Environmental payments: goldmine or minefield?

Seller Beware! This is our key message to farmers on the terms on which environmental payments may be offered.

Supermarkets run out of food again

Last year it was eggs. Now it is fresh veg, salad and tomatoes. Problems in Morocco and Southern Spain are some of the reasons given. The NFU (National Farmers' Union) at its conference this week highlights the reduction of home production in the face of high energy and feed costs. The government offers the reassurance …

Agricultural tenants and the tyranny of the trees

Rumours circulate that some landlords and their agents are threatening to invoke section 31 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 to remove land from traditional agricultural tenancies in order to plant trees. It is worth a look at the legal measures which are being suggested here. Section 31 of the Act does indeed permit landlords …

Agriculture Acts 1920 and 2020

One hundred years ago the Agriculture Act 1920 sought to provide farmers with the confidence they needed to expand their arable acreage to ensure a reliable and plentiful supply of home grown food. It did this by guaranteeing a minimum price for oats and wheat into the indefinite future. The Act also promised that the …

Where next with Natural Capital?

Catch up with the latest on natural capital and the progress of government legislation on the countryside