Upland payments changes

New upland payments are recognition of the valuable environmental work farmers carry out in the hills according to the NFU, which lobbied hard for the addition to the Entry Level Scheme.

Buying a smallholding

It has been widely reported that the residential property market is experiencing a slowdown in the number of transactions, together with a readjustment in prices from the levels reached during 2007.

Coastal access should be fair says NFU

The NFU is looking to Government to take on board new recommendations from its Efra Select Committee which today agreed a fair balance' needs to be agreed for landowners before coastal pathways are created around the country.

Improve flow of river network

The notion, popular amongst officialdom, that farm land surrounding towns and cities can be used as a sacrificial sponge' to soak up flood water should have been drowned at birth because it flies in the face of the need for food production and care of the countryside, claims the South West NFU.

Hill farm allowance plans announced

Defra has unveiled how it plans to replace the current Hill Farm Allowance scheme.

South West MP calls for local action over Bovine TB

Andrew George, MP for the West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constituency of St. Ives, has called on the Government to allow farmers, scientists and environmentalists to work on their own local action plans to combat Bovine Tuberculosis in hotspot areas.

Low milk yields

West Country MP Tim Farron has warned that the lowest milk yields in history means the Government must change their attitude towards farming or be faced with more farmers leaving the industry as they are unable to make a living.

Biofuels can play key role

Sustainably produced biofuels can play a key role in addressing the challenge of climate change and energy security and the Government should restate its commitment to their use rather than creating uncertainty by changing targets, says the NFU.

Delivering better prices for beef and lamb

NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh is calling on the whole supply chain to work closely in the coming weeks to help deliver sustainable beef and lamb prices.

Latest single payments schedule ‘still too slow’

FARMERS leaders have slammed Minister Jonathan Shaw's announcement that the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) must pay 75 per cent of single payments by the end of January 2009 - a target which still leaves farmers in England trailing behind their European counterparts.

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