4 February 2016Syngenta Takeover The Swiss-based seeds and agro-chemical group Syngenta, has agreed to a $43bn takeover by the Chinese company ChemChina. It is...
4 February 2016CSS Grants Open Capital grants under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) are now open for applications. The Hedgerows and Boundaries Capital Grant opened on...
4 February 2016EU Budget Talks are already getting underway on what the EU Budget should look like after the current period ends in 2020. ...
2 February 2016Hedgerow and Boundaries Grant Opens The Countryside Stewardship Hedgerows and Boundaries grant has opened for applications. Grants of up to £5,000 are available to fund...
2 February 2016Scottish BPS Hardship Scheme Given its dismal performance in issuing BPS payments (see previous articles), the Scottish Government has announced details of a Hardship...
1 February 2016Scottish Payments The Scottish Government has fallen well short of its own target to pay the majority of first instalments of the...
1 February 2016Milk Price Cuts The start of the month has seen announcements of further farmgate milk price cuts. First Milk is to reduce the price...
1 February 2016BPS Payments and Errors The RPA had paid around 70% of English farmers by the end of January - some way short of what...
28 January 2016Pigmeat Storage Aid Ends Following a vote by Member States the European Commission has ended Private Storage Aid (PSA) for pigmeat. Storage aid was...
28 January 2016Farm Business Income Falls Farm profits have fallen significantly in most sectors in the past year. This unsurprising result comes from the latest English Farm Business...
28 January 2016Woodland Grants Woodland support in England is now, in the main, available through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS). Funding is available to...
28 January 2016Payments update The RPA is continuing to issue BPS payments to farmers across England. A payment run on 25th January saw another...
26 January 2016BPS 2016 in England It was hoped that the IT problems that dogged 2015 BPS applications would not reappear this year. However, worries are...
26 January 2016Welsh Matching Service A new service has been introduced in Wales under the Farming Connect programme. 'Venture' is aiming to match landowners with...
26 January 2016LFASS Amendments An amendment to the LFASS eligibility rules should mean some farmers taking on extra land are not disadvantaged. Currently, if a...
26 January 2016Residential Tenancies in Wales The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 18th January 2016. Its provisions will come into effect in...
26 January 2016Farm Payments in Scotland Delays and uncertainty surrounding the Scottish Government's IT system to deliver CAP support payments continue. By the end of December...
22 January 2016Pound Weakens Since the turn of the year the Pound has been weakening on currency markets. The relationship between the Pound and...
19 January 201612 Farmers Recieve Welsh Grant A number of concerns have been raised around the slow pace of the Rural Development Programme roll-out in Wales. One...
19 January 2016Facilitation Fund Opens The Countryside Stewardship Scheme Facilitation Fund is open for applications until the 18th March. This provides funds to bring groups...
19 January 2016Abstraction Licenses DEFRA, The Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales are holding a joint consultation on abstraction licenses. The...
19 January 2016BPS Payment Update – Jan ’16 In England as of 19th January, the RPA had made payments to around 57,700 businesses. This is approximately two thirds...
19 January 2016Muller Price Cut. Muller has announced a 1ppl price reduction. This will come into effect from 15th February. It is its first reduction...
19 January 2016First Milk Sells Westbury First Milk has announced that it has sold its share of Westbury Dairies to Arla, for an undisclosed sum. This...
