Top Stories

Farming organisations call for exemption to ‘inappropriate’ tax

09 Aug 201713:45

Industry chiefs have called for new farm buildings to be exempt from an ‘inappropriate’ development tax.

Agriculture showing ‘positive signs’ of future farming policy

24 Sep 201714:00

There are positive signs of a future farming policy starting to emerge, with a recognition of what the farming industry needs, according to Thomson Snell and Passmore head of agricultural and rural affairs Sue Lister.

arable Brexit Business farm life Land and property livestock Prices & trends

Farmers to benefit from longer tenancies, says George Eustice

15 Nov 201710:15

Tenant farmers may soon be able to benefit from more secure, longer tenancies thanks to the work of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group.

Brexit Business farm life Getting started Land and property Politics

Why farmers should consider holiday lets outside tourist hotspots

03 Dec 201706:00

With many farms outside typical tourist areas, Cath Anthony at Bidwells told Alex Black why farmers should still consider holiday lets.

Advice Business Diversification Land and property

How farmers can avoid tax pitfalls on extra Christmas income

14 Dec 201706:00

Christmas brings lots of opportunities to generate extra income on farm but business owners need to be aware of the tax pitfalls.

Advice arable Business farm life Getting started Land and property livestock

New Zealand dairy industry in irrigation row

16 Dec 201712:00

Farmers have spent $1 billion on green initiatives over five years.

Business dairy Land and property Legislation livestock Politics

Farmers may be able to reclaim VAT on entitlements

21 Dec 201706:00

Farmers may be able to reclaim VAT on Single Farm Payment Entitlements if the income from subsidies was to be invested into taxable farming activities.

Advice Business farm life Funding Land and property

Brexit uncertainty restricts UK land sales

20 Jan 201812:00

There was a significant drop in the amount of Welsh land coming to market as well as falls in Scotland and England.

Brexit Business Land and property Prices & trends Scotland

Permitted development rights on the farm - what you need to know

22 Jan 201809:00

Permitted development rights allow you to carry out specific types of work without making a full planning application.

Advice arable Business dairy farm life Getting started Handy hints Land and property livestock Scotland

Farmers urged not to make 'knee-jerk' diversification decisions

02 Feb 201806:00

Farmers have been urged to do their research before jumping into diversification schemes.

Advice arable Business dairy Diversification farm life Land and property livestock Scotland

Tenants given chance to buy their farms in surprise move

20 Feb 201809:10

In a surprise move, Buccleuch, one of the largest land holding companies in Scotland, has decided to offer 11 tenants the chance to buy their farms.

Business farm life Land and property Scotland

Minor changes could mean hike in business rate bills for farmers

10 Mar 201806:00

Minor business changes could mean big hikes in business rate bills for farmers and landowners.

arable Business dairy Land and property livestock

Rural housing policy changes could help farmers looking to retire

11 Mar 201806:00

Rural house building could be boosted by proposed changes to national planning rules, including a new exception which could help farmers looking to retire and allow the next generation to take over the farm.

Business Land and property Legislation

Unease as Chinese billionaire buys prime French arable land

09 Mar 201805:00

A Chinese buyer has caused alarm by purchasing more than 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of prime wheat growing land in the Alier and Central Indre regions of France.

arable Business farm life Land and property Prices & trends

Farmers to benefit from rural housing rule adjustment

15 Mar 201813:31

Changes to permitted development rights could allow farmers and landowners to create more in-demand rural housing from agricultural buildings.

arable Business dairy farm life Land and property livestock Scotland

Farmers struggling to care for ill family members still waiting on BPS cash

23 Mar 201806:00

Farmers struggling to care for family members battling life-threatening illnesses are among the 3,000-plus BPS claimants who are still waiting for their cash.

arable Business dairy farm life Funding Getting started Land and property livestock

Ever thought about turning your farm into a wedding venue?

28 Mar 201806:00

Bouquets and brides go hand-in-hand – but whoever thought barns and brides would ever be a winning combination?

Advice Business Diversification farm life Getting started Land and property

Brexit hub: Everything farmers need to know about leaving the EU

29 Mar 201809:00

With just one year to go until Britain exits the EU, Farmers Guardian has launched a dedicated Brexit hub to help readers navigate the uncharted waters ahead.

Advice arable Brexit Business CAP reform dairy Diversification Funding Getting started Land and property Legislation livestock Politics Scotland

Fund offering land owners chance to restore historic farm buildings

03 Apr 201809:35

A new grant scheme is being piloted this year in five National Parks, offering funding for land managers to restore their historic farm buildings.

