WE were brought up with the old adage of “horn up, corn down” or the reverse could be true but rarely both at the same time.

This year might just break the mould as one of the few bright spots in agriculture at the moment is the land market for which there seems to be no stopping place. Cereals are generally down by £50 a tonne compared to last year and even on a 3T per acre crop, this means our receipts are £150 per acre less for no reduced cost.

Going round my stocktakings, there is still plenty of straw and forage left over which has deflated that market also.

I don’t want to depress you any further but the livestock sector is no better, with milk prices below the cost of production and now pressure being put on the beef and lamb markets.

The strong pound hasn’t helped and our beef exports were 20 per cent down in February compared to a year ago, whereas imports were 14 per cent up.

It is a similar tale with sheep where we are back 12 per cent on exports and up eight per cent on imports.

When you combine these facts with the British shoppers’ caution on the weekly spend, it is little wonder that trade in the markets has slipped.

Continental cattle have struggled to average 190p to 200p last week and the big deadweight buyers are exerting downward pressure by cutting back the price and offering weeks of waiting time.

Sheep took a dip with new season lamb hovering around £2.20 a kilo and old season hogs 180p per kilo.

The immediate future doesn’t look that rosy and we may have to take our medicine rather than hang on gathering more weight which would be even more difficult to sell.

 

Dog drives tractor

There was a lucky escape last week for Don the border collie, who managed to lean on the controls of his master’s tractor and started rolling forward.

Sadly, he had not been taught how to steer and the tractor progressed through a fence, across the M74 and onto the central reservation. Happily both tractor and dog were recovered safely.

 

GM crops approved for import

The ongoing debate between member states on the use of GM crops is very heated and the European Commission is making efforts to satisfy both sides.

It has issued licences for 19 GM crops, which have passed the safety tests and it will now be up to each member state as to whether they authorise any to be sown in their own country.

Not unexpectedly there has been an outcry from the green brigade who foresee great danger; but on the other hand there is no doubt we are falling behind the rest of the world in GM production.

 

Savills take over Smiths Gore

I think it is rather sad that we are losing Smiths Gore, which was established 160 years ago and this old firm, with a long tradition in land agency, will merge with Savills UK. Savill’s chief executive Philip Gready (but what’s in a name) believes increased specialist knowledge will benefit all their clients.

 

Beware BPS complacency

Having spent four hours on Saturday fighting with the RLR maps of an estate client in the Midlands, I can justifiably advise everyone to take great care with their forms.

There is no margin for error as Big Brother sitting in the satellite sky can soon spot whether you have missed a field corner, new track or even a muck heap, all of which must be marked and measured.

My tip would be to get your plans copied and then go through field by field marking on this year’s cropping and any features. You will then be able to have a list of things to do.

The same advice applies to the form where I am filling a copy in pencil before the final version.

Other points to note this year:

• The importance of correct mapping for ineligible features which will require an RLE1 Form and a new form is issued this week

• Inclusion of land that forms part of an RDPE Scheme whether claimed on or not

• Any land affected by utility schemes such as roads or water will lose their entitlements this year, so be careful to agree proper compensation.

Following last week’s article I am flattered that the Gazette is read by Natural England and I received a nice letter from their senior press officer.

We were thanked for drawing attention to the new claim date of June 15 for existing agri-environment and woodland grant schemes.