At last, some good news for farmers (From Gazette & Herald)

At last, some good news for farmers

I TRIED last week to give you a bit of relief from the repetitive and boring grilling on the Single Payment, but to no avail.

Both my readers pronounced that I was short of something to say, so don't blame me that it's back to the old SP routine.

On Valentine's Day, DEFRA published its third update on the Information Statement and some of the most interesting comments are contained in the section on the National Reserve.

Hitherto, we had mistakenly thought that the National Reserve would be available just to a few hardship cases, but not at all. You need to look very carefully at it.

The period to consider lies between January 1, 2000, and May 15, 2004.

If you bought land in that period you are eligible to apply.

If you took a lease out on land for six years or more, you are also eligible.

Most importantly, if you invested to increase production in an area which was subsidised, then you can also make a claim.

With a purchase or lease, you simply have to produce the relevant documentation.

With investment, you have to find the receipts for building works or purchasing quota for example.

If your claim is successful, calculation for your new SP entitlement will be based upon the difference between your average receipts for the reference period years 2000 to 2002; and your actual receipt in 2004.

This is tremendous news for those that have been expanding for the last couple of years and offers fresh hope for getting a better historic claim.

Our thoughts are that there will be a lot of people who could give the National Reserve a bit of attention.

:: Woodland grazing

This is another little snippet from the new SP document which may interest some farmers who graze open woodland.

Such areas now qualify for the SP with relatively simple eligibility criteria:

You must be able to demonstrate a previous history of grazing the area.

The grazing must not damage the environment.

Even if you have more than 50 trees per hectare, you can make a claim.

:: Common land

There will be many of the Gazette's upland readers who have access to common land and this is also dealt with in the new booklet.

You must have registered grazing rights originating in some form from the 1965 Act.

You must be a farmer.

You must comply with the 10-month occupation rule.

You will be allocated a notional area of the common based on the proportion of grazing rights that you have compared to the whole.

A common land owner can take up any surplus grazing rights and make a claim for those, provided he is a farmer.

:: What about the money?

The latest forecast for receiving your first Single Payment has now been given as between December 1 this year and June 30, 2006.

Another DEFRA pipe-dream is to let everyone know in the autumn the probable value of entitlements issued with a warning that these may not be the same as the actual payment you receive!

In the past, we have got out IACS cheques around November following harvest and the livestock subsidies have been drip-fed to us throughout the year.

The proposals for the Single Payment are going to seriously affect farm cash flows and the NFU are pressing for some form of across-the-board advance payment. We can only wish them luck.

:: Horse passport success

I am delighted to report that the lead article in last week's column persuaded 102 equipods to come to York Auction Centre last Saturday, ranging in size from a Shetland at 30" to a massive shire cross at 18.1hh (6' 4"). We worked on the identification process from 10am to 6pm and sent everyone home happy with their new passport. If there are any more horse owners stranded without the vital document, please ring Chris Ogilvie on (01904) 489731 in the afternoons.

:: Lighter moments

I have two little tales this week stimulated by the arrival of the latest miserable figures for my Personal Equity Plan (PEP).

My Eddlethorpe correspondent happened to be in the kitchen at the time, so I enquired if she had any PEPs. The instant response was: "Oh yes, I have two Jack Russells, four hens and a horse!"

The second is my son Tom's silly joke about the two aerials who got married. The service was rubbish but the reception was brilliant!

:: A night out with Mick Easterby

It may come as a surprise to some, but not to me, that Michael Easterby has been quietly working away for Ryedale farmers who have been deprived of a forum for discussion and social exchange.

He has over the past few years hosted a regular evening at The Highwayman, Sheriff Hutton, where the landlords cook a quite excellent supper, with Mick providing the meat.

Last Wednesday, it was the pheasant evening with a choice of a whole or half bird to put on your plate. Seventy-four farmers hungry for pheasant and chatter rolled in; and Mick adds yet another winner to his name.

:: Grain report

With his Valentine's card, David Sheppard enclosed the grain report and the strange situation which we now face where barley is worth considerably more than wheat.

For the last two Thursdays, the EU Commission's Management Committee have been granting subsidies of up to four euros per tonne on some 319,000 tonnes of wheat in an effort to keep it out of intervention stores.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, the market has been stuck in an extremely narrow trading range.

Although exports appear to have been busy, there is disagreement as to exactly how much has gone and, consequently, even more doubt as to what available tonnage remains to be shipped. For new season wheat, the markets are very quiet and farmer selling is virtually non-existent.

Conversely, the barley market is more buoyant with prices continuing to compare or exceed intervention price.

Most compounders are trying to cut as much barley as possible out of their rations, but David's advice to farmers with barley left to sell is to get it done; or wait to deliver it into intervention for April and May.

:: Market report

Forward were 145 cattle including 61 bulls, 1,204 sheep including 229 ewes. Light steers to 134p, G I Marwood, Harome, ave 118.1p; heavy steers to 119p, C Beal, Yedingham, ave 108.5p; light heifers to 134p, G I Marwood, ave 107.6p; heavy heifers to 149p, J L Gray, Grindale, ave 107.9p; light bulls to 114p, M Craggs, Ebberston, ave 108.5p; heavy bulls to 113p, P Beal, Settrington, ave 107.2p; black and white bulls to 109p, A W Turnbull, Rookbarugh, ave 87.8p; standard lambs to 115.1p, J E Shepherd, Thornton-le-Dale, ave 107.9p; medium hoggs to 118.7p, F J Hodsgman & Sons Ltd, Eddlethorpe, ave 112.2p; heavy hoggs to 115.2p, J Tennant, Fraisthorpe ave 105.4p; overweight hoggs to 106p, J Marwood, Settrington, ave 100.2p. Ewes to £50, J Jacklin, Yatts.

Updated: 14:38 Wednesday, February 16, 2005