• Fruit Focus returns to NIAB East Malling, 9 July 2025
• Farming and estate management is all about teamwork
• Ian Kitson launches new farm waste recycling service
Hawkhurst, Kent
Guide Price £3,375,000
A residential farm estate offering multi-generational living within the Cranbrook School catchment area with an outstanding contemporary oast and barn conversion blending state-of-the-art with traditional living, a single storey holiday cottage and a detached farmhouse with separate access. High quality farm buildings and stables. Landscaped gardens and pasture land extending to 20 acres with bridal path access to Bedgebury Forest with its excellent rides.
Contact Antonia Mattinson or Alan Mummery on 01892 832 325
Otterden, Faversham, Kent
Guide Price £695,000
A range of mainly portal frame buildings which have variously been adapted as residential dwellings (two paying council tax) together with specialist equestrian facilities including stabling and substantial indoor arena. Extending in all to some 4.43 acres/1.75 hectares. FOR SALE
Contact the Paddock Wood office on 01892 832 325
Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent
Guide Price £2,600,000
An exciting opportunity to acquire a former farmstead site with full planning permission granted for 5 individual dwellings set in 14 acres of farmland. Strategically located within a mature accessible site in an area of Green Belt. FOR SALE
Contact Antonia Mattinson or Alan Mummery on 01892 832 325
SOUTH EAST FARMER
Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court
Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444
EDITORIAL
Editor: Malcolm Triggs
Email: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Photography: Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic
Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information on our privacy policy, please visit www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/
If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk
NEWS & REPORTS
recommends retaining the small abattoir discount.
call for “long term clarity” to allow rural businesses to “plan, invest, and build resilience”.
estimated 20,000 visitors attended the 21st annual Watercress Festival.
FEATURES
08 SHOW RESULTS
South of England Show and Heathfield.
18 FARM WASTE SOLUTIONS
Farmers looking for a reliable, ethical and competitively priced recycling service for their farm plastics need look no further.
26 FRUIT FOCUS PREVIEW
Bringing together leading experts, top industry suppliers and UK-based fruit growers for an annual day of knowledge exchange, professional development and networking.
36 SOUTH EAST FORESTRY
Farming and estate management is all about teamwork.
50 VITIMECH
www.kelsey.co.uk
Cover picture: Wicks Farm
It may be a relatively new player when it comes to supplying vineyard equipment, but Vitimech has made its intentions clear from day one.
FSA RECOMMENDS RETAINING THE SMALL ABATTOIR DISCOUNT
News that the small abattoir discount looks set to be retained has been welcomed by farmer and South East Farmer correspondent Nigel Akehurst.
Responding to the decision of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board to recommend the retention of the discount to DEFRA, he commented: “I’m relieved the FSA has backed the discount. Without it, rising costs could force more closures and undermine local, higher-welfare meat supply chains, which are already hanging by a thread.”
The discount covers up to 90% of charges for smaller abattoirs, many of which are already struggling for a variety of reasons, creating a knock-on effect on farmers who increasingly have to travel longer distances to have their animals slaughtered.
Nigel sends between 12 and 15 head of Sussex x Aberdeen Angus cattle and 20 to 30 fat lambs to the Downland Abattoir in Henfield per year to supply the monthly farm gate sale at Hockham Farm, where the meat is sold as individual cuts and in beef boxes.
Because charges are based on vet time rather than throughput, larger operators benefit from a better economy of scale, with the cost for smaller operators estimated to be nine times greater per animal.
Without the discount, smaller abattoirs would have to close or pass costs on to customers, according to a statement issued by the Soil Association and supported by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and Sustainable Food Trust.
The Soil Association’s organic sector development advisor, Adrian Steele, welcomed the decision as “the first time the FSA has recognised the valuable role that small abattoirs play in the rural economy
and in local communities”.
He went on: “We simply cannot afford to see any more abattoirs disappearing. With fewer than 50 still operating in England and Wales they have their work cut out to support the growing organic sector and demand from consumers for greater choice when it comes to quality and where they buy their fresh meat.
“Small, local abattoirs are crucial to building resilient local supply chains and ensuring higher animal welfare standards.”
The Sustainable Food Trust’s head of
Nigel Akehurst with one of his beef boxes
policy and campaigns Megan Perry said the discount was “absolutely critical to the continued viability of these businesses” but warned: “Assuming the Minister agrees with this proposal, the next stage will be crucial, and industry must be closely consulted about what form the discount should take and how it should be applied.”
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers has estimated that without the discount, 40% of smaller abattoirs would have to close.
TRANSPARENCY CALL OVER RESPONSE TO ALTERNATIVE IHT PROPOSAL
Industry big hitters have criticised the Government’s lack of transparency after ministers dismissed alternative proposals on changes to inheritance tax without providing any evidence.
Agricultural thinkers had put forward an alternative to the current proposals to change the rules around business property relief (BPR) and agricultural property relief (APR) in a way many fear will have major tax implications for family farms.
The so-called ‘clawback’ option would tax business assets at the full 40% inheritance tax rate, but only if sold by a family successor within seven years of the owner’s death. Supporters believe this proposal offers a more finessed policy that would meet the Government’s money-raising objectives while avoiding irreparable damage to farming’s family business community.
Ministers, though, claimed this alternative would raise “much less” than current proposals but refused to show how they reached that conclusion, even after both the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) individually submitted freedom of information requests. The department stated the information would “not be in the public interest”.
Now the NFU, CLA and several other high profile organisations have written to the Chancellor expressing “grave concern over the government’s lack of transparency in its reform of business property relief and agricultural property relief”.
The letter went on: “A recent study by Family Business UK – supported by the undersigned – found the reforms could threaten over 200,000 jobs, reduce tax revenue by £1.9bn and cut almost £15bn in economic activity by the end of this Parliament. Government’s inheritance tax reforms will clearly affect the whole country’s economy. Publishing the requested information is, therefore, surely in the public interest.
“We are concerned that this study has been repeatedly dismissed by ministers, despite being based on robust data from thousands of businesses. Moreover, ministers continue to cite the Office for Budget Responsibility’s support, despite the OBR calling the government’s figures ‘highly uncertain’.”
Alongside the NFU and CLA, the letter was signed by high profile figures from organisations including Family Business UK, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, Horticultural Trades Association, British Holiday & Home Parks Association, Historic Houses and the Electrical Contractors’ Association.
Glimmer of light OPINION
Is it me, or is there the odd glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel through which farming seems to have been travelling in recent months?
It could, of course, be a train coming the other way (the old ones are the best), but a better-than-feared settlement for DEFRA and news that the small abattoir discount looks likely to be retained are in stark contrast to the doom and gloom that followed proposed inheritance tax changes and the sudden end of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
We have even had some rain, and while I’m pretty sure farmers would dismiss that as a drop in the ocean, the weather has generally been clement.
So, there’s been some unexpected good news, but that, in a way, illustrates the difficulties surrounding farming these days. It may have been good, but the fact that it was unexpected highlights the unpredictability farmers face.
Farming is a long-term business which relies on planning. Which crops to grow, which equipment to buy, how to prepare the soil, which schemes to join, where to diversify, what investments to prioritise? Difficult questions at the best of times, but particularly so when the goalposts don’t just move but, on occasions, disappear completely.
Take the small abattoir discount issue. Raising cattle to slaughter and sell from the farm gate in beef boxes takes planning and a huge investment, not just in the livestock but in the cost of the boxes, branding, marketing and everything else that goes with running a successful retail business.
For the past six months or more, anyone involved in such an enterprise has been doing so with their fingers crossed behind their backs while the Food Standard Agency carried out its review into the discount. Had the decision gone the other way, farmers would now be looking at a potentially huge rise in costs but would still have the cattle to feed and the beef boxes bought and stacked on the shelf.
It's much the same with the DEFRA budget. It now looks like the Sustainable Farming Incentive will return and be backed by a reasonable amount of cash, but the details are still far from clear and there is certainly not enough information out there to allow environmentally minded farmers or landowners to plan for the future with any certainty.
What farmers need is a period of stability. No-one is expecting a farming crystal ball that will tell them the future with complete accuracy, but surely a clear indication of the Government’s policy direction with regards to farming isn’t too much to ask?
EMAIL YOUR VIEWS, LETTERS OR OPINIONS TO: sef.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to the address on page 3
® MALCOLM TRIGGS - EDITOR
PLAN, INVEST, AND BUILD RESILIENCE
A call for “long term clarity” to allow rural businesses to “plan, invest, and build resilience” followed news of the Government’s spending review cash allocation for DEFRA.
In a mixed bag of responses to the spending announcement, most of them cautiously optimistic, the call for more clarity came from Jason Beedell, rural research director at Strutt & Parker.
Pointing out that it was “hard to decipher the exact implications of the spending review for DEFRA,” he observed: “The Government says it will invest more than £2.7 billion per year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 until 2028/29. Of this, £2.3 billion will be funnelled through the farming and countryside programme, which includes the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMS).
“But given the National Audit Office reported in June 2024 that DEFRA had committed to spend £2.4 billion a year on the farming sector between 2020/21 and 2023/24,
that appears to be a cut of around 4%.
“While the Government also states that farmers will get up to £400m from additional nature schemes, what they are is not specified. It feels like we need more detail.
“Farmers will need to wait for clarity on how individual schemes like the Sustainable Farming Incentive may be impacted, although DEFRA has already signalled that the reset scheme is likely to target smaller farms.”
He went on: “It is interesting to note the Government’s ambition to drive efficiencies by introducing a common grants platform – and possibly a single grants delivery body – to handle grants and payment administration.
“A single platform makes sense in principle to streamline delivery and reduce duplication. However, experience shows that the roll-out of new digital systems can bring short-term challenges, and it will be important that any transition is carefully managed to minimise disruption for farmers.
"Farmers are operating in a radically different policy environment to five years ago.
