It has been a few weeks since my last blog and it is nearly Christmas. The ground is solid, we have land to plough, but the plough won’t even penetrate. We have sugar beet in the ground like so many others, and I fear that if it thaws we will lose it. We have been as low as -15 degrees and with prolonged sub zero temperatures and being below sea level this has been very penetrating. We even had some potatoes frozen in the bag in a shed where they are normally safe! Needless to say that with a temperature differential of 25 degrees between outside and inside the potato store, condensation is a huge problem. The bulk are sitting pretty at 8 degrees and having gassed them last week they look very well, I hope they keep as well as they look.
I have of course not received my Single Farm Payment. Despite applying on line, I see from the website and subsequent letter that I am still in validation. Entitlements seem to be the problem, and though nothing has changed since last year, the RPA are determined to get them right, so expect delays. If they do resolve as many as possible that bodes well for next year. The RPA’s new Chief Executive is Mark Grimshaw. Let us hope he is as successful at implementing the necessary changes to RPA as he has been at the Child Support Agency in his previous post.
We have had our round of meetings with all the major landlords apart from the MOD who we will meet early in the New Year. My understanding of what was discussed would be that all landlords are looking for the maximum return from agriculture, especially those landlords with urban property portfolios. There is little willingness to extend the length of term of FBT’s, but on a more commercial basis, landlords are much more interested in co-investing with tenants to build better businesses and returns for both. Also with the new Feed in Tariffs they are much more interested in the possibility of renewable energy – Photovoltaic and wind, and there is a discussion to be had if you are interested. Please speak to Head Office for advice especially if your tenancy agreement is agriculture only as there may be some issues.
For those of you who have not seen the newsletter there are some staff changes at Head Office. The TFA’s Communications and Events Co-ordinator, Jenna Kirkpatrick and her husband Steve are expecting their first child early next year and Jenna will be taking maternity leave from the TFA from 10 January. We wish you well.
Unfortunately Rowan Hill will not be able to take up the post as announced in the TFA news, but George has been able to secure the services of Larissa-Jayne Harmsworth and she will be starting on January 04 so Jenna will be able to help with a smooth transition.
Also Rebecca Marshall, the TFA’s National Adviser who has been with us 6 years, has decided it is time to branch out on her own as a Chartered Surveyor and will be leaving the TFA at the end of February. Many of you will have spoken to Beccy about SPS and innumerable other things. She has done a splendid job for us and we are very grateful. We wish her all the best in the commercial world.
We are also losing Gemma Bumford who has only been with the TFA for 18 months. In this short period she has really made her mark in the office, and proved that we needed an extra advisor, and how much more efficient the office has been with a full team.
I know you will want to join me in wishing them both success in the future. I am sure our paths will cross in the future. We have been working hard to find suitable replacements and have completed first interviews with second interviews in early January. I hope there will be minimal disruption in the office and we intend to provide service as usual. It has been a demanding time for George with all these changes and I am grateful to all staff for supporting George and their commitment to help facilitate this major change with minimum disruption.
Back to the weather, don’t forget to order your oil in good time. The oil companies only seem to want to deliver heating oil and at a high price because of demand. Orders made pre Christmas look like arriving in mid January.
All my sheep are still outside; we have no snow but are feeding silage barley and protein. They look well, but keeping them watered is a problem. I hope we can keep them out until just a few weeks prior to lambing. We will have to see how the weather treats us.
All that leaves me to do is wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, I would say prosperous, but who can predict where prices will be after the roller coaster of this year, perhaps a good time to sell forward for next year?… We shall see.
