News
Hugh Townsend has for over 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 individuals 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.
18.1.23 – Western Morning News – Taxation of Environmental Credits
TAXATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CREDITS – SOME THOUGHTS As environmental credits become more prominent and more markets open for them, questions are increasingly arising about their tax status. Are they capital assets whose sale is subject to CGT? Do they actually qualify as income instead? What is their significance for inheritance tax? Are they subject to…
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2.12.2022 – Farmers Weekly – Biodiversity Net Gain market – how will it all work in practice?
The biodiversity net gain market is becoming more active. Farmers Weekly looks at the detail The law requiring a 10% uplift in biodiversity for any new development is not expected to come into force until at least late 2023. To meet this requirement – which can be either on-site or off-site – the developer must…
Read More 16.11.22 – Western Morning News – A farmer’s guide to operating in Biodiversity Net Gain market
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 A common misunderstanding about the English Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) market is that units can only be sold in their own Local Planning Authority (LPA) or the adjoining one. This confusion comes from two sources. The number of units sold outside their own LPA will be reduced by the “spatial risk multiplier”…
Read More2.11.2022 Fact Sheet 15 – How is Biodiversity Net Gain Marketed?
The new Biodiversity Net Gain market, contrary to early expectations, is a national market. Why this is and how it works is explained here. TCS Habitat Distinctiveness/”Rarity” and Trading Pyramid 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 One of the most common misunderstandings about the English Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) market is that the marketplace for any particular units…
Read More18.10.22 – THE DEACTIVATED ‘ACTIVE FARMER’ RULE WITH PARTICULAR NOTE TO SCOTLAND
Background One important historic consideration when claiming the BPS, and the SPS before it, is the Active Farmer Rule. As of 2015, the birth year of the Basic Payment Scheme whose departure we are now witnessing, the “Active Farmer Rule” was a negative stipulation for national farming subsidy claims. That is, it gave circumstances in…
Read More11.10.22 The Future of Farm Support in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
As policy on agricultural support is a fully devolved matter, each region of the UK may decide on how best to meet the objectives, needs and priorities of their region as they see fit. England was first to act and has the most developed transitional pathway. They decided that the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will…
Read More8.8.22 Annual Health & Welfare Review Pilot – open for applications
We are writing to report the latest progress of this scheme. You may already be familiar with the Annual Health and Welfare Review (AHWR). When it comes into force, this scheme will offer a yearly payment for a vet to come to the farm to assess the health of the animals and make recommendations for…
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6.7.22 – Western Morning News – Carbon credits: Is now the time to sell?
We are for the most part unqualified to comment on the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are two aspects of Russian activity which may affect UK domestic policy in a way that in turn affects carbon markets. First is the reduction in Ukrainian agri-food exports. Russia has, in their attempt to choke…
Read More 29.6.22 – Western Morning News – Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme
SUSTAINABLE FARMING INCENTIVE 2022: APPLICATIONS OPEN FROM 30TH JUNE DEFRA have announced the wider roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) which opened for applications from Thursday 30th June. As the Basic Payment Scheme winds down, with the last claims to be put in next year before delinkage payments from 2024, many are wondering…
Read More 22.6.22 – Western Morning News – Signs of progress as new BPS replacement scheme details emerge
The brave new world of post-BPS subsidy is steadily becoming more visible as new information is released by DEFRA. Lump Sum Exit Scheme The claim process for this is now fully understood. Those familiar with claiming New and Young Farmer entitlements from the National Reserve may recognise this process. This is because the RPA does…
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