News

The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) is asking rural and farming businesses in England's North East, South West and Midlands how they are dealing with COVID-19 to explore rural resilience. The survey will also explore how firms’ local networks have contributed to survival and growth, the impact of financial pressures on businesses, families and communities as well as issues around workforce, the availability of broadband, and aspects of local supply chains. Any business...

The CAAV has published a new paper, Future Rural Land Uses in the UK, reviewing the pressures and opportunities for rural land.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 8th April 2021 Despite the late spring, the pace of policy change here is quickening and that will see change on the ground. We should shortly have DEFRA’s consultation on the lump sum option and delinking of Basic Payment in England. Whether or not the lump sum option for 2022 proves attractive, simply considering it draws attention to how little life is left for English Basic Payment entitlements. Entitlement...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 1st April 2021 In a sector of family businesses, a quarter or more of farms and estates might see generational change in any decade. Some may take longer, as where the business has no natural successor; others will come faster, whether by chance or necessity. This is likely to accelerate in the 2020s as the pressures for change intensify, often in circumstances requiring careful advice, personal support and good management....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 25th March 2021 Three recent decisions on utilities regulation are intended to enable more investment by them, resulting in more work on clients’ land. Since their privatisation, the main utility companies, with their access to the consumer’s doorstep, have been closely regulated. Concerns about affordability and hostile press coverage has put a public focus on regulating the prices charged for water, gas, electricity and...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 11th March 2021. Barely two months after the EU Transition Period, the pace of post-EU policy development is sustained, especially in England and perhaps particularly with DEFRA. Without the 28 state, 3 institution haggling of the EU (the post-2020 CAP is still unresolved), George Eustice saw Brexit as the opportunity to do domestic policy better while some in Government already see the urgency imposed by a 2024 election....

Charles Cowap is delivering a 5-part training course with Ecosystems Knowledge Network on Applying a Natural Capital Approach. The course starts on April 19th and runs over five 90 minute sessions. Details are available on the EKN website.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 4th March 2021 Yesterday’s Budget heralds two years in which companies will be paid to invest in plant and machinery. An investment that would now have an 18 per cent capital allowance against tax will from next month have a 130 per cent capital allowance (the “super deduction”) and those that would get a 6 per cent allowance will be allowed at 50 per cent. A lack of business investment has been seen as a key part...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 25th February 2021 Do we know what it means for a landowner to enter into an agreement for carbon sequestration? What are the implications of “selling” carbon for the land and its users? Are we at risk of uncritical assumptions that: this is a significant source of value for an average landowner?that, being associated with positive change, it imposes no practical constraints? that now or soon is the time to sell? Simply...

It is being widely reported in the press this morning (24th February) that the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday will be extended until the end of June. An announcement from HM Treasury is expected in next week's Budget.

Environment Secretary George Eustice set out more details on DEFRA's approach to future agricultural policy in his speech to the NFU Conference 2021 today (23rd February).

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 18th February 2021 Reflecting on conversations over the last week, one common theme has been the importance of looking beyond the immediate challenge. Seeing where the world is moving will aid better decisions that are more effective for the longer term when meeting immediate issues. The pressure for climate change mitigation and other environmental goals is now a central part of policies across the United Kingdom....

We are told that Rural Payments has this morning unexpectedly issued e-mails to Countryside Stewardship agreement holders reminding them to submit their claim. This appears to be quirk of the IT system and we are asked to assure members that these should be ignored with no action to be undertaken in response.

The CAAV is pleased to be assured today that work is now in hand to provide documents on Countryside Stewardship in pdf format. The rules for the GOV.uk website require material to be presented in html format for reasons of accessibility but the professional need for these documents to be available as pdfs is recognised and we hope to have them soon.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 11th February 2021 Economic shocks, like the pandemic, both bring damage and precipitate change shaping a new economy, as energy, skills and assets find new opportunities, often with new technologies. Only hindsight might tell which was which, as it is easier to see losers than those building the future. Accelerated change for physical retail, under long-run pressure and particularly burdened by business rates, sees talk...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 4th February 2021 With the current focus on the development of schemes and grants for public goods and productivity, it can be easy to overlook another key component of the new policies. This is the move to a “regulatory baseline” – simply put, what the law will require of farmers as it requires standards from others. Whether under England’s ELM, the Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme, the Animal Health and Welfare...

Gordon Lyons has been appointed as the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, replacing Edwin Poots who has stepped down for health reasons.

The Environment Bill 2019-21 has completed the Committee Stage in the House of Commons. A Report on Committee Stage has been published summarising what happened in the Committee and how the Bill has changed. It considers key Government and Opposition amendments. It is prepared in advance of the Bill's next stages (Report and Third Reading) scheduled for 26 January 2021.

Today, we have launched a new website to offer an improved service to members.