Long-term clarity is what businesses now need to plan, invest, and build resilience."
The NFU also “cautiously welcomed” the announcement of an overall settlement of £7.4 billion for farming’s sponsor department, DEFRA, in line with previous budgets.
It pointed out that within the £2.7 billion for farming and nature recovery, there was a planned £100 million cut to farming and countryside programmes and warned: “This comes after the agriculture budget has already been eroded over the past decade by inflation.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “While the DEFRA Secretary of State has listened and managed to maintain the overall funding for farming and nature recovery, from what we can see so far, the £100 million cut to farming means farmers and growers will need to do more with less.”
He suggested that while the Chancellor had said the Government “cares about where things are made and who makes them”, the confidence of British farmers and growers had been “battered by constantly moving policy goalposts, global volatility and unpredictable climate events”.
NFU Regional Board chair for the East of England Alan Clifton-Holt, who farms near Romney Marsh in Kent, said: “The NFU has consistently lobbied for the agriculture budget to be protected, so news that the overall funding for farming and nature recovery has been maintained will be welcomed by farmers and growers in the South East.”
But he added: “The fact that the Government has still not made any announcements on reconsidering its family farm tax policy is very concerning. This poorly thought out and damaging policy threatens the future of small and medium-sized family farms and could have a devastating impact on our industry.”
Alan Clifton-Holt
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) also welcomed the announcement, with President Victoria Vyvyan calling it “a meaningful funding settlement” that would see many farmers “breathing a sigh of relief”.
She added: “We now need DEFRA to work closely with industry to understand how to get the best bang for their buck – to further the impressive gains we have already made in nature-friendly farming. Trust and confidence have been shaken, and this is an opportunity to rebuild.
“It is clear, though, that government still has not fully understood the consequences of its anti-business policies. Taxes are going up, jobs are being lost and investment in the rural economy is crumbling. Now is the time to get around the table with rural business leaders and thrash out a robust and ambitious plan for growth.”
CPRE Chief Executive Roger Mortlock welcomed more cash for affordable housing, which he said “could make a real difference if it's directed towards the escalating rural housing crisis”.
But he added: “The way ‘affordable’ housing is defined, as 80% of market value, keeps many new homes out of reach for ordinary people, especially in the countryside.
“CPRE is calling on the Government to redefine ‘affordable’ housing in line with average local incomes.”
Will White, Sustainable Farming Coordinator at Sustain, described the settlement as "a much-needed show of commitment for nature-friendly farming”, adding: “The funding commitment for ELMS is a vital signal that the Government recognises the central role of farmers in delivering climate action, restoring nature and ensuring food security.
“To make this investment deliver, DEFRA must ensure it translates into measurable outcomes and reaches farmers fairly, efficiently, and accessibly. Too many farmers face barriers to support, so additional investment in trusted, independent advice on the ground is critical.
“But funding alone won’t deliver the farming transition we need. Farmers also require stronger supply chain regulation to secure a fairer share of profits, enabling them to invest in more nature-friendly practices. A clear strategy is also needed to grow overlooked sectors like horticulture, which are vital to
public health and food security.”
Soil Association Director of Policy Brendan Costelloe pointed out that while the farming and nature settlement “will have been hard won by DEFRA ministers”, it still amounted to a real term cut of 2.7% a year. “Given the scale of the challenge, it's more critical than ever that spending is targeted at those areas that do most to deliver transformational change,” he stressed.
He called on the Government “to treat food system transformation as seriously as it treats the green energy transition”, which he said would mean “continued support in SFI for regenerating soils, the ‘renewable energy’ of the food system”.
He went on: “Building soil fertility allows farmers to reduce their dependency on harmful chemicals, and it lays the foundations for a widespread transition to nature-friendly farming. Increased investment in agroforestry can also play a critical role in building farm resilience and national food security, by helping to protect farms from the increasing impacts of climate change.”
The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) noted the small cut announced to the DEFRA budget with “cautious optimism”, describing it as “a vote of confidence in
nature-friendly farming during tough economic times”.
It added, though, that current levels of funding “still fall short of what’s needed to meet the UK’s legally binding climate and nature targets” and said future spending increases must be part of any serious strategy for land use, food security and farm resilience.
CEO Martin Lines said: “Given the challenging economic climate, it’s a relief that the budget for nature-friendly farming has been largely protected. Ministers have listened to our calls to recognise the value of naturefriendly farming and what it can do.
“However, the challenges facing food production, biodiversity and climate resilience demand far greater ambition. Without increased investment, we risk falling short of our national commitments and letting down the very farmers ready to lead the transition.
“Investing in nature-friendly farming isn’t a luxury – it’s essential to future-proof British farming, protect our communities and secure our food production. This investment benefits everyone, whether protecting communities from devastating flooding, supporting affordable renewable energy or ensuring high-quality food is available on supermarket shelves.”
Tom Bradshaw
SHOW RESULTS
LIVESTOCK, LEARNING AND PRIDE
The 57th annual South of England Show offered something for everyone, from seasoned agricultural professionals to first-time showgoers discovering rural life.
More than 200 attractions were on offer, including a packed schedule of livestock and equestrian competitions, countryside demonstrations and interactive exhibits.
Livestock remained at the heart of the event, held by the South of England Agricultural Society at its showground in Ardingly, West Sussex, with over 900 entries across beef, dairy, sheep, pig and goat classes. Alongside the judging, spectators learned about breed characteristics, farm practices, cuts of beef and mock auctions from industry professionals.
The Savills South of England Farming Technical Forum returned with a strong turnout, both in person and watching online. Centred on the theme Harvesting Opportunity: The Modern Farming Mindset, the discussion brought together a panel which explored how UK farmers are tackling challenges head on to build productive, sustainable and profitable businesses.
The new 'wildlife and food production' area was designed to allow farmers, landowners and those within the agricultural community to speak to peers and experts about how they manage their land and to share best practice in supporting the environment and local landscapes.
It was also an opportunity to inform the public about the work local farmers and organisations do to protect the land while producing high quality food. Organisations taking part included Ashdown Forest, The Woodland Trust, Innovation for Agriculture, CLM, Pasture for Life, Longbridge Regenerative and the Royal Agricultural Society for England, which also hosted a drinks reception. Talks included Unlocking the Value of Nature: Why Natural Capital Matters, Soils and South East Based Farming.
The Long Man Brewery farmers’
marquee served as a meeting point for industry professionals, with farmers, MPs, representatives from the NFU and DEFRA, agricultural services and rural businesses in attendance.
Around 300 young farmers’ club members from across the South East attended the show and more than 300 members of the farming community gathered on Saturday evening for the ever-popular stockmen’s dinner.
For many, the livestock parade remains the pinnacle of the show. This year’s top honours included:
• Supreme Dairy Champion –Ayrshire, Wigboro Wick Hawaiian Helena 2nd; John Smith
• Supreme Beef Champion – Simmental, Fircovert Peacock; Paul Gunther
• Super Cow – Ayrshire, Wigboro Wick Hawaiian Helena 2nd; John Smith
• Beef Male Champion – Simmental, Fircovert Peacock; Paul Gunther
• Beef Female Champion – Charolais, Drumshane Urbangirl; Darren Knox
Beyond the competition, the 'discover the countryside' area invited children and adults alike to learn about the milking process and make their own smoothie with locally produced milk donated by the Cool Cow Co. The Story of Wool explained the journey from shearing to traditional spinning and weaving.
Food and drink were another major draw, with a bustling food hall, the grape and grain walk offering regional wines and beers, and gin alley showcasing local distilleries. The 'made in Sussex' area allowed visitors to browse artisan crafts, food, drink and countryside-inspired gifts from across the county.
Equestrian highlights included showjumping, scurry driving, the ever-popular Shetland Pony Grand National and heavy horse displays. Beyond the Stable Door gave visitors a behind-the-scenes look at all things equestrian, with farriers and professionals hosting live talks and demonstrations. Elsewhere, the vintage agricultural
HEATHFIELD SHOW
• Champion Inter Breed Beef Group
Cinderhill Upperclass; Sam Drury
• Champion Young Handlers Beef Chelsea Collins
• Champion Young Handler Dairy Isabella Gribble
• Supreme Champion Pig Offham Ivor; Wakeham-Dawson and Harmer
• Champion Sheep Young Handler Grace Georgetti
• Henry Noakes Young Achiever Award Harry Lucas
machinery ring, traditional woodland crafts, falconry, axemen and search and rescue dog displays brought the countryside to life. A medieval re-enactment zone offered a look at rural life through the ages, while the British Army village provided hands-on, educational experiences.
Children were entertained by the Sheep Show, mini steam train rides, cookery workshops and a funfair, while the muchloved children’s character Bluey made special
appearances on the Saturday.
This year’s show also welcomed Little Gate Supported Employment as the Society’s 2025 charity of the year. Based in Sussex, Little Gate helps people with learning disabilities and autism find paid employment through training in catering, horticulture, land management and woodland skills on its 46-acre site.
The Society is now turning its attention to its next show – the autumn show and horse trials on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September.
�� Full livestock results: www.seas.org.uk/south-of-england-show/show-results
HARRY LUCAS
Surrey farmer and NFU Surrey Council representative Peter Knight with the South of England Agricultural Society Award of Honour
NFU MEMBERS HIGHLIGHT KEY FARMING ISSUES
Key challenges facing farmers and growers were put under the spotlight when the NFU met with a shadow minister and a Sussex MP at the South of England Show.
NFU farmer members and staff held a round-table discussion with Shadow DEFRA minister Dr Neil Hudson and MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield Mims Davies at the show, at Ardingly, West Sussex.
Among the issues discussed were the need to protect the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the NFU’s Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign, national food security, trade, biosecurity, food standards, planning and water security.
The urgent need to address the shortage of small and mediumsized abattoirs, which play a vital role in the food supply chain, was also discussed.
