Levy increase on the cards at AHDB

Farmers face a hike in levy rates to address the impact of rising costs at the Agriculture and Horticulture Developoment Board.

With agriculture facing unprecedented pressures, including inflation and the reduction in the Basic Payment Scheme, services provided to support levy payers are becoming more important than ever, says the AHDB.

Conversations will be held with key industry stakeholders and levy payers during the coming months. A formal consultation will take place this autumn. If approved, new rates could be implemented from April 2024.

Levy rates have remained broadly the same since 2011. Although the AHDB says it has made significant savings have been made, it warns that rising costs are continuing to add pressure on its budget.

AHDB director Will Jackson said: “There is never a right time to be recommending a levy increase, but we believe the current economic climate makes the case more urgent with clear, tangible benefits.”

Time, a commodity that you can only use once, cannot borrow or lend or store in a cupboard for a rainy day.

Timing is crucial within the drainage game, sometimes it can be the difference between an average crop or a good crop, or in this case racing or not racing. Cheltenham racecourse, a site we have worked at many times over the years is one such place where timing of any drainage installation is key. The course like us to start as soon as possible after the last race meeting, to allow the ground time to knit and heal after the drainage has been installed and give the ground staff time to work their magic getting the course ready for the first meeting of the new season, just a few months later.

It is the same at harvest. Timing and planning are crucial as harvest begins with most around the same time, give or take a week or two. Throw in harvesting speeds, how many acres, crops being harvested and the weather, it all takes a bit of a juggling act to keep everyone and everything on track and running smoothly, timing is key.

As with all best laid plans they sometimes never run how you would hope they would, for instance this year around by us, hay making is a couple of weeks early due to the recent warm weather. Farmers who would usually have a majority of hay over haylage now have a majority of haylage over hay. Again, time and weather playing their parts. If it stays warm and dry much longer the harvest may be brought forward also. If it is then there will be the knock on effect and we are already looking at our schedule as we work to avoid putting some clients off until after harvest. . . Only if there were 25 hours in an 8 day week!! Then you get the late arrivals who call as the combine is just finishing on a Monday, asking for a price and if we can start on Tuesday as they want to drill it Wednesday. . . .we think we manage our time very well but stopping time and time travel are both still a work in progress!