News
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.
Farmers Guardian – 07.09.12 – Managing changes to ELS
To ensure a new ELS agreement will fall under the old Third Edition Handbook, a valid application must be submitted before the end of September to have a start date for the 1st December 2012, prior to the new rules coming in to effect from the 1st January 2013. The new Handbook has not yet…
Read MoreFarmers Guardian – 01.06.12 – Can’t agree the farm rent?
Something many are facing for the first time, as farm incomes have increased, are considerable rent increases. What is involved if you cannot agree? Under an Agricultural Holding Act tenancy, after service of the notice at least 12 months beforehand, an application has to be made before the review date to appoint an Arbitrator. With…
Read MoreFarmers Guardian – 02.03.12 – Permanent pasture – can I plough or not?
More and more of our clients are asking this question, and whilst the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture)(England)(2) Regulations 2006 will be reviewed shortly, it is unlikely things will become any simpler when making a decision as to whether a particular field of permanent pasture can be ploughed up. Unfortunately there is not a quick answer….
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