NFU West Sussex chair Andrew Strong, who runs a pig farm near
NFU farmer members and staff speaking with Shadow DEFRA minister Dr Neil Hudson and MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield Mims Davies during a round-table meeting at the South of England Show
Pictured at the South of England Show are, left to right: West Sussex farmer Hugh Passmore, West Sussex farmer and NFU West Sussex Council representative Caroline Harriott, Shadow DEFRA minister Dr Neil Hudson, Surrey farmer and NFU Redhill branch chair Nellie Budd, NFU regional director for the East of England Zoe Leach, MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield Mims Davies and West Sussex farmer and NFU West Suffolk chair Andrew Strong
Haywards Heath, said: “We had a positive discussion and covered a lot of important issues. It was great to see Dr Neil Hudson and MP Mims Davies attending the show and taking the time to talk with us.
“Farmers are facing some huge challenges, and we will continue to keep pressure on the Government to reconsider some of these policies and to work with us to give farmers more confidence to invest in the future.
“This will enable us to deliver national food security and to continue to deliver for the economy and for the environment.”
NFU West Sussex council representative Caroline Harriott, who farms near Arundel, was a keynote speaker at a drinks reception, where she spoke about the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in the South East.
Arable farmer and South East Farmer contributor Peter Knight, who farms near Guildford, Surrey, received the annual South of England Agricultural Society Award of Honour, given in recognition of work done behind the scenes to support farming.
Peter is NFU Surrey council representative, a member of the NFU’s national and regional crops boards and President of Surrey Young Farmers. He said: “It was a big surprise – I was never expecting anything like this.
“We are lucky to have several people in the area who put in lots of hours regularly to support people in farming, who don’t think of awards or recognition. It is nice to be recognised and feel appreciated.”
Around 300 Young Farmers’ Club members from across the South East attended the show to promote the organisation, highlight the NFU’s campaign against inheritance tax changes and participate in various competitions.
Photo: Julian Portch Photography
Photo: NFU
An estimated 20,000 visitors packed Alresford in Hampshire for the 21st annual Watercress Festival, a popular event that marks the start of the UK watercress season.
Classmates Toma Macpherson and Aoife McAllister, both aged seven and from Sun Hill Infants and Junior School, were crowned Watercress King and Queen for the day by Tom Amery, managing director of The Watercress Company. Their watercress crowns were made by local florist Wild Bunch.
Led up Broad Street by morris dancers and a brass band, the Royal couple regally dispensed more than 300 bunches of freshly harvested watercress to the crowds from a horse and carriage.
Good Fermentation was awarded the Barter’s Best trophy for the most innovative use of watercress, having included it in their watercress kimchi, which judges Will Allam of Alre Watercress and Councillor Russell Gordon-Smith declared the winner.
Celebrity chefs Lesley Waters, Suki Pantal, Martin Dawkins, Phil Yeomans and Andy Mackenzie demonstrated the versatility of watercress in dishes ranging from smoothies and salads to curries and even dessert, while 400 visitors took the opportunity to walk to Manor Farm Watercress Farm to learn about how watercress is grown.
Children’s entertainment included funfair
“WATER SHOW”
rides and face painting, while the adults enjoyed live music from brass bands, jazz groups, choirs and ukelele bands, along with festival favourite samba band Tuto Tribe.
Competitors from as far afield as Brighton and London joined the locals in the World Watercress Eating Championships, all bidding to eat 100g of watercress in the fastest time, a race which saw local champion Glenn Walsh take the winner’s crown with a time of 58 seconds.
Throughout the day, representatives from charity Abby’s Heroes encouraged visitors to donate cash in exchange for a bag of fresh watercress, giving out around 5,000 bags and raising an impressive £6,500. That sum will be boosted by the day’s raffle, which also went towards Abby’s Heroes and other local charities. The festival committee is hoping in due course to announce record sums to add to the £60,000 plus that has been raised for charity over the years. Festival sponsors include The NFU Watercress Association, The Watercress Company, Wates, Lainston House, The Flowerpots, Hampshire Farmers Market, Charters, Brewin Dolphin, Vranken Pommery and a host of community groups.
From Field to Firm Rural leadership, reimagined
Self-employed business opportunities across the South East
For many in agriculture or rural business, career plans aren’t always linear. You may not be looking to move on - but the right opportunity could open up a new kind of future.
Whether it’s stepping back from the physical demands of farming, exploring something more commercially focused, or simply wanting to use your experience di erently, NFU Mutual is o ering a path forward.
A trusted name in UK insurance for over 100 years, NFU Mutual operates a network of local Agencies run by self-employed Agents. These Agents lead their own businesses - supported by the brand, but independently managed - serving a loyal client base across farming, commercial and rural communities.
Right now, NFU Mutual is looking for new Agents to join established agencies in North Hertfordshire and Kent, with opportunities developing across the wider South East. These aren’t start-ups. Each Agency comes with an existing portfolio of clients, an experienced team, and the tools to grow. There’s no franchise fee, no upfront investment - and in many cases, rst-year earnings exceed six gures.
The opportunity is self-employed, but not unsupported. NFU Mutual provides full onboarding, training and business development backing, while giving Agents the freedom to run things their way.
This isn’t a traditional career path, and it’s not limited to insurance professionals. Many successful Agents come from farming, estate management, consultancy, agribusiness, banking, and operational leadership. If you’ve managed people, built relationships, and run things with integrity - you’ll recognise what this role demands, and what it o ers.
Most importantly, this is about staying part of something local. The opportunity suits those with strong ties to their community, and a long-term mindset. It’s not a quick win. It’s a next chapter - rooted in reputation, trust, and relationships that last.
If you’re ready to lead a business, not just work in one, this could be your next move.
Learn more about the Agent opportunities we have in the South East at
YOUNGSTERS SEE INTO THE FUTURE
Robotic fruit picking was one of the demonstrations enjoyed by primary school pupils when Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) Writtle hosted the Essex Schools Food and Farming Day towards the end of June.
Around 3,000 pupils from 72 primary schools across the county enjoyed the day, organised by the Essex Agricultural Society, to provide a hands-on, interactive experience aimed at teaching children how food travels from the farm to their plates.
Activities and demonstrations took place around six themed zones covering livestock, machinery, food, crops, countryside and environment and, for the first time this year, rural safety and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Children were able to meet farm animals, watch tractors and combine harvesters in action, learn about robotic fruit picking and sample locally grown produce.
The annual event is aimed at inspiring curiosity about food production, sustainability, and healthy eating while highlighting potential careers in agriculture and environmental science.
Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “We enjoyed welcoming so many schoolchildren to our fantastic campus at ARU Writtle, and we were proud to work with the Essex Agricultural Society on what proved to be a fascinating and educational day.”
ROYAL VISIT
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh will pay an official visit to this year’s Kent County Show on Friday 4 July, the Kent County Agricultural Society has announced.
During her visit to the show as a Patron of the Association of Shows and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), the Duchess of Edinburgh will meet local farmers and their livestock, equine exhibitors and local businesses.
“It is an honour for us to welcome HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh back to the Kent County Show to see the incredible hard work, passion and dedication to country life that will be on display,” said Nikki Dorkings, general manager of the society.
This year’s show, described as “a celebration of the best of Kent, featuring food, farming, rural pursuits and fun for all the family” takes place from 4 to 6 July.
www.kcas.org.uk/kent-county-show/visit
SPOTLIGHTING REGENERATIVE FARMING AND NATURE RESTORATION
South East Farmer correspondent Nigel Akehurst has been awarded a Lund Fund Fellowship to enable him to shine a light on the inspiring stories of regenerative farming and nature restoration across the High Weald.
Nigel, third-generation farmer, agricultural journalist and founder of Indie Farmer, was awarded the newly created fellowship in October 2024 and will spend the next year visiting 12 farms to produce a series of multimedia case studies featuring interviews, photography, and short films.
His aim will be to inspire both fellow farmers and ethically minded consumers and to build momentum around a growing network of landowners and producers who are working in harmony with nature.
The project will explore key themes including:
• Access to land and innovative sharing models for new entrants
• Enterprise stacking, from farm tours and food events to direct-to-consumer sales
• On-farm baselining for soil health and biodiversity
• Collaborative approaches, such as farm clusters and landscape recovery schemes
• Farm storytelling and branding, using social media and newsletters.
Stories will be published on www.indiefarmer.com and shared across social media to help spark a wider shift towards regenerative farming in the UK.
“I see this as a great opportunity to explore the remarkable work that is being done by far-sighted farmers across the High Weald and to share that knowledge with a wider audience,” said Nigel.
Meanwhile the Lund Fellowship is looking for others who would like to take advantage of a similar opportunity.
Anyone with a connection to the High Weald and a passion for enhancing its landscape and communities can apply for a fellowship, which offers up to £7,500 for innovative research and projects that benefit the area.
The fellowship complements the High Weald Nature and Community Fund (formerly Sussex Lund), which is also currently accepting applications.
KEY DETAILS
• Deadline: Monday 14 July 2025
• Maximum grant: £7,500
• Fellowships awarded: Up to two per year
FELLOWSHIP AIMS
• Inspire people, enhance knowledge and exchange ideas
• Improve the High Weald’s natural environment
• Create a greener economy within the High Weald.
FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY
www.highweald.org/grants/lund-fellowship
The Lund Fellowship is supported by Lund Trust and delivered by the High Weald National Landscape Partnership.
GALE`S VIEW
Dear Sir,
As MP for North Thanet, Sir Roger Gale periodically shares his thoughts with east Kent residents under the heading of Gale's View
Thanet elected the only UKIP local council and Roger`s constituents voted overwhelmingly for Brexit, and yet he continually ignores the views of his own voters.
I have known Roger since the day he was elected. He and his wife Suzy work hard for their constituents and he is unswerving in his support for Manston Airport, something we have in common.
