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For over 38 years, Hugh Townsend has been the country's "go-to" commentator on farm quotas and intangible assets sold off-farm. 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.In 2016, BBC1 interviewed Hugh Townsend on the future of farming following the Referendum, click here. In 2021 he published the first book of its type “the UK Environmental Credits User Guide” , and more recently in 2024 ITV filmed at one of our BNG Habitat Banks which was broadcast on Monday 3rd June (click here) To view the uncut footage of the interview click here
Hugh Townsend developed the most creative arrangements to promote an efficient market in farm quotas, in the early eighties, including leasing milk quota without land, before the Milk Marketing Board introduced leasing for a part of the milk year. He has represented clients in leading court and arbitration cases successfully defending transfers of milk quota, and developed the new system of second TQ1 forms protecting the transfer of quotas with land.
In 1991, Farmers Weekly published the first sale price index from Hugh Townsend, countrywide, and started to publish farm quota sales and leasing graphs, which can be seen on our Milk Quota & Entitlements pages. Prices for intangible assets are still published weekly from this UK leading Brokerage House.
On BBC television, he has defended dairy farmers who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals in the farm quota market, and was again on television to comment on the "footballers buy milk quota" rumpus.
In 1990, the firm held the first auction of sheep and beef quota making the market in these new intangible assets and is still the leading BPS entitlement broker in the UK regions following England abolishing their scheme in 2023.
The firm also now sells Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality units, Woodland and Peatland Carbon, in addition to Water Abstraction Licenses, and holds National Sales by tender every six weeks.
01.11.2018 – Autumn 2018 Newsletter
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Farmers Weekly – 20.09.18 – Agriculture Bill could lift entitlement values
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Read More19.09.18 – Entitlement Market Update
The 2018 market kicked off on the 16th September last year at £150 for English Non-SDA. We are expecting the 2019 trade to start any day at the same level, having had offers in at £140 prior to the publication of the Agriculture Bill. Whilst confirming that BPS may come to an end by 2027, confidence…
Read MoreThe Agriculture Bill 2018
For the first time in 45 years a UK government presented its own agricultural legislation to Parliament on the 12th September for its first reading. The Agriculture Bill 2018 is the biggest overhaul of farm policy since the end of the Second World War, and the first time in centuries that a legislative framework is…
Read MoreAGRICULTURE BILL 2018 BRIEFING – BOOST TO THE VALUE OF 2019 BPS ENTITLEMENTS
The UK Government’s “Agriculture Bill to deliver a Green Brexit” is to be introduced to Parliament today (12th September). The House of Commons has released a 91 page briefing paper summarising the consultations that have taken place, and setting out how it envisages farmers and land managers in England (and to some extent Scotland, Wales…
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Western Morning News – 22.08.18 – Countryside Stewardship applications – final checks
The deadline to submit a Mid Tier / Wildlife Offer Countryside Stewardship application is only 7 working days away. With this in mind there are a number of matters that all applicants should consider before posting their application to Natural England. Reading the Guidance It is important when submitting a CS application that one has…
Read More Western Morning News – 01.08.18 – Profitable reasons to get your Countryside Stewardship application in
The Countryside Stewardship (CSS) application period is upon us, and with the deadline having been extended from the 31st July to the 31st August, applicants now have more time to consider which agreement to apply for, and options to select. One of the main factors behind applicants undertaking a CSS application, besides the environmental benefits…
Read More Western Morning News – 27.06.18 – Countryside Stewardship – Hot Tips
The 31st July 2018 deadline (NB. Deadline now amended to 31st August 2018) for submitting applications is fast approaching, and Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier packs and Wildlife Offer packs are arriving by email and post. A few tips which applicants should watch out for. 6th July Deadline for Hedgerow RLE1s Most applicants will need to…
Read More Farmers Weekly – 09.07.18 – Why careful investigation is vital before taking on a farm tenancy
Tenants taking on long-term farming tenancies need to take the same detailed and wide-ranging approach one does when buying a farm. A case in which tenant farmers were awarded £1.75m should serve as a warning to both tenants and landlords more widely, writes Hugh Townsend, senior partner of Exeter-based Townsend Chartered Surveyors. Find out what happened in…
Read More Western Morning News – 25.04.18 – 2018 RPA Online – New Entitlement Transfer Status Complication
The RPA online computer system is transferring entitlements without knowing if they can be used in 2018. The system has to cope with huge amounts of data, and has built within it rules which enable it to process certain transactions automatically, easing up on staff workloads and enabling most transactions to happen (in theory!) quickly…
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