News - Townsend Chartered Surveyors

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.

Western Morning News – 29.04.15 – Capitalisation of renewables income

Over previous months many landowners and renewable developers have been racing to ensure their solar installations were up and running before the 1st April drop in FIT rates, and for those looking to the future there may be uncertain ends to new renewables projects following recent comments by Western Power Distribution about the lack of…

Farmers Guardian – 24.04.15 – Land and BPS entitlement markets

The last few weeks has seen everything now “fall into place” for England, or perhaps fall out of place, and then fall back into a different place! We all expected the chaos at the RPA, as with the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme, although it is difficult to accept the inevitable knock-on effect of…

Western Morning News – 15.04.15 – Cottage gem reflects high demand for fishing rights

With the renewal of rod licences due on the 31st of March and the season now open for Salmon and Trout thoughts are turning to dusting off the waders and heading down to the riverbank. But for some the sanctuary of the riverbank can be only a stone’s throw from the back door if your…

Western Morning News – 01.04.15 – Turning farmland into building land

With national demand for housing showing no sign of slowing, the need for land on which to build is not slowing down either. Reports of agricultural land being sold to developers for as much as £1m an acre might make any landowner think about whether they can lose a few acres of farmland, freeing up…

01.04.15 – Radio 4 PM – Hugh Townsend interview with Eddie Mair

Please click here to download and listen to this interview.

Western Morning News – 18.03.15 – BPS rules finalised

At last we have the final guidance on the Basic Payment Scheme rules. I set out a summary below: Active Farmers To claim you must be both a ‘farmer’ and an ‘active farmer’. To qualify as a ‘farmer’ you must either produce, rear or grow agricultural products or simply keep land clear of dense scrub….

Western Morning News – 04.03.15 – The death of renewables?

The recent drop in the price of oil suddenly seems to question the future of renewables. As we know, fracking in America has dramatically reduced worldwide oil prices, exaggerated by the Middle East’s unusual reaction of maintaining high levels of production in the hope of keeping prices low in order to force out competitors. Whilst…

Western Morning News – 18.02.15 – Submitting farm tenders that stand out

As is common in the agricultural rented sector most farms are let by tender and to ensure you are in with a good chance of being invited for interview it is vital to consider your proposal at an early stage, often well before the viewing day. It is also important to consider what you can…

14.02.15 – FEBRUARY 2015 – ENTITLEMENTS UPDATE – 2015 TRADE BEGINS

After the brisk entitlement trading up to the 21st October 2014 we are now seeing the market come alive once more for the second window of trade for the 2015 Scheme Year. October saw the price for Non-SDA entitlements drop to £220 per unit, and with the continuing surplus of Non-SDA prices remain low at £140 per…