His latest missive, however, fails to address the total failure of his own party to get a fair Brexit, control the illegal migrant crisis and shield farmers from ruthless supermarkets, along with their inability to find a competent leader within their party. It’s not a safe place from which to throw stones.
Whilst the Robin Hood gang of outlaws to whom they gave the election is equally incompetent, love him or hate him Nigel Farage`s leadership produced the largest ever popular vote in UK history to leave Europe.
He deserves better from a fellow MP than Sir Roger’s dismissive reference to "the saloon bar populism of Farage". He may be only "Mr", Sir Roger, but his achievements have changed history. The gang in Westminster has continually failed the wishes of people, especially farmers, so if the current ‘head in the sand’ bunch of MPs does not wake up soon they will deservedly be pensioned off at the next general election.
Kent County Council lost some good (Conservative) councillors, and the blame lies squarely with the incompetence of Conservative MPs. The new Kent Reform group needs time to assess what it has inherited before our elected MP starts throwing mud. Who knows, if the Conservative Party is dying, Reform may attract those who remember when ‘Conservative’ reflected the voters’ wishes.
David Steed, Manston, Kent
FLOOD RISK AND LAND USE
Dear Sir,
I am an agricultural student currently doing a work placement with Unda, a company that works on flood risk and land use.
As part of my placement, I’m looking into how farmers, both younger and more experienced, are dealing with the growing challenges caused by water on the land. That might mean flooding, waterlogged soils or the knock-on effects of changing weather patterns.
I’d love to hear from farmers and landowners across the South East about how you are managing these kinds of changes, not just in terms of practical solutions, but also about how it’s affecting your day-to-day work, future plans and the way you think about
your land and business.
If you would be happy to share your thoughts, whether via a quick email, a short chat or a few written reflections, I would be really grateful. Your input will help shape a short article I am writing during my placement to highlight the real experiences of farmers facing these challenges.
Feel free to get in touch at: charlotte.stone@unda.co.uk I would really appreciate it.
Charlotte Stone, Unda Consulting Ltd, Gatwick, West Sussex
X-TWITTER CONTRACTORS ARE INTEGRAL
An integral part of UK #Agriculture. Over 91% of farmers use a contractor. Part of the solution for the future of #farming, protectors of the countryside, investors in technology and innovation, supplying the latest high capital cost machinery.
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MONICA AKEHURST AT THE KITCHEN TABLE
SHEEP ARE INFURIATING
The sun is still shining, and getting electric fencing posts into the ground is hard work. But we mustn’t complain; this weather is a gift for silaging and haymaking. That said, I do feel a little abandoned when my other half happily disappears off tractor-driving, leaving muggins here to mop up all the other tasks incorporated under the term 'farming'.
I’m convinced silage wrap gets heavier every year. Collecting and delivering boxes of it to the field when supply runs short now seems to be part of my unofficial job description.
Back during lambing and calving, I held onto the illusion that once it was over, the workload would ease. I even set aside a day to tackle the house and garden. That lasted until coffee break. I’m convinced livestock conspire to thwart my best-laid plans.
My other half rang to report that the fattening cattle had mixed with older cows and twins, so the rest of the day was spent fencing and re-sorting. It never goes as smoothly as you’d hope, but we got it done and were finally heading home for a
4pm lunch. Then came a sudden bleating commotion. My heart sank; our sheep were getting out, I thought. But to my immense relief, it turned out to be a neighbouring farmer shearing their ewes. Farming rarely lets you off the hook, but sometimes it does offer a small reprieve.
I’ve come to accept that farming doesn’t get easier; it just changes. Before you realise it, you’re plunged headlong into the next seasonal task. On a brighter note, I’ve finished shearing the rams. One of them was flinching, though his wool looked clean. Shearing revealed a patch of hatched maggots on his mid-back. Miraculously, they hadn’t broken the skin, though the area was inflamed and moist.
My shearing method is perhaps a touch unconventional, but the rams were surprisingly patient. I doubt the Wool Board would appreciate receiving these fleeces; fortunately, our hedging plants are more than happy to put it to good use, helping retain soil moisture. Our ewes’ fly cover runs out in July, and I’ll be leaving their shearing to the professionals.
The lambs are treated with Clik Extra, but I still check them closely for signs of breakdown. I dislike applying chemicals to the flock and would gladly switch to a natural alternative, if only an effective one existed. It would be more environmentally friendly. There is a promising field trial underway looking into natural fly-strike repellents and treatments. I’m eager to hear the results and I’ll be sure to share any updates.
Our last ewe to lamb did so overnight, presenting her twins in the morning. They looked sturdy, and I congratulated mum – until I heard one with a hungry cry. The ewe’s udder was full, but she had decided she’d only be feeding one of her lambs. We put the second lamb in a foster unit for a few days, but on release the ewe remained stubbornly uninterested. We’re at loggerheads. It’s her lamb, she has milk, and I’m simply not taking on another bottle-fed lamb just when I was starting to enjoy freedom from that chore.
So, we’ve reached a compromise. She’s in a paddock with both lambs, and I’ve set up a headstock under a shady tree. She’s greedy,
Three potential farmers hatching a plan
so twice a day I coax her into position with a bit of food, allowing the rejected lamb a chance to feed. He’s strong and determined, even if he has to put up with a few kicks – and he’s also got access to creep feed. Honestly, sheep are infuriating. Still, my sheepdogs would never forgive me if I sold them, even if the children might cheer. Our legal-eagle daughter, mother to two young boys, is passionate about getting children out onto farms. In May, she organised visits for two groups of children. Naturally, it tipped it down with thunder showers that day. We moved some sheep into pens in the shed and our bottle lambs basked in the extra attention. Some of the cows and calves, still indoors, were delighted to be fed additional hay. In between downpours, I took small groups of children out in a secure trailer to see the flock in the field. Meanwhile, the rest got to sit on tractors and learn about farm machinery. As one
Thomas enjoying pretend tractor driving
Not conventional, but getting the job done
group left, a small voice declared: “I’m going to buy a farm so I can drive a tractor.” Mission accomplished, I’d say.
So, it was especially disheartening that the BBC, the day before Open Farm Sunday, ran a news piece warning about the risks of visiting farms. One case of a child falling ill was highlighted, and while, yes, there are risks, proper precautions (like handwashing) mitigate them.
The benefits of children learning where food comes from far outweigh the risks. In my view, food production education is sorely neglected in today’s world. Securing CEVAS (Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme) training so that our family can host school visits is firmly on the ‘to-do’ list. Earlier this spring, our cheese-making daughter and her family decided it was time to upgrade their facilities. That meant removing the cheese vat, a monstrously heavy and expensive piece of kit, and sending
it back to the manufacturer for modification. Getting it out of the cheese room and into a transit van was no small feat. It required every available family hand and Nigel’s precision JCB skills. Thankfully, all went to plan, and Pevensey Blue and Tilley Lane cheese are back in production. They had a successful day promoting both at the Heathfield Show.
I was recently asked why I haven’t commented on the political situation. To be honest, it probably wouldn’t be printable if I did. But I was incensed to receive an email promoting a Farmers' Weekly webinar entitled: “How to start a new farm-based business ”. The subtitle read: “Diversifying into non-farming ventures can help secure a stable income to support the food production side of your farm.” Really? Is this what it’s come to? That producing food, one of the most essential human needs, is no longer considered a viable, stand-alone livelihood? It’s despicable; our government should be ashamed.
Cattle on the march, keeping cool
Shearing. Half way done
Cheese vat moving team
Nothing like a drink and wallow in the stream
RELIABLE RECYCLING SERVICE
While the company is new, the man behind it is one of the most experienced there is in the waste recycling business and is well-known to farmers and landowners across the southern half of the country. Ian Kitson sold his previous, long-standing, farm waste business in November 2023, but this did not work out as planned – and now he's back.
Ian recognised the need for a reliable recycling service as far back as 2006, when he realised that incoming legislation banning famers from burying or burning waste materials, and requiring them to keep an audit trail of how they dealt with them,
Farmers looking for a reliable, ethical and competitively priced recycling service for their farm plastics and other material need look no further than Andover, Hampshire based Farm Waste Solutions.
provided a useful business opportunity.
“I realised that farmers would be looking for a reliable way to meet the legislation, and when the waste management company I was working for at the time decided it wasn’t for them, I set up my own business to provide the service,” he recalled.
Then, as now, Ian worked closely with Solway Recycling, which provides the bin and liner system that makes it easy for the customer to keep recyclable materials separated ready for collection. The material is then recycled and used by Solway to make new items, including pig arks, sheep and calf pens and a wide range of livestock boarding.
Ian set up Farm Waste Solutions at the end of 2024 with business partner Edward Du Val, part of a family business which runs one of the UK’s larger anaerobic digestion plants at Apsley Farms, Andover and equally experienced in dealing with farm businesses.
The company covers the whole of the south of the country, supporting farmers as far north as Birmingham and the Midlands, with around 3,000 business relying on Farm
Waste Solutions for a bespoke solution to the disposal of everything from old tyres and spray cans to used silage wrap. It even collects and recycles used shotgun cartridges.
The beauty of the Farm Waste Solutions operation is that the service is available on a ‘pay as you go’ basis rather than involving contracts and pre-payment. “It works for everyone, from large estates that need a regular collection through to smallholders who may only need us to call once every few years or so,” Ian explained.
“In both cases the customers only pay for the service they need, and if they aren’t happy they are free to go elsewhere. It makes us determined to deliver a first-class service and keeps the farmer in control of spending.”
Alongside smaller customers, which include vineyards and equestrian businesses, Farm Waste Solutions looks after a number of large estates which need regular collections of bigger amounts of recyclable materials.
“An estate in Dorset recently decided to
Ian Kitson
turn part of the site which had been home to a number of dairies into a wedding venue but first had to tidy it up, which included getting rid of 7,000 old tractor and car tyres, many of which had been used over the years on top of silage clamps,” he said.