The December mailing, which includes the December News Letter and subscription invoices, was delayed but is expected to be with members during the week commencing 11th January. Please wait until your copy of the mailing has arrived before contacting the office with queries about your subscription invoice - thank you for your patience. The mailing also includes two new publications: Rural Arbitration in the UK and Beyond Brexit: The UK's New Agricultural Policies....

The CAAV office will be closed for Christmas from lunchtime on Tuesday 22nd December until Monday 4th January 2021

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 10th December 2020 As the CAP becomes part of the UK’s past, whatever the outcome of the current impasse with EU, so we have to look at the work to come. In England, the Transition Plan sets the direction but there is much work in its implementation with new tenancy regulations, consultations on the lump sum payment option for 2022 and then de-linking in 2024, the ELM Pilots starting in 2021, the development of the...

The Agricultural Transition Plan - the biggest shake-up in farming policy for over 50 years Jeremy Moody reviews the government’s new Agricultural Transition Plan which lays out the roadmap for phasing out direct payments (Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)) and phasing in the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme and productivity schemes. Also available on Apple, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Catch-up on previous episodes here....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 26th November 2020 What drives asset values? The basic answer is supply and demand, encapsulating human behaviour. Demand is often the key driver and supply the key constraint, with value where people want something rather than because someone has it to sell. Markets, summarising people’s thoughts, hopes and fears, express the balance between them and ever-changing prices influence actions. That restless movement guides...

The CAAV has been reviewing the arrangements for the November examinations in light of the developing situation with the Covid-19 virus and has prepared the following documents to assist candidates: - Arrangements for taking the Examinations under Coronavirus restrictions Examination Conditions for Remote Examinations – Supplementary Guidelines...

This blog by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 5th November 2020 England today joins Wales and Northern Ireland with new country-wide restrictions on social and economic life while Scotland’s Tiers were introduced on Tuesday, all responding to a rising Covid-19 incidence. Each country has struck its own difficult balance between disease control and continuity of activity and business. Ireland, France, Belgium and others have taken severe measures. This English lockdown...

A meeting tomorrow is to review the developing situation with the pandemic, including the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday evening of England-wide restrictions. We will circulate briefing after that on the approach being taken. With plans laid for the examinations to be held remotely, all candidates were e-mailed last week to ask them to: arrange a venue where they could take the papers in examination conditions test their link to the portal being used for this confirm to the...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 29th October 2020 With barely 60 days to the end of the EU transition period, we need to look at the dynamics for business change as domestic policies take effect. All new schemes – productivity, resilience, land management, environment, animal welfare and so on – would be funded from the one pot of money, level until 2024, putting Basic Payment rates under pressure. The potential rewards from productivity...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 22nd October 2020 The coronavirus pandemic and the measures to manage it perplex the more as it goes on. All, including government, are trying to understand it as it evolves while, over time, the challenge in balancing business and health seems to become more difficult. It now looks more complex than the simple hit and then recovery, with a V-shaped model for the economy, assumed at first. “Herd immunity” seems...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 15th October 2020 This has been a year of challenge, resilience and adaptation in keeping business going in the face of Covid-19. Business change has accelerated sharply, managing remote working and adopting new technologies. The longer the restrictions last the more some changes might remain afterwards, as we find a balance between old and new ways. The businesses that adapt successfully will be there for the future. The...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 8th October 2020 Over 4 years after the Referendum, we seem finally to be on the brink of new policies being introduced after the EU transition period ends with New Year’s Eve, with increasing effects on clients and for professional work for them. The Agriculture Bill, providing policy powers for DEFRA, Wales and Northern Ireland, is in its final stages before Royal Assent, perhaps completed in the next few days....

An independent review will consider ways to improve transport connections by road, rail, air and sea across the whole of the UK. Sir Peter Hendy's review, which is due to report in summer 2021, will look at the potential feasibility and economic case of options for: Reviewing air links within the UK Exploring the cost, practicality and demand for a new fixed link between Great Britain and Northern Ireland Boosting road and rail links to Scotland Cutting journey times to North Wales by...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 1st October 2020 Last Monday (28th September) saw two press reports illuminating possible futures. The widely publicised one was the Prime Minister’s “30 by 30” pledge to increase the area of the UK devoted “to nature” to 30 per cent by 2030. The one tucked away in the financial pages was the government’s support for insect farming companies, producing black soldier fly larvae in sheds as poultry and fish feed....

Having an arbitrator is about to be made more practical, as the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) launches its service Facilitating Dispute Resolution. The Agriculture Bill is to give the CAAV the power to appoint arbitrators in England and Wales, meaning it can now appoint official arbitrators in farm tenancy disputes. With that proposed standing, the CAAV is also developing a broader service – launched at the CAAV’s Annual Conference - for all forms of dispute resolution...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 17th September 2020 As the Agriculture Bill enters its final straight, ministers have talked of the next steps in creating England’s post-Brexit regime, stressing productivity as interlinked with “public goods”: “our natural resources essential for food production”. A major series of statements and consultations are to come towards the end of the year with: the plan for the coming schemes giving “further...