus a one-bedroom self-contained annexe ideal for staff or dependent relative.

In the grounds of the house is a modern, four-bay garage and a range of outbuildings including workshop, tool store, summer house/kitchen and large greenhouse.

Accessed separately from the road is The Old Stables, a one-bedroom cottage which adjoins the two-bedroom Groom’s Cottage, both currently used as holiday lets and creating an additional income source.

To the east of the main house and accessed via a separate entrance on the road or through the land is the Chalksole Manor Vineyard. The vineyard was planted in 2007 and comprises 9,000 vines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for the production of English sparkling wine. With an average yield of eight tons per year, the current owners sell the grapes directly to winemakers.

There is scope as a new business opportunity for own wine production, and with the current planting it is estimated this could generate an average of 7,000 to 8,000 bottles per year. The vineyard could be expanded further with the acquisition of additional land and a 3,600 sq ft modern agricultural barn owned by the vendors that are

currently not part of this sale.

Gardens, land and ancient bluebell woodland extends to 27.44 acres in total and there is also scope for those with equestrian interests, with paddocks to the south of the house. The local riding trails across the North Kent Downs are some of the best in the county, with far reaching views across the local countryside.

The original Arts and Crafts house was built around 1920 for Sir Thomas Henry Devereux Berridge, KBE (1857 to 1924), a former Liberal MP for Coventry and Leamington. Berridge was knighted in 1912 and made a KBE in 1920 for his war work, in particular for his chairmanship of the executive committee of the Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force, Voluntary Hospitals between 1916 and 1919.

The house was later owned by a London photographer who left it to his housekeeper, but it fell into significant disrepair before it was bought from probate by the current owners in 2002.

The current owners have significantly invested in the house during the initial renovation and over the years and upgraded technology for modern living with Cat 5 cabling, Lutron Lighting and Crestron control systems.

PRICE: £3,300,000

JOIN OUR WINNING TEAM!

We are recruiting - see our website for details.

providing farm & rural businesses with solid, professional advice

■ As our 125th anniversary celebrations continue, we are reflecting on not just our Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) but our long-standing heritage and pride in our local community.

Since our inception in 1900, we have had at our core an ethos of integrity, excellence, and a strong commitment to giving back to the community. Our approach to CSR is not an afterthought – it’s woven into the very fabric of everything we do.

Mirroring our own philosophy of helping the rural community, we are proud to support farming charity, Kent Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI). It was an easy choice to make them one of our headline charities in our 125th year.

Di Hickman, Kent RABI chairman said,

“We were very active in 2024, raising £25,000 during the year. We couldn’t have achieved this without continuous help from sponsors like Lambert & Foster and other supporters for which we owe our grateful thanks.”

RABI work tirelessly to uplift and support the farming community through practical, financial and emotional assistance, touching the lives of thousands of people every year. In addition, we continue to be actively involved with Kent and East Sussex

ploughing matches, the KCAS Farm Expo, The National Fruit Show, Heathfield Show, the Paddock Wood Half Marathon and the list continues for local schools, clubs and associations. On this note, we cannot go on without thanking our dedicated staff who participate, help organise and give up their time for the various events we host and attend. Without them, we would not be the company we are today.

When it comes to property, you need to know the advice you take and the agent you use is right for you. Within our multidisciplined firm we have experience on our side and cover all aspects of property and planning.

OUR PROPERTY SERVICES:

■ Residential, Farm & Land Sales

■ Site Promotion & Development

■ Planning & Architectural Services

■ Commercial & Residential Lettings

■ Farm Business Consultancy

■ Auctioneers

■ Valuations: Probate, Tax Planning, Stock

■ Secured Lending Valuations

■ Grants / Subsidies

■ Estate Management

■ Stewardship / BNG

■ Telecommunication & Renewables

■ Utilities

Our collaboration with Bloomfields, a firm of Chartered Town Planners who provide planning and architectural consultancy services, has hugely complemented the list of services provided by Lambert & Foster. Lambert & Foster Director, Katie Hurley, who is also the Central Association for Agricultural Valuers, Kent Branch Secretary, and who oversees the training of many of the firm’s rural graduate surveyors says,

“It has been an absolute privilege to continue the work our predecessors started – helping people in the local community. I’m also delighted to support the growth of the firm and assist those looking to further their RICS or CAAV qualifications, like I was supported 14 years ago when I first joined the firm as a graduate surveyor.”

Our hope for the future is that we continue to be able to support our local community, ensuring that the next 125 years are as rewarding as the last.

If you are looking for a firm to support your business, who have a rich history and extensive experience in all things property and planning, get in touch with our friendly team today and find out how we can help.

OVER 93 ACRES HARTFIELD | EAST SUSSEX

A block of just over 93 acres of farmland with areas of woodland, close to Hartfield in East Sussex, has come to the market through Savills.