Farm Waste Solutions also works with a
number of councils and their contractors to recycle waste from managing and maintaining parks and green spaces.
Farm Waste Solutions, which also now recycles rubber digger and crawler tracks, has a flexible fleet of vehicles which ranges from a four by four with a trailer through
to four- and six-wheel crane lorries and an articulated lorry for bulk movements.
The workforce is also expanding from three to five as the company continues to establish itself as the go-to option for farmers looking for a reliable and cost-effective way to comply with legislation.
I was mesmerised by the shambolic first hundred days of Trump’s second term and the scathing commentaries that followed. Cartoonists have had a field day. UK farmers are well used to being a political football, but the turmoil of the Trump administration has added layers of unwanted complexity and uncertainty.
Do we have to face four and half more years of toddler tantrums before sanity may return? Here we have the rise of Farage (a lesser Trumpish windbag) and his Reform party with the same empty rhetoric and no evidence of worthwhile past achievements.
Democracy is a fragile bastion against the ugly behaviour we see spreading in today’s Europe. Democracy needs nurturing, for the alternative is far worse. By contrast, farmers are a convivial, balanced, productive tribe, used to getting along and supporting each other, spiced by a tad of friendly banter.
On current showing, the ails afflicting the planet will surely increase. Why should this be so and from where might we find a possible solution?
Scientific illiteracy led HM Government into investing in carbon capture, pushed by the oil industry in pursuit of their interests.
It seems a lack of scientific knowledge and thinking is almost a prerequisite for those that seek power. If you accept that this needs
DEMAGOGUES AND DEMOCRACY
changing, then science and scientific method needs to major in the school curriculum, alongside the basics.
Biology should be obligatory at GCSE level and encouraged at ‘A’ level. Why biology more than chemistry and physics? Today it embraces some of all the sciences and much else about how the planet and humans work, but is indeed demanding.
My Damascene moment came recently because one of my granddaughters is voluntarily re-taking her ‘A’ level biology after a B grade first time round. Her preparation has centred on exam technique.
In solidarity, I also completed a paper. I am smug enough to think I am a scientist, having learned and practised medicine in an academic environment. My daughter-in-law, Kate, a secondary school science teacher, marked my paper. I failed.
I failed because I lacked the detail currently required, and details have moved on since my
days at school and university. Kate mollified my crushed ego by saying she could get me up to speed in a few weeks, but how much worse is it for those with no science?
Can we survive if politics and governance remains a science-free zone? Trump ignores climate change and biodiversity loss totally. Our own government rows back on climate stability, egged on by ex-PM Blair pronouncing, unhelpfully, that carbon neutrality is unachievable.
Even though agriculture is unquestionably science based, farmers cannot make up for deficiencies of governance. They were already feeling the pinch when DEFRA froze the Sustainable Farming Incentive, a measure supposed to support biodiversity, farming and our faltering economy.
Farmers can, I am certain, offer significant redress for the problems humanity is creating by thinking and behaving biologically and modifying older ideas of agricultural teaching.
Post-war agricultural research and teaching was all about yield, with insufficient thought or study of collateral consequences. Much has changed, and younger farmers are now thinking ecologically, helped by organizations like the Nature Friendly Farming Network or by joining clusters.
DEFRA remains mandated to support public goods, at least in principle, as funds permit. The NFU, I believe, has been far too slow to embrace environmental deficit, retreating to the cover of food production and security.
Milk production has also seen significant changes. The post-war mantra was for highyielding but fragile cattle, fed on monocultures of ryegrass, intensively fertilised and backed by high levels of concentrate. Rising demand for high protein feeds led to animal by-products being incorporated into the mix. Science screams that feeding meat to specialist herbivores is an incredibly high-risk strategy. The catastrophe of BSE, and its consequences, was entirely predictable to biologists. A case of profit trumping science.
Cattle voluntarily choose to graze and browse many plants, each delivering something different. Our own health similarly depends on a full range of foods, and most species are no different.
The emphasis is shifting to selecting more resilient, genetically diverse cattle to graze botanically rich pastures. Adding wood pasture increases nutritional variety, further reducing the risk of deficiencies induced by high milk output. This change of thinking comes with ecological gain, too. A win-win.
On our home patch the cluster’s landscape recovery project, based on the Evenlode river catchment, will start its implementation phase this year. It is a 30-year agreement to deliver changes supported by DEFRA, Thames Water, British Rail and others.
Our farm sits at the spring-fed headwaters, so all the adjacent fields, currently in higher level stewardship, will be managed to stop nitrate and phosphate leaching and enhance water and carbon capture. More native trees, such as oak and resistant elms, will be planted and the stream slowed with leaky dams.
We anticipate this exciting project will further enhance our ecological gains of the past 20 years. Despite the politics we feel optimistic, but I am irked that I will miss the anticipated final result.
Extreme udders
Sound, servicable, cow and calf
Habitat gain and flood mitigation
Result of extreme breeding
Herd with access to woods
Adamuz Elm
Rooting elm cuttings
Oak seedlings
GROWING SMARTER: INSIDE THE UK'S MOST ADVANCED STRAWBERRY GLASSHOUSE
This month, Nigel Akehurst visits Wicks Farm in Ford, near Arundel in West Sussex, to explore how strawberries are being grown year-round in one of the UK’s most advanced semi-vertical glasshouse systems. He met David Moore, director of agriculture with Agricultural Investments Ltd, to learn how this cutting-edge 6.5-hectare site is reshaping the future of berry production.
Turning off Ford Lane into an industrial estate, I passed a large haulage depot and followed the signs to Wicks Farm. Looming ahead was one of the largest greenhouses I’d ever seen. Parking in front of a row of new portable buildings, I made my way to their reception and office. Inside, I was welcomed by the Berry Farming Ltd team with a hot drink while I completed the biosecurity forms. David soon emerged from his office and invited me into the boardroom for a chat.
THE CHALLENGE: YEAR-ROUND UK STRAWBERRIES
Over coffee, David explained how the idea for the facility began. In 2018, one of the UK’s major retailers posed a deceptively simple question: Could they ensure a consistent supply of high-quality British strawberries during peak demand periods such as Wimbledon?
Traditional field-grown or tunnel-grown berries couldn’t guarantee the reliability required, while vertical farming - though gaining attention – was prohibitively
expensive. ”Most vertical farms were producing fruit at £15 to £16 per kilo,” said David. “Retail strawberries sell for around £3 per kilo. The maths didn’t stack up.”
Instead, the team adapted a semi-vertical growing system developed by Birmingham University for use in glasshouse conditions. Their first summer crop launched in 2019. Since then, yields per square metre have tripled, water use has halved, pesticide use has dropped dramatically and carbon emissions per kilo have fallen by 67%.
“We’ve got a resilience story now,” said David, citing challenges like fluctuating light levels and climate unpredictability. “The team has really embraced a new way of thinking to make this work.”
A BUSINESS BUILT ON SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE
Berry Farming is part of DPS Group, a global fruit supplier with £900 million in UK retail sales. The group also owns farms in Kent (stone fruit), Herefordshire (organic apples), and Patagonia, Chile (cherries), with further partnerships in South Africa.
David’s remit is to solve supply chain gaps, especially during tricky seasonal transitions. “The Wicks Farm glasshouse isn’t here to replace field-grown fruit,” he said. “About 90% of UK strawberries are still grown in tunnels on table tops. We’re offering a complementary model, one that can provide a supply when others can’t.”
BUILDING A HIGH-DENSITY SYSTEM
While most UK tunnel systems grow strawberries on a single level, Wicks Farm uses a semi-vertical, multi-tiered approach. “If we’re serious about food resilience and sustainability, then the industry has to evolve,” David said. “Tabletops were a leap from soil 25 years ago. This is the next leap.” The business also benefits from fixed-term retail contracts and quarterly pricing. Thanks to the site’s sustainability credentials, they secured a five-year green loan from HSBC to help set up the facility. >>
FARM FACTS
• Location: Ford, near Arundel, West Sussex
• Established: 2019 (first crop)
• Glasshouse size: 6.5 hectares (permission for 26)
• Main varieties: Four core everbearers, 10+ in trial
• Substrate: Expanded clay (80% reused)
• Water: 100% rainwater, UV-treated and recirculated
• Yield: Up to 3.5x higher per m² than conventional systems
David Moore
NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS: WICKS FARM
PLANTING FOR CONSISTENCY
The site operates on two overlapping cropping cycles that allow for near-continuous production.
The summer crop is planted in December and harvested from March through to November, while the winter crop is planted in August and harvested from October to June. This dual-cropping system ensures the infrastructure remains in use almost year-round, significantly improving efficiency and productivity.
THE POWER BEHIND THE PLANTS
After our chat, David took me outside to the energy centre, a sleek bank of metal structures housing a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Using natural gas, the system generates electricity, while waste heat is stored in a 1.2 million-litre thermal tank. This hot water circulates beneath the crops, warming root zones even in the depths of winter.
INSIDE THE GLASSHOUSE
After washing my hands and donning a hair net, we stepped inside. Rows of strawberry plants stretched into the distance in stacked, linear formations. Workers glided past on electric scissor
FARMING
AND
ENVIRONMENT FOCUSED CONTENT CREATION
Storytelling through interviews, features, case studies, photography and short films.
For enquiries contact Nigel Akehurst via email on nigel@indiefarmer.com
Instagram @indiefarmer www.indiefarmer.com
lifts, making it feel like a set from a sci-fi film.
Despite the sun, the glasshouse wasn’t uncomfortably warm. David pointed to the laser-etched roof panels that diffuse sunlight, eliminating shadows except under vents and allowing for dense, deep cropping.
A network of over 1,300 sensors monitors temperature, humidity, CO₂ levels and vapour pressure deficit, generating more than 620,000 data points daily. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools analyse leaf colour and posture, helping optimise growing conditions. “We’re starting to listen to the plants,” David said.