Advice arable Business dairy farm life Funding Getting started grantchecker Land and property livestock New entrants Young farmers Young Farmers Clubs

BPS loans worth £42.8m land in farmers' bank accounts

04 Apr 201806:00

Payments have started to be made from the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) loan offer.

arable Business dairy farm life Funding Land and property livestock Scotland

Tenant farmer slams council landlord for 'cowardly' sell-off approach

06 Apr 201809:25

A tenant farmer has slammed her county council landlord for its ‘cowardly’ approach to dealing with the farm’s sale and subsequent eviction notice.

Business farm life Land and property

Retiring farmers deserve better rural housing, say parliamentarians

01 May 201806:30

A group of MPs and peers has warned the housing needs of older people living in the countryside, particularly retiring farm workers, are being ignored by the Government.

Business farm life Housing Land and property Politics Rural Development

English farmland market hit by weather woes at start of 2018

12 May 201806:00

Poor weather has caused a slow start to the year for the English farmland market.

Business Land and property Prices & trends

$Environmentalists hit back at Government over streamlined fracking proposals$

Environmentalists hit back at Government over streamlined fracking proposals

22 May 201807:00

The move will welcome a Shale Environmental Regulator and new Planning Brokerage Service as well as a new £1.6 million shale support fund over the next two years.

Business Energy Environment farm life Land and property

Change the law to force farmers to sell land at knockdown prices, MPs told

05 Jun 201811:00

An influential parliamentary committee has been advised to recommend a change to the law which would force farmers to sell their land at knockdown prices.

arable Business Environment Land and property Legislation livestock Politics

Graham's the Family Dairy has planning appeal rejected

19 Jun 201811:30

The plans would have included a £40m ’state-of-the-art’ processing plant, housing and local infrastructure.

Business dairy Land and property

Relocation and retirement dominate Scottish farm sale markets

21 Jun 201804:00

Retirement and relocation will remain the main reasons for farm sales in 2018, with Tom Stewart-Moore expecting a similar acreage of land coming to the market as 2017.

Business farm life Land and property Scotland

Property special: Pros and cons of selling farmland privately

22 Jun 201806:00

With a rise in the popularity of land being sold off-market, Charlie Evans, of Strutt and Parker, looks at the pros and cons of marketing land privately or on the open market.

Advice Business farm life Land and property

Agricultural buildings in demand for workshops and storage

25 Jun 201806:00

With a shortage of industry and workshop space in many areas of the country, Colliers International Tim Davies spoke to Farmers Guardian about how sheds can become the new agricultural crop.

Advice Business Diversification farm life Land and property

How to avoid unused farm buildings being termed as abandoned

22 Jun 201810:45

With derelict houses on farmland at risk of being classed as abandoned, Cheffins’ Ian Smith advises farmers on how to make sure unused dwellings do not lose their value.

Advice Business farm life Land and property

Affordable housing crisis could see rural communities disappear

03 Jul 201811:46

Rural communities could disappear unless a solution to the affordable housing crisis is found, a new report has revealed.

Business farm life Land and property

Farmland markets remain ‘incredibly polarised’ in 2018

22 Jul 201806:00

Farmland markets remained ‘incredibly polarised’ in the first half of the year, with location and farm type driving the prices paid.

Business farm life Land and property Prices & trends

Chance to solve rural housing crisis ‘severely limited’ by planning rules changes

25 Jul 201811:43

The Government has published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as it tries to tackle the ’broken housing market’

Business Land and property Legislation

Property special: Stability returns to farmland markets after quiet start

29 Aug 201809:00

Following a quiet first quarter with weather conditions holding back sales, Alex Black reports on the trends driving the farmland markets.

Business farm life Land and property Prices & trends

Property special: How to divide farmland into lots to meet demand

30 Aug 201806:00

Splitting the farm into lots can help appeal to different buyers in the market. Savills’ Will Douglas explains how to successfully divide the farm to achieve maximum returns.

Advice Business Land and property Prices & trends

TFA hits out at Government failure to address tenanted sector reform

18 Sep 201812:42

The Tenant Farmers Association has expressed its disappointment that the Agriculture Bill is completely silent on the need for post-Brexit reform of the tenanted sector.

arable Beef Brexit Business dairy Land and property Legislation livestock Pig Politics sheep

Auction mart set to 'flourish' with relocation after 131 years

26 Sep 201805:00

Darlington Farmers Auction Mart has announced it will relocate to a purpose-built auction premises after 131 years at its current site.

