Latest Agriculture

The ever-changing farming industry is one that provides a multitude of complexities for accountants and tax advisers, not only from the day to day aspects of the business, but also with the historical family arrangements to the issues of ownership and succession.   With the forthcoming changes to subsidies both in terms of the conditions…

In a society already dominated by red tape two new registers have been created to assail us. The Register of Trusts, when announced, did not seem unduly onerous. As the requirements have become clearer we are left pondering where trusts may exist that are not immediately obvious.   Of particular relevance to agriculture, land may…

With the rising costs of energy affecting both homeowners and businesses, many are looking to renewable forms of energy to reduce their costs. Harvesting solar power with solar panels is one alternative. Sites can range from the roof of your house to hundreds of acres of rural land.   Grants are available for homeowners to…

When dealing with agricultural tenancies SDLT – Stamp Duty Land Tax can be a complex issue. On completion in England of a farm business tenancy – FBT – it’s important to establish whether an SDLT return needs to be submitted, whether it is payable and if so, how much.   For a fixed term FBT,…

The Food & Drinks Sector Council’s latest report on increased productivity and sustainability in the agricultural sector calls on farmers to challenge their status quo against what they want to do and what they want to achieve.   Highlighting the numerous challenges faced on an almost daily basis, it focuses on maintaining farming profitability to…

Applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) opened in June and will remain open year-round so that farmers can apply when it suits them. Interestingly, this will mean that individual farmers and landowners all have differing agreement start dates, unlike the old BPS scheme.   Based on DEFRA’s guidance, once an application has been submitted…

Google ‘planting woodland and trees’ and you will find dozens of pages of advice but let’s focus on the farmer’s needs and the wide range of benefits to our readers where farmland grazing is poor or your land requires more fertilisers.   Large scale planting can: • Attract wildlife • Provide shelter for livestock •…

I can remember thinking that accountancy would be a boring career. Over 40-years later I found myself writing the introduction to our newsletter after a budget – aka ‘fiscal statement’ – which incensed the environmental lobby, attracted criticism on the world stage and plunged the pound to record lows against the dollar.   Now, it’s…

As VAT repayment traders, farmers have long enjoyed the privilege of being able to submit their VAT returns late with impunity. Beware. For VAT Returns for periods beginning after 1 January 2023 late submission will have consequences, even for those due a refund. Each late return will attract a point and, for traders submitting quarterly…

For most of my life sugar beet have represented a stable but unexciting crop. Sugar adjusted yields have seemed reasonably consistent from year to year and the price for which the commodity could be sold has been negotiated by the NFU and British Sugar before growing contracts have been agreed. I have just listened to…