April has marked a distinct lack of blog due to lots of work. I have been stuck on a tractor or sprayer and plagued with IT problems.
On the farm, seed potatoes arrived and we are still planting. We should finish planting them this week, weather permitting, but we really need some rain. Top dressing, drilling beet (we are growing again this year), drilling mustard, which especially needs a drink. The rape has all been sprayed and late wheat is due T1 this week.
We've been hard at work getting the last of the potatoes in the ground.
The last of the piper will be out of store by the end of the month, and the last of the wheat will have left by year-end (April 5th) as planned. Valuation was done today, and of course there is SPS to return. I like to do that when all crops are established.
The TFA has seen me at the Smith Institute lecture on Feeding Britain (we move up the agenda). Can Tesco do it without us? Where is the ombudsman? I think there is a chance some change is on the way.
Mason v Boscawen has occupied a fair amount of time. It culminated with a last minute dash to get it in the budget. The TFA are not happy that the ruling is retrospective, but had to concede to get a resolution that we hope will be fair. The result is that (if) and when the amendment is enacted VAT changes that have happened and may happen in the future will no longer be deemed to be a change in the rent. An arbitrator may now be appointed, so where you have been negotiating where an arbitrator cannot be appointed because of Mason v Boscawen, one can now, so think ahead, make a settlement or have a good case to put before the arbitrator.
We had an office trip with partners to Highgrove, Duchy Home Farm and the house garden; this was a great day and blessed with good weather. We had an informal chance to get to know one another outside work. Your Chief Executive features on a security camera struggling with the minibus, never known you to cut corners George!
I have managed to sail once, attend Whittlesey NFU 100th anniversary dinner and take the family to see “Oliver” which excused me the melee that was the 17:00 hours deadline for the Mason v Boscawen amendment to the finance act. When George rang me to check if I had kept up with the 50 emails, I had not so only had to read the resulting brief! Often a good ploy with “reply to all emails”, just read the last one!
The other thing I should commend to you is OPTION B; there has been plenty in the press about set aside mitigation. The NFU and CLA are on the high-level group, but we have done our bit. Firstly, we need to convince DEFRA to take option B. We definitely do not want option A that cannot and will not deliver what DEFRA want. The double jeopardy is the only corrective measure is more of the same, increased area. Option B also safeguards the opportunities and benefits that ELS and HLS have to offer.
Finally, don’t forget the SPS deadline on May 15th.
