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Hugh Townsend has for 25 years been the country's "go-to" commentator on farm quotas and rural surveying issues affecting farmers. Having become the country's leading and most innovative quota agent he was broadcast to 3.8 million listeners on Radio 4's PM programme interviewed by Eddie Mayer on the 1st April 2015 – the Dawning of Europe without Milk Quotas, click here. More recently BBC1 interviewed Hugh Townsend on the future of farming following the Referendum, click here.
Hugh Townsend has over the years developed the most creative arrangements to promote an efficient market in farm quotas, in the early eighties developing leasing milk quota without land before the Milk Marketing Board introduced leasing for a part of the milk year.
He represented clients in leading legal cases defending transfers of milk quota and developed the new system of second TQ1 forms protecting the transfer of quotas with land.
In 1991, with Farmers Weekly he produced the first sale price index countrywide and started to publish farm quota sales and leasing graphs which are still published by Farmers Weekly and other publications and can be seen on our Milk Quota & Entitlements pages.
On BBC television he has defended dairy farmers who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous inpiduals in the farm quota market and was again on television to comment on the "footballers buy milk quota" rumpus.
He regularly writes for Farmers Guardian and the South West's Western Morning News and our experienced team is sought after for their comments on farm quotas.
FARM FACTS 2017
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Read MoreEntitlement trading news – latest update 15.03.17
Contents 1. England – transferring entitlements online – not yet secure 2. UK Entitlements Market 3. UK BPS Entitlements – User Guide 4. Links 1. England – transferring entitlements online – not yet secure We have found serious problems with the online entitlements…
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Farmers Weekly – 14.03.17 – English lowland entitlements trading for less than in 2016 – COMMENT
Townsend Chartered Surveyors comment. To download/view article click here
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Western Morning News – 01.02.2017 – Using an agent for 2017 BPS claim
The RPA has recently confirmed that 93% of 2016 BPS claimants have been paid their Basic Payment Scheme payment. This figure surpasses the target of 91%, which was set before the payment window opened in December 2016. With large sums of money being paid out to farmers it is important to focus on the remaining…
Read More Western Morning News – 11.01.16 – Exciting times ahead in agriculture…
It is difficult to comment on the land market, entitlement market or anything else without referring to Brexit. For me personally the Referendum became a frustratingly boring debate with extreme claims made by either side trying to scare the electorate, or sell a vision of something better. Now however it could become one of the…
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Read More Western Morning News – 21.12.16 – Common land rights and BPS claims
We are now seeing an increase in BPS claimants, who have handled their own claims to date, asking us to help them with the RPA over their still unresolved 2015 claims. The fear is that once another year’s payment is made it will become increasingly difficult to “unpick” errors in the RPA computer systems. Now…
Read More Western Morning News – 16.11.16 – Reflections on Brexit and US election
The country still seems divided by the views people had when voting at the Referendum, with those thinking that Brexit is a good thing being optimistic, debating with those who remain pessimistic who think it will be bad for the country. Efforts are being made through the courts and Parliament to stall or have the…
Read More Western Morning News – 26.10.16 – Rises and falls forecast as trading begins for 2017 entitlements
There has been a focus in the recent national and farming press on the level of CAP subsidy received by some of the UK’s largest farms and farming businesses, some of which are owned by wealthy and, some would say, unworthy, recipients who have received millions of pounds of payments from the Single Payment Scheme…
Read More Western Morning News – 28.09.16 – King’s case outcome highlights the need for knowledgeable agents
In 2005 the Single Payment Scheme rules allowed the permanent transfer of entitlements with or without land, but a lease (temporary transfer) could only be done with land. UK farmers had become used to the flexibility of leasing quota when needed (as they had with milk quota and other subsidies), and there was immediately demand…
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