Beef Business Land and property livestock Prices & trends sheep Shows & Sales

Digital Minister: Farmers being ripped off by telecoms providers an ‘outrage’

04 Oct 201813:57

The Digital Minister has said it is ‘an outrage’ that telecoms providers are ripping off farmers by slashing rents for phone mast sites.

arable Beef Business dairy Land and property Legislation livestock Pig Politics poultry Rural Development sheep

Budget reaction: How the Chancellor's Autumn Budget will affect farming businesses

30 Oct 201810:50

Minimum wage to rise further than expected, a missed opportunity to fix the ’broken’ business rates system and welcome boost to broadband.

Advice Brexit Business Funding Land and property Legislation Politics

Large dairy farms can profit from Brexit

21 Nov 201816:57

Rob Hitch, of Dodd and Co Accountants, said Brexit may mean more land was available for dairy farmers to take on and use to expand their businesses

Brexit Business dairy Land and property livestock Politics

MPs reject PM’s Brexit deal: Everything farmers need to know

15 Jan 201919:40

MPs have rejected the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal by 230 votes. Abi Kay explains what this means for farmers.

arable Beef Brexit dairy Land and property Legislation livestock Pig Politics poultry Scotland sheep

'It is time for change' - rural businesses travelling hours a day after bank closures

14 Feb 201907:00

A new campaign has been launched for an regulator to be given explicit responsibility for protecting access to cash.

Business Land and property Politics

Deadline approaches for digital tax switchover

08 Mar 201904:52

With the deadline looming for the first stage of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme, Alex Black looks at what changes needed to be made in the farm office.

arable Business Land and property Legal Help Legislation livestock

Farm buyers look to longer term - with market likely to become more polarised

15 Mar 201905:00

The farmland market has been quiet during the early months of 2019.

arable Brexit Business Land and property livestock Politics Prices & trends

Scottish farm incomes rise in 2017/18 but farms still reliant on subsidies

26 Mar 201912:00

Scottish farm incomes have increased in 2017-18 but the industry was still dependent on farm subsidies to be profitable.

arable Business dairy Land and property livestock Prices & trends Scotland

Farmers warned they could face huge drops in rental incomes for telecoms masts

05 Apr 201905:00

A Welsh beef and sheep farmer has warned he faced losing 90 per cent of the income from his mast when his contract came up for renewal.

Business Diversification farm life Land and property

'An extraordinary set of circumstances' - tenant farmers win eviction battle

04 Apr 201913:05

An intervention by the Scottish Tenant Farming Commissioner Dr Bob McIntosh has enabled a tenant farmer to remain on a farm he rented from Buccleuch Estates.

Business farm life Land and property Legal Help Scotland

England and Wales launch consultations on improving farm tenancy legislation

09 Apr 201905:00

Defra and the Welsh Government have launched two 12-week consultations to seek industry views on modernising and improving agricultural tenancy legislation.

arable Beef Brexit Business dairy England Land and property Legislation livestock Pig Politics poultry sheep Wales

Land markets remain polarised in the UK as sellers remain cautious

26 Apr 201906:00

Polarisation remained a key factor of the farmland markets as buyers and sellers remained cautious surrounding Brexit uncertainty.

Business Land and property Prices & trends

Cheshire farmers left without livestock market as Wright Marshall collapses

26 Jun 201916:17

Wright Marshall which runs weekly livestock auctions at Beeston Castle in Cheshire has fallen into administration.

Bovine TB Business Land and property livestock Shows & Sales

Wright Marshall real estate business bought out of administration

02 Jul 201916:10

Petty Estate Agents have acquired the real estate division of Wright Marshall out of administration.

Business Land and property

‘It is like farming on a building site’ - farmer in HS2 row over wasted wheat crop

04 Sep 201915:58

An arable farmer whose land is being taken up by HS2 has said disorganisation and destruction from the works has cost his business tens of thousands of pounds and caused emotional turmoil for other local farmers.

arable Business Land and property

The housing debate: What are my retirement options?

06 Sep 201909:55

Options for retirement housing do remain plentiful but, as is the trend, the sooner the conversation was had, the better.

Business farm life Land and property Legal Help

Councils call for permitted development rights to be scrapped as barn conversions soar

21 Sep 201908:00

But the CLA said the rules were introduced to allow small villages and rural communities to grow organically and incrementally and were helping tackle housing shortages.

Business Diversification Land and property