NE Winter Discussion Group - Speakers Announced The TFA has this week announced that TFA Recommended Professional, Robyn Peat, from George F White and TFA National Vice-Chairman, Mark Coulman, will be speaking at the North East region TFA Winter Discussion Group on 20 November at Malton & Norton RUFC, North Yorkshire. Robyn Peat will be talking Succession, Diversification and Rent Reviews. Mark Coulman will provide an update on future agri-environment schemes and the Government’s public payments for public goods agenda. Kindly sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers, this FREE event will start at 7:30 pm and is open to any farmer who farms land they do not own, regardless if they are a TFA member. For more information, click here. Please note, registration closes 5pm on 15 November. | £35m Growth Programme Launched The UK Government has, this week, guaranteed £35 million of funding to support its Growth Programme aimed at creating new jobs, boosting tourism and unlocking growth in rural areas. The expression of interest window opened on Monday 4 November, for rural start-ups and businesses to buy state-of-the-art equipment and machinery to grow their business or open up opportunities for tourism. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is Sunday 16 February 2020. The Government wants to encourage farmers to consider how this funding may help them branch out and diversify their business, making the most of emerging trends and tastes and looking ahead to new opportunities. For further information, TFA members can read the TFA Briefing Note A14/19 by clicking here. | RPA Confirms BPS 2019 Entitlement Values and Greening Rates The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed the BPS 2019 entitlement values and greening rates that will be used to calculate farmers’ 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments in England. TFA members can read the latest TFA Briefing Note U04/19, for more information and guidance on entitlements and the values in pounds, by clicking here. Alternatively, the RPA’s published euro values can be viewed here. If you need any further assistance, please call TFA Adviser, Adriana Vaux, on 0118 930 6130. The RPA has also confirmed BPS, greening and young farmer payment will continue in 2020. |  Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM | Chink of Light in Application of New Rules for Water in Wales New Regulations covering the whole of Wales to protect water quality from the risk of agricultural pollution, are planned to come into force on 01 January next year. These new Regulations will usher in stringent requirements for slurry storage and will have major implications for the management of slurries and manures including the use of closed periods. TFA Cymru has consistently raised the particular concerns and issues that will be faced by the tenanted sector of agriculture. At the recent NFU Cymru conference, the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, despite implying that the new rules were "appropriate to the level of risk", she did suggest that she was looking again at the use of closed periods. This follows criticism by the Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, about the effectiveness of closed periods. In answer to a question from the floor about the use of closed periods she said "I have to say, the dates do concern me because I do not remember having summers as we have had for many years. This year has been another example of a wet autumn… and I have asked officials to look very carefully as to why we have to have [closed periods]". A final announcement from the Welsh Government is expected over the next few weeks. | Septic Tank Rules for 2020 The Environment Agency (EA) has set out General Binding Rules, which means you have until 01 January 2020 to replace or upgrade your system. The General Binding Rules for small sewage discharges (SSDs) have been put in place to protect England’s surface water resources (e.g. rivers, streams, etc.) from pollution caused by septic tanks and other small-scale sewage treatment plants. Under the new regulations, you can no longer discharge low quality effluent from septic tanks directly into ditches, streams or other watercourses. For further information, please click here. TFA members wanting more clarity can contact TFA Adviser, Adriana Vaux, by calling head office on 0118 930 6130. | Welsh Member Presentations Available Online TFA Cymru members who were unable to attend the evening meeting in Llandrindod Wells on Wednesday 06 November, can now access copies of the presentations given by TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn and the policy lead for agricultural tenancies in the Welsh Government, Ryan Davies. They are both available for TFA members to view, by clicking here. Alternatively, they can be downloaded from the members’ area of the TFA website within the Other Publications area. | UK Power Networks Now Accepts what3words Location Information What is what3words? what3words is the easiest way to communicate any precise location. Every 3 square metre in the world has been given a simple three word address. what3words serves the same purpose as GPS coordinates, but uses just three words instead of long complicated numbers. To boost public safety, UK Power Networks are making it easier for members of the public to report the location of damaged overhead powerlines. If you are in an emergency situation, you can tell them the exact 3m x 3m location by using three words. If you see a broken or damaged pole, power line, or need to report damage to an underground cable, do not touch anything and stay well away. Download the what3words app and use the app to select the square closest to the electrical equipment. Call 0800 31 63 105 and give UK Power Networks the three words so they can locate, turn off the power and get it fixed faster. what3words can also be used to report an emergency situation. If your vehicle, or the machinery you are using comes into contact with an overhead power line, your location can be found faster and more accurately. You can download the FREE app by visiting these links: Click here for Apple Click here for Android | CFE Event in Devon: Protecting Water On and Off Farms Good management of resources is essential to protect drinking water, support soil health and benefit farm wildlife. Making sure you have efficient and sustainable water management practices will help your business and ensure the future health of our farmed environment. CFE is hosting an event on Tuesday 19 November, near Exeter where Ross Cherrington of the Farming Advice Service and Becky Hughes from CFE & FWAG South West will talk about:
• How farming can affect water quality for bathing, drinking and shellfish production.
