4th July ……. Independence Day “across the pond”!
For us back home, it ended up being a changing of the guard in Westminster, Blue to Red, with a hint of Yellow. From a farming perspective, blue sky to red, shepherds delight or shepherds warning – only time will tell. Will the green turn brown when it really comes to the housebuilding pledges and will sensible money be available for the building land? Should there be an Emergency Budget, it is difficult to say whether an axe will be yielded or will tree planting schemes be at the forefront again?
Unfortunately, the Labour manifesto was largely deficient on anything related to agriculture, and no real commitment to extra funding. With some grant applications such as the slurry infrastructure grants being put on hold before the election, it may take time for these to be reintroduced or approved. With an ever closer “net zero” target, will more money find its way to ELMS & the SFI?
Over the spring, more and more farmers have been looking at the SFI options available to them. The options gaining most traction in our area seem to be the herbal leys, low input grasslands and in the uplands low grazing and stone wall maintenance. The rates from these can be an attractive proposition and so the shouldn’t be discounted as an additional income source, particularly as BPS dwindles much more this year. Some actions might require no further work on top of what you are already doing.
The weather as ever has played havoc with cropping and spring in general this year (and whatever we call summer nowadays), and although winter crops seem reasonable to good, some spring plantings have suffered. This could affect the feed prices in winter. Locking in feed contracts earlier is an option, but as ever with farming it is a gamble – knowing your costs can help financial management budgeting. With good livestock sales prices achieved during 2023 & 2024 so far, and limited spending on some units, knowing your profitability and tax liabilities in a timely fashion will also help with cashflow management – no one likes a tax surprise at the last minute.
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