Rainwater collected from the roof is sterilised using ultra-violet light and delivered via precision drippers. The site is “water neutral,” he added proudly. Nutrients are delivered several times an hour and any run-off is rebalanced and recirculated.
Summer cropping covers 50,000 square metres; winter production is currently 12,500 square metres. The strawberries are grown in expanded clay balls—80% of which are reused annually. "They look like giant Rice Krispies," David joked, pointing to their excellent aeration and drainage properties. Pollination is managed using imported bees, housed in yellow boxes suspended above the rows.
TAILORED ZONES AND YEAR-ROUND TECHNOLOGY
To maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the year, the glasshouse is divided into specific, climate-controlled zones. In the summer zones, a combination of mist cooling, natural ventilation and energy screens is used to regulate temperature and prevent overheating. Meanwhile, the winter zones rely on forced ventilation and sophisticated LED lighting systems to simulate the conditions of spring, encouraging plant growth even during the darkest months.
The LED lights, featuring red, far-red, and white wavelengths, help extend day length, enhance photosynthesis and improve plant structure. At night, thermal climate screens act like duvets, trapping heat to maintain ideal temperatures. During peak summer heat, external sprinklers and misting systems further help reduce temperatures inside the glasshouse.
AUTOMATING QUALITY AND REDUCING WASTE
Technology plays a key role in boosting productivity and plant health. One standout innovation is the semi-autonomous UV-C robot that patrols the rows at night, zapping mildew spores with ultra-violet light to help eliminate fungicide use from March onwards.
Another machine applies both pesticides and beneficial insects, natural enemies like parasitic wasps that control pests such as spider mites and whitefly. “There’s a real effort here to balance nature,” David noted.
HARVEST AND PACKING
The site produces 1,000 tonnes of summer strawberries and 250 tonnes of winter strawberries annually, alongside 250 tonnes of blackberries. All fruit is picked, cooled and packed on-site, usually within 24 hours.
Robotic trolleys move freshly picked fruit to rapid cooling tunnels (2°C), after which it’s sorted, checked and packed. Each punnet is traceable back to its picker and row. Customers include Tesco and M&S. “We’re not selling a premium product, we’re selling consistency,” David noted.
LABOUR, TECHNOLOGY AND RECOGNITION
As with many UK growers, labour remains a key challenge. Wicks Farm employs around 70 people, mainly seasonal workers from central Asia. Their performance is tracked via barcode systems and incentivised through structured bonuses.
“It frustrates me that the Government calls our pickers ‘unskilled’,” said David. “What they do requires dexterity, care, and consistency.”
Workers live on-site in modern accommodation. The company
is also piloting apprenticeships and exploring automation. But automated strawberry picking, David smiled and noted, “has been five years away for the past 10 years.”
LOOKING AHEAD
As we returned to the office, I asked David what kept him motivated. “I love combining tech with nature, pushing the boundaries of yield and quality while staying close to the customer,” he said. “But it’s also about empowering our team.”
In the short term, the business will continue refining its climate models, varietal trials and sustainability practices. Medium term, the goal is to expand the site to its full 26-hectare planning capacity, more than tripling current production, but that is currently on hold while technical issues around National Grid capacity are resolved, something which is unlikely to happen before 2037.
The company is also laying the groundwork to license the system overseas, with strong interest from partners in northern Europe and North America. Closer to home, they’re scouting new UK sites near major cities, with the potential to co-locate with cloud data centres, capturing waste heat and CO₂ to boost sustainability.
On the horizon: new crops. Trials are already underway for hybrid seed-grown strawberries, new blackberry varieties and even niche crops like alpine strawberries and blueberries.
The workforce, too, is a long-term priority. The aim is to build a stable, year-round team supported by apprenticeships, structured seasonal contracts and responsible automation.
“We’re not building a robot farm,” David concluded. “We’re building a smarter one.”
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Fruit Focus brings together leading experts, top industry suppliers and UK-based fruit growers for an annual day of knowledge exchange, professional development and networking.
Held at NIAB’s world-class East Malling Research Station in Kent on 9 July, the event will showcase new technology as well as hosting working machinery demonstrations and sharing agronomic advice and business information.
Seminars, tours, a wealth of exhibitors from across the industry and a chance to network while learning about the latest innovations are set to make Fruit Focus 2025 another unmissable event.
Fruit Focus annually brings together more than 1,500 visitors and over 100 exhibitors from the fresh fruit sector and from wine making/viticulture, allowing visitors to connect with leading product and service providers and find out what’s new as well as offering a chance to chat with fellow growers and professionals.
“NIAB is once again delighted to be hosting Fruit Focus,” said Scott Raffle, knowledge exchange manager. “It allows everyone to visit the UK’s longest established fruit research centre to learn more about the work we are doing to support the industry.”
The organisation’s popular specialist research tours, which will this year include visits to the produce quality centre, research vineyard and plum research orchard, are always a key feature of the event.
“All of the information presented at each of the tours will be new to this year’s event,” said Scott. “In the case of the research vineyard and plum research tours, visitors have had the opportunity to visit these in previous years, but we will be presenting information from research projects that are new or results that have not been presented before.”
The NIAB/Growing Kent and Medway fruit research tour will share data about new projects not previously covered at Fruit Focus and will highlight the important work being done.
WHEN
Wednesday 9 July 2025, 9am to 5pm.
Car parks open at 7am. Gates open at 8am, when caterers open for breakfast. Stands and features open at 9am.
WHERE
NIAB East Malling, New Road, East Malling, Kent ME19 6BJ
Ticket-Alt TICKETS
Tickets are free of charge if pre-registered and cost £10 +VAT if purchased on the day.
Please pre-register at www.fruitfocus.co.uk
“This includes results on projects to control earwigs in strawberries, and better understand the invasive pest the brown marmorated stink bug, and a project to develop non-invasive disease detection in cherry, as well as methods to treat strawberries to improve their shelf-life. We will also present the latest information on coir recycling from used strawberry and raspberry crops,” added Scott.
Other topics covered will include the precision orchard management for the environment (POME) project, which is developing improved methods of controlling pests and diseases in apples, while the Flythrive project is investigating the use of hoverflies for aphid control in strawberries.
Strawberry vertical farming will also be showcased for the first time to explain the work NIAB is doing to maximise yield potential.
The popular NFU Fruit Forum will again provide an opportunity to discuss and debate key issues, challenges and developments within the fruit industry, while live demonstrations around the site will feature autonomous equipment and robotics that promise to ease labour issues and improve fruit quality.
The morning seminars begin at 10am with How a national food strategy can deliver horticulture sector growth. With ambitious projects underway on farming profitability, land use and a food strategy, this is a chance to hear from industry speakers about the opportunities for the fresh produce sector to secure political backing to enable and drive growth.
At 10.55am, the second seminar of the day is entitled Seasonal Labour costs – what next for the Employer Pays Principle? With the publication of the employer pays principle feasibility study in June set to bring a sharp focus on worker costs within the seasonal worker scheme, experts will debate what this could mean for growers in the UK now and in the future.
Another programme highlight in the morning series is a seminar presented by Tristan Fischer, founder and group CEO of Fischer Farms, entitled Climate-controlled agriculture offers fruit growers powerful tools to enhance productivity, extend growing seasons and mitigate environmental risks. Visitors to Fruit Focus can join Tristan to learn more about the advanced systems creating optimal growing conditions regardless of external weather, providing significant advantages for modern fruit production.
In addition to the main seminars outlined here, speakers will cover technical topics throughout the day including integrated pest management, new protection methods and chemistry, the latest biostimulants and more.
Alongside the tours and seminars, there will be plenty to discover amongst the exhibitors that will be highlighting a wide range of products and services.
As Alli McEntyre, event director, pointed out: “Fruit Focus exhibitors are leaders in the field, so please take plenty of time throughout the day to visit with exhibitors across a wide range of service and product categories, from glasshouses and polytunnels to labour and recruitment.”
For more information or to book tickets/exhibition space, visit www.fruitfocus.co.uk
BESPOKE PACKAGING
BUILT FOR THE JOB
With more than four decades of experience in the fresh produce industry, Produce Packaging is looking forward to returning to Fruit Focus this year. As long-standing suppliers to growers, packers and retailers, Produce Packaging understands the challenges of getting produce from field to shelf and is here to help with practical, reliable packaging solutions that deliver. Stand 606 will be showcasing the
latest additions to the range, including our EverGrow® top seal paper punnet, a lightweight, fully recyclable option designed for excellent shelf appeal and efficient packing. Developed with both presentation and practicality in mind, EverGrow® is a great choice for those exploring fibre-based printable formats.
The team will also be highlighting its growing capabilities in bespoke design and print, helping customers create packaging
tailored to their brand and market. Whether it's recyclable transit packaging, printed retail packs or something completely new, Produce Packaging’s experienced team will be on hand to offer advice and ideas.
Fruit Focus is always a great opportunity to reconnect with customers and talk through what’s coming next. Visitors reviewing their current packaging or exploring future options should talk to Produce Packaging at stand 606.
For anyone who lives in the South East and is interested in studying a rural or land-based subject, the answer might be right on the doorstep.
Hadlow College is Kent’s only rural and land-based college and offers courses covering a range of areas including agriculture, horticulture, gardening, agricultural engineering, aquaculture and fisheries management, equine, animal management and floristry.
Set in the beautiful surroundings of a large, managed estate that includes over 265 acres of prime arable land, the college is renowned for its cutting-edge facilities.
An example of this is the Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College, which was officially opened last year. Based at the college’s state-of-the-art glasshouse, this is the UK’s first centre of excellence in greenhouse growing and aims to inspire and train the next generation of UK commercial horticulturists.