Formerly part of Chartners Farm, the land is about 1.7 miles to the north east of Hartfield, a village well known for being the home of Winnie the Pooh creator AA Milne. It is accessed off Butcherfield Lane to the north and has direct access to Forest Way, a popular recreational path, to the south.

Classified as grade 3, the land has primarily been used for arable cropping, with some fields down to grass. There are about 6.2 acres of woodland and shaws, including two

ATTRACTIVE BLOCK OF WEALDEN FARMLAND

parcels on the western boundary, one of which incorporates a pond.

Chris Spofforth of Savills south east rural agency team said: “The sale of this attractive Wealden farmland offers the chance for farmers, growers, amenity buyers and investors alike to purchase a block of commercial land in an area where such

opportunities rarely come to the market. There are some fine views towards Hartfield and the Ashdown Forest, with the River Medway running through the land to the south, abutting the pasture fields.”

The land at Chartners Farm is being marketed by Savills south east rural agency team for a guide price of £750,000.

SPRING INTO ACTION

Spring is about to be sprung and that brings with it one of the busiest times of the year for Hadlow College.

The main event comes in April when our Lambing Weekend takes place on 26 and 27 April. This hugely popular event regularly attracts over 10,000 visitors who take the opportunity to see an abundance of lambs gambolling around the college’s beautiful fields and to visit the lambing sheds for the chance to see a newborn enter the world.

And while the lambs take centre-stage, visitors can also see the many other animals the college looks after and pay a visit to the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, which provides refuge and care for over 1,000 unwanted and vulnerable reptiles and amphibians.

Once on site, stay as long as you like, enjoy the rides and stalls and even meet some lovely newborn lambs!

Tickets sell out fast, though, so to learn more and book your tickets visit www.hadlow.ac.uk/events

As spring turns into summer, 4 June heralds another open evening at the college. Running from 3pm to 7pm, these events offer a wonderful opportunity for potential students to explore their options here at Hadlow College.

The summer is a great time to explore our wonderful rural and land-based facilities and take the opportunity to speak to our industry trained lecturers and current students. There will also be the chance to take a look at Hadlow’s exceptional residential accommodation, rated as ‘Outstanding’ following a residential Ofsted inspection in June 2024. To book a place visit www.hadlow.ac.uk/events.

HADLOW HIGHLIGHTS

Hadlow College is excited to announce that its orchard has borne its first fruit, which has been transformed into studentcrafted apple juice.

Planted in July 2021, the college’s three-

What’s happening at Hadlow College?

hectare orchard had its first harvest last year, with students playing a key role in the process, with the end result the bottling of the college’s first batch of apple juice.

The apple juice is available at the college’s own events, such as the weekly plant sales which take place every Wednesday from 1pm to 4pm in term time and at events such as our Lambing Weekend. It is hoped to be able to make it more widely available across the county in the future, so watch this space.

At the end of January, the ever popular Big Cat Week returned to the college.

This sees our animal management students taking part in a three-day workshop with the Smarden-based Big Cat Sanctuary. The event culminated in students choosing a species of wild cat that is under threat and presenting proposals to fellow students and staff on how they would protect the animal.

As an incentive, the students who were judged to have given the best presentations each won a private tour of the sanctuary.

Visit www.hadlow.ac.uk/news-events to find out more about the

Chestnut

Tel:

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

ACROSS

1 Head teacher (8)

5 Husks of seed separated at threshing (5)

8 Planned series of events (9)

9 Swear (5)

11 Make-shift boat (4)

12 Struggle with a problem (7)

14 Warm item of clothing (5,4,4)

16 Rare breed pony (7)

18 Essex river (6)

21 Glitter, sparkle, shine (7)

24 A thought that suggests a course of action (4)

26 River in Sussex (10)

27 Gemstone (8)

28 Raise or hoist (4) DOWN

1 Maris -----, potato variety (5)

2 Snooker/pool foul (2-3)

3 Wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse (4)

4 Self important, conceited, pretentious (7)

6 Breed of dog used for hunting (5)

7 Shipping forecast area (7)

10 Meat low in fat content (4)

13 Frail, feeble, infirm (4)

14 Metal named after a Scottish village (9)

15 Corvid (4)

17 Rest on a chair (3)

18 Wine storage area (5)

19 Fish commonly served with chips (3)

20 Floor covering (6)

22 Use scales to find out how heavy a load is (5)

23 Derogatory term for old horse (5)

24 Perfect (5)

To celebrate Mothering Sunday (30 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. For more information about the vineyards, please visit www.biddendenvineyards.com or call 01580 291726.

*Subject to availability

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS: LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS:

Crossword by Rebecca Farmer, Broadstairs, Kent

• 35+ Tractors

• Considerable amount of Farm Machinery, Trailers and Specialised Salad Production Equipment

• 20+ Vehicles inc Pickups & Buses

• Irrigation Equipment

• Workshop Equipment - IN ALL OVER 500 LOTS