• What you need to be doing to follow the EA’s Farming Rules for Water, and meet NVZ regulations.
• How to help wildlife and reduce flood risk through land management and habitat creation. For more details, including venue and how to book tickets, click here. | TFA Guidance Tips - Farm Worker's Accomodation Caroline Foot, TFA Adviser, highlights topical TFA guidance and templates available FREE to TFA members. Have you got a written agreement in place for your farmworker? It is always best to have an appropriate written agreement in place if you intend to offer accommodation to a farmworker. If the farm worker will be exclusively occupying their own dwelling, for example, a cottage that only the worker (and their family) will occupy, an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) is likely to be the most suitable agreement. It is also important to consider whether the employee could satisfy the ‘qualifying agricultural worker’ test? If they do, then a tenancy granted to an occupant satisfying the test may be at risk of becoming an ‘Assured Agricultural Occupancy’ (AAO) even if the agreement says it is an AST. An AAO provides lifetime security of tenure plus succession, with limited scope for possession. To ensure an AAO is not created, and that the tenancy is treated as an AST, a Form 9 Notice must be served on the prospective tenant before they move in. The agreement must meet all other AST requirements. TFA members can view an example AST agreement for farmworkers by logging into the member's area of the TFA website, or by clicking here. This document also includes advice on the criteria which must be met, in order for the tenancy to be considered an AST, and also information on serving a Form 9 notice. As always, if you would like to speak to an adviser on any matters connected to this guidance, please call the TFA head office on 0118 930 6130. TFA members are reminded that other useful templates can be viewed in the Forms, Precedents and Template Letters section of the member's area of the TFA website. | Member Offers bira Bank Loans - TFA Member Rates New rates have just been announced for TFA Members. Please click here to view current rates which include a promotional rate for equipment loans. Any quote received during the promotional period (which ends 31st January 2020) will be honoured for 12 months. | Henderson Insurance Brokers Are you looking to renew your general farm insurance? Why not contact Henderson to see how they can help. Click here for more details. | Farmers Weekly Announce New & Improved Subscription Offer TFA Members can now save 37% when subscribing to Farmers Weekly. Pay just £118 for a year's subscription, instead of the normal £188.70 (saving £70.70). Includes 51 issues of the print magazine, digital edition and full access to FWi.co.uk To take advantage of this offer, please call TFA head office on 0118 930 6130 for the new offer code. | And Finally... Sweet Home Hinton Ampner - The Tenant Farmer's Diary From 2015 TFA members, Charlie and Hazel Flindt, are second-generation tenant farmers on 920 acres of the National Trust-owned estate at Hinton Ampner in Hampshire. In 2015, Charlie decided that the time was right to record, in the finest detail, a year on a normal, non-organic, non-rare breed farm – the sort of farm that forms the vast majority of the countryside and feeds an even higher proportion of the population. The result is a comprehensive daily record of weather, farm activities, band rehearsals, gruesome medical matters, rural crime and, of course, Tuesday nights in the Flowerpots pub. A farm diary like you’ve never read before. Find it on Amazon and eBay, or email them for special TFA rates. For more information, please send an email to flindtbooks@aol.com. | |