For those living further afield, the college also offers residential accommodation
PLANT THE SEEDS OF SUCCESS
for students who wish to live on-site. This accommodation was judged Outstanding by Ofsted across all categories at its most recent
PYO Baskets
To find out more and see these top-class facilities first hand, attend the open morning on Saturday 15 November. To register visit www.hadlow.ac.uk.
Arbor Agri is proud to represent three of the best manufacturers in Italy in the fruit and vineyard sector.
CIMA is a sprayer and duster manufacturer founded in 1974 which pioneered the Venturi sprayers, which offer fantastic coverage, much reduced water requirement and a phenomenal choice of spray heads that enable the spray to be directed at all the critical locations. A full range of electronic aids is available to help users set the machine up and report on its progress.
Fischer has been manufacturing rotary mowers since 1956 and offers a sturdy range covering all mowing requirements, from an impressive 8.7 metre cutting width down to variable width mowers with auto breakback as low as 95 cm wide for in-tunnel work.
Seppi M manufactures flail mower and forestry mulchers and is well established in the supply of flail mowers for pruning and mulching. The Seppi M machines are ideal for root tilling and whole tree mulching, stone crushing, stump grinding and incorporating any woody material.
Arboragri – specialist supplier to the fruit, forestry, vineyard and amenity markets – is on stand 402 at Fruit Focus.
The return of Hutchinsons to this year’s Fruit Focus demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to the soft fruit and rapidly growing vineyard sectors.
It provides an ideal opportunity to learn about the specialist environmental, soils and digital services teams that support Hutchinsons agronomists as the demands on producers increase from many angles.
“Increasing labour costs, changes to the portfolio of products available and the need to ensure everything is documented and recorded
HELPING GROWERS NAVIGATE NEW CHALLENGES
are just some of those challenges,” said Phil Carpenter, regional director, horticulture.
“Compliance audits are an annual feature of growers’ calendars, with the associated workload. Talking to our teams about easy data capture and retrieval to support a protocol audit, or for analysis, could be time well spent.”
Visitors to stand 608 will also be able to learn about the latest approved products exclusive to Hutchinsons, and tools, such as Omnia and class-leading Terramap high-
definition soil scanning, which are increasingly being used within the fruit and vine sectors.
There will also be an opportunity to discuss the various Innovate UK projects that Hutchinsons is involved with, including the development of a real-time spore detection system, while head of environmental services Georgina Wallis will be speaking in the seminar tent.
www.hutchinsons.co.uk STAND 608
Reach
HIGH QUALITY SPECIALIST PLANT NUTRITION
Hortifeeds, which will be on stand 504 at Fruit Focus, produces high quality specialist plant nutrition products, manufactured in the UK.
Hortifeeds’ specialist fertilisers and biostimulant products support crops through every stage of development. The wide range includes liquid, water-soluble and granular fertilisers suitable for any growing situation.
LEADING PRODUCTS
• HortiMix – A range of water-soluble fertilisers for soft-fruit crops grown in all substrates.
• HortiBoost – The complete all-round biostimulant, with 20 essential amino-acids, humic acid complex, seaweed and major and minor nutrients.
• HortiHydrate Bio – A high-performance wetting agent formulated from a unique blend of sustainable ingredients.
• AmētrosTM – Powered by CaT TM technology, AmētrosTM leads the market for optimisation and distribution of calcium.
• HortiPhyte – Highly mobile phosphite fertiliser that increases crop resilience and improves rooting and nutrient uptake.
• Glenside Marinure and Marinure Extra – High quality seaweed products to boost stress resilience and crop quality.
• HortiStar 21% Si – Fast-acting silicon fertiliser which enhances plant defences and increases resilience to stress, pests and pathogens.
AT THE SHOW
Look out for Hortifeeds' NFU Fruit Forum presentation at 13:40 on the benefits of high-quality Ascophyllum seaweed extracts in fruit production.
Follow the BASIS knowledge trail and claim continuing professional development (CPD) points at our stand. For a comprehensive guide to the company’s products visit www.hortifeeds.co.uk
ORGANIC-CERTIFIED SOFT FRUIT PROTECTION
Russell IPM and Russell BioSolutions are ready to showcase integrated pest management solutions tailored to excel in pest management, productivity and quality solutions to meet increasing supermarket and consumer standards.
Visit stand 12 to discover an extensive range of high-quality, organic-certified soft fruit protection products and solutions, together with guidance and support.
Russell IPM and Russell BioSolutions will be featuring a range of exciting new spotted wing drosophila (SWD) products, including TruePest, an AI-based smart tool for monitoring pest populations on the farm, identifying and counting insects in seconds. Also featured will be the new Thripnok System,
a kit comprising specially formulated gel attractants and newly designed sticky boards to maximise trap catch of thrips and reduce bycatch of non-targets.
Speaker Dr Dhurgham Al-Karawi, chief technology officer at Russell IPM, will provide essential information on TruePest and discuss the advantages of using AI for informed and sustainable decision-making against pests such as SWD. He will be joined
by Dr Rihem Moujahed, head of pheromone solutions at Russell IPM, who will inform growers about the company’s pheromone monitoring systems against Halyomorpha halys, a highly damaging and invasive pest emerging in the UK.
Visit the stand to explore how Russell IPM, Russell BioSolutions and Russell IOT are leading the way in innovative, sustainable agriculture solutions.
UK APPLE GROWERS TARGET VIETNAM
The board of British Apples & Pears Ltd (BAPL), which has been exploring potential markets for premium, largersized British apples, has approved seed funding investment for an inward trade mission from Vietnam.
BAPL described the visit by representatives from Vietnam as “a key step in opening this new market to British-grown apples”.
It said the “exciting development” followed a comprehensive export assessment carried out by the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), which was carried out at no cost to BAPL and identified Vietnam as offering the highest export potential for British apples. The organisation said it reinforced its efforts to find valuable outlets for apples that exceeded UK supermarket size specifications.
“Larger apples are not always suitable for domestic specifications, but are ideal for international consumers,” said Ali Capper,
executive chair of BAPL. “The export market we’re interested in is for premium, highly coloured, larger apples.
“It’s not just the size, but also the flavour, quality and environmental credentials of British-grown apples that give them strong overseas appeal.”
British apples are grown under some of the highest environmental and food safety standards in the world. Key factors enhancing their international appeal include the country’s unique maritime climate,
low water footprint and adherence to Red Tractor and the LEAF Marque standards.
BAPL stressed that opening new export markets would not impact the availability of apples for UK consumers as domestic shoppers tend to prefer smaller apples.
“This is about ensuring every apple grown finds its best market,” Ali Capper added. “By expanding internationally, we’re strengthening the entire industry and supporting the long-term future of British orchards.”
“Ecologicool RefrigerationSystems
CONTROLS ON EU FRUIT AND VEGETABLES DELAYED
DEFRA announced in June that easement on medium-risk fruit and vegetables from the EU will be extended until the end of January 2027. This means sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) border checks will not apply until the end of the transitional staging period (TSP) and this is only if the proposed EU/UK sanitary and phytosanitary agreement is not in place by then.
I have been following updates on the negotiations from the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), which has been campaigning hard on behalf of the sector. Chief executive Nigel Jenney has retained a fair level of scepticism, it has to be said, but this successful campaign could have the potential to make a real difference to many fresh produce businesses. I’ll talk about import check changes later.
What does the exemption mean?
• Around 700,000 consignments per year will avoid expensive SPS checks
• Savings of around £200m per year
• Fruit and veg will also remain exempt from the common user charge (CUC) when entering via UK ports
• A significant reduction in the operational and financial strain on retail, wholesale and foodservice businesses. This especially impacts smaller, medium and family-owned businesses which would
have been disproportionately affected by the planned 1 July deadline.
Sadly, plants and cut flowers are still subject to existing SPS checks under the border target operating model (BTOM). The FPC is pushing for out-of-hours inspection teams to reduce holding time at the docks (and because it should reflect the 24/7 nature of this element of import trade) and to have authorised operator status adopted.
The wholesale sector has often proved itself more flexible and better able to cope immediately with the challenges presented by economic and political change than supermarkets, but in the longer term, increased red tape and delays at the ports have been creating unnecessary uncertainty about the ability of the UK supply chain to source sufficient fruit, vegetables and flowers from overseas to satisfy demand at affordable prices.
The impact on the plant material industry has already been profound in several instances, including the rise in price to accommodate the additional paperwork and the impact on plant quality caused by delays at the port.
While this has not yet come into effect, it’s clear that better links with the EU would be great news, though not at far greater expense or to the detriment of links with the rest of the world.
More logistical disruption and severe price pressure would present a serious risk to traders who are almost exclusively small or medium-sized enterprises. What they need is a sustained period of political and economic stability, which hopefully we are heading towards.
Imports? Well as British top fruit growers we might not like imports, but they do maintain the shelf space that we can occupy at peak season.
The next challenge to come out of Whitehall is the challenge of ‘dynamic alignment’ with the relevant EU rules on food and drink checks. This means more red tape at the border which will possibly push up prices.
To quote Nigel Jenney: “While we have resolved the EU border position, we have moved the problem and the cost to non-EU goods. Out of the UK season our consumers are reliant on tomatoes and strawberries, for example, from outside of the EU; while this looks like a great opportunity for British growers to fill the gap, they are struggling with the cost of production and pricing that doesn’t meet their needs. The consumer seems set to miss out.”
SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE FOREST FLOOR
Farming and estate management is all about teamwork, and that shouldn’t only refer to the workforce directly employed on the farm or land.
Working closely with a trusted contractor can also pay dividends, particularly when they share your aims and understand what you are looking to achieve.
When Steve Clout, estate manager at Twyssenden Manor, Goudhurst, wanted to build a new pheasant pen on the edge of a small area of woodland to support the estate’s shooting enterprise, he asked South East Forestry to thin the trees so that the project could go ahead.
Jon Davies, who runs the highly regarded forestry business with partner Dave Holmes, opened up the formerly dark and overstood woodland, bringing light into the canopy and providing a better environment for the birds as well as clearing space for the new pen.
That led to a discussion with Steve about the other areas of woodland at Twyssenden Manor, which Jon said had not been thinned or managed since well before new owner Lloyd Amsdon took over the estate, which is home to 300 breeding sheep as well as the game shoot.
Jon and Dave decided to combine thinning the oak with regeneration felling of diseasesusceptible spruce and ash across the estate to allow more light in and give the better quality oaks and other trees more space to thrive. At the same time, they opened up the rides, providing better, drier access for shooting parties.
The result is a healthier environment, not just for the remaining trees but for insects, butterflies and plants, with more light reaching the forest floor and better access throughout. “I was pleasantly surprised to find that the better trees within the woodland had not suffered from squirrel damage over the years,” said Jon. “Those quality trees now have
an opportunity to reach their full potential as they are no longer being crowded out.”
As an additional benefit to the estate, South East Forestry is paying for the timber it is removing as it improves the woodland, which means Twyssenden Manor is reaping a financial reward as well as benefiting from better managed trees.
“In most cases the value of the wood we extract allows us to pay the landowner for the work we do,” said Jon. “We use as much as we can for construction or furniture making, a lot of it for fencing and the rest for firewood or, as a last resort, woodchip for biomass boilers.”
Because South East Forestry has its own woodyard and sawmill at Hawkhurst, it can put the timber it harvests to the best possible use, supplying oak beams and other high quality building materials to a wide customer base, alongside logs for winter warmth.
With teamwork in mind, South East Forestry has since supplied Steve with sleepers for lining a number of ponds on
the estate, along with sweet chestnut and oak decking for other projects. “From the initial enquiry about creating more light and warmth for the pheasants, this has developed into a supportive business relationship that has benefited both parties,” said Dave. “And that’s what we are always seeking to do.
“Our approach to forestry is to work in partnership with the landowner to create a healthy, revitalised woodland, provide useful income to the client and channel as much of the timber as possible to high-end, long-term uses that keep the carbon locked up.”
FORESTRY S UTH EAST
WANTED – LARGE QUANTITIES OF ENGLISH OAK, ASH & SWEET CHESTNUT
Unmanaged woodland? Overstood coppice falling over? Timber growth stopped due to too much competition?
South East Forestry can provide financial returns from unmanaged and neglected woodland.
We are looking to purchase large volumes of woodland grown standing timber.
All hardwood and softwood species sought
South East Forestry: We buy –We fell –We
AUTUMN VARIETY FOCUS
By Howard Nason, director at Crop Advisors working in conjunction with Chichester Crop Consultants.
Last season agronomists were focused on trying to grow and protect crops from arguably the highest spring septoria pressure seen during most of their careers. It is quite remarkable how two springs can be so hugely different.
With the cold dry start followed by little to no rain for many across the region all the way through the main crop growth period, the challenge this year has been how growers can trim back fungicide spend. After the challenging autumn establishment conditions and prolonged drought, crop yield potential has decreased significantly.
A major review of the Recommended List started in 2022. This has led to greater scrutiny on varieties rather than looking at the headline fungicide treated yield. New target specifications for disease must now be met by candidate varieties, which is a move in the right direction. New varieties must show a blend of positive traits that compare favourably against those varieties already recommended.
What is promising to see is the introduction of a new group 1 milling wheat variety called KWS Vibe. It is only two to three per cent off the highest yielding group 1, KWS Zyatt, but with better septoria resistance and a significant step up in yellow rust resistance.
Limited data suggests a high inherent protein content, with sound Hagberg and spec weight. UK Flour Millers has confirmed the variety has fully met the baking requirements after three years of testing, so this is likely to feature strongly for this coming autumn.
There are three new varieties of interest coming into the group 2 sector: KWS Arnie, with a high headline yield, particularly in the east, and KWS Equipe, a faster developing type so a natural replacement to the popular KWS Extase but with a higher untreated yield and grain quality suitable for export opportunities. LG Shergar, from Limagrain, looks to be yielding similarly to KWS Extase in trials, with strong standing power and very high spec weight.
CCC AGRONOMY
Chichester Crop Consultancy is a farmer member run co-operative agronomy service that aims to deliver truly independent, research/ science-led agronomy advice with no commercial bias and now covers the South of England.
CCC works closely with Crop Advisors, which supplies independent group purchasing on crop inputs as well as sourcing cover crop/environmental scheme seed mixes.
For feed wheat growers, KWS Scope offers high yield and a reasonably strong range of disease resistance, with added blossom midge resistance. Very limited data at the moment indicates a high yield when sown early (before 25 September), but this must be weighed against the added pressure this would put on disease resistance. Drilling that early could easily push the current rating of 6.5 for septoria below 6 in a high-pressure year. Going forward we will be keeping an eye on the ever-shifting strains of yellow rust. Some varieties rated 8 or 9 for this disease have been showing symptoms, particularly in the north east of England.
If these new or evolved races become dominant, we will see ratings on the Recommended List changing significantly. The good news for now is that the race is still controllable by tebuconazole. This does mean that any varietal rating for yellow rust must be treated with reserve, and careful in-season monitoring in the field is still required.
Howard Nason
STEPHEN CARR
OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE MISSED
For a mere peasant who could trace his farming ancestry back to generations of subsistence smallholders scratching a living on the badlands of the High Weald of Sussex, an invitation to a Country Land and Business Association (CLA) breakfast at the South of England Show was not an opportunity to be missed. Particularly so, as it involved meeting no less a dignitary than the CLA’s recently appointed director general Bella Murfin.
So, off I trotted in my best bib and tucker without my usual straw hat, smock, braces, breeches and work boots. Why, I hadn’t looked less like a Wurzel for years. This being the CLA rather than the NFU, the guest speaker was none other than Lloyd McNeil, managing director of the Goodwood Estate’s 11,000 acres in West Sussex, which includes diversified businesses that turn over close to half a billion pounds a year.
I’d expected Mr McNeil to look like a proper dandy. After all, he is listed at Companies House as a ‘motorsport director’, and Goodwood is famous for its speed festivals, horse racing, fashion shows, golf courses, smart hotels and up-market hospitality.
How disappointing, then, that he was dressed with no more eccentricity than a slightly overworked provincial conveyancing solicitor. There was no hint of plus fours or tweed. Where were the mustard or deep pink cord trousers one would normally associate with someone who mixes daily with the landed gentry and the international jet set? Not even a rakish fedora or a club tie. In fact, no tie at all.
As he began to speak, my disappointment deepened. Where were the outrageous shooting, horse and car racing anecdotes? Instead, we got a quiet talk defined by common sense, understatement and self-deprecating humour. He’d come up through the ranks during a 25-year career.
How dare Charles Gordon Lennox, the 11th Duke of Richmond, have the sense to appoint this paragon of well-grounded business sense to run his empire? I was hoping for entertaining evidence of effete aristocratic decline. It was enough to make a man choke with frustration on a £16 Goodwood Estate organic beef sausage.
But, to be fair, the message that Mr McNeil delivered was entertaining: Don’t buy farmland to farm but instead buy it for a jape.
Apparently, the estate was purchased back in 1697 to indulge sporting passions, and having a good lark appears to have been the key to its long business success ever since. Cricket rules were invented there. The first horse race occurred there in 1801. Car racing since 1948. The farming, meanwhile, has rarely been particularly profitable and has sometimes even been loss-making.
As I left the show and hung my complimentary CLA car freshener from my rear-view mirror, I set the sat-nav for my own very modest estate. The CLA scent quickly filled the interior. There were the predictable hints of horse manure, cordite, dubbin, mothballs, Silvo wadding, wax-polished floor and freshly-mown lawn. But, unsettlingly, there was also the unmistakable whiff of a modern, industrial-strength cleaning product.
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STEPHEN CARR
Stephen farms near Eastbourne in East Sussex in partnership with his wife and four of his daughters. The farm has a pub, the Sussex Ox at Milton Street, which serves the farm's pedigree Sussex beef, Southdown-cross lamb and fruit and vegetables from the farmhouse kitchen-garden.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING FOR OSR DESICCATION
Desiccating with glyphosate is generally the preferred approach for many crops, although mechanical swathing still has a place, particularly in very thick and/or leaning crops.
Whichever option is used, accurate timing is vital. It’s important not to go too early, as this can damage the seed filling process, reducing yield and increasing the chance of red seeds due to uneven ripening; anything more than 5% and growers will face rejection issues.
Crop appearance and seed colour are the best guide to determining the optimum desiccation spray timing, and a good rule of thumb is to wait until the canopy is roughly the colour of a hare.
When inspecting seed colour, take samples from the main raceme (flower cluster on the main stem), as this will ripen first.
“If, out of 20 sample pods, two-thirds have changed from green to brown, then this is the early desiccation timing, and from this stage, I’d suggest applying glyphosate in the next four to seven days,” said David.
Various brands of glyphosate are available, and growers should speak to their agronomist about which is most suitable and whether or not an adjuvant is required to improve efficacy.
It is also important to follow pre-harvest glyphosate best practice and maintain robust rates of active ingredient, applying in the morning to ensure better uptake through the plant’s stomata. Growers should then allow up to 21 days to harvest, depending on conditions.
Pod sealants can be a useful addition to reduce the risks of pod shatter in the event of harvest being delayed due to the weather, or where growers have to wait to combine crops
With pod filling well underway in winter oilseed rape crops, David Shepard, Hutchinsons agronomist based out of Canterbury, reminds growers of the need for accurate desiccation timing to maximise yield and minimise the risk of rejections this harvest.
due to variable maturity, especially on more exposed sites.
Generally, the optimum timing is before glyphosate is applied, although more generally pod sealants are applied as part of a tank mix.
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Although mechanical swathing is not the most popular option, it can still be effective for leaning crops and those with thick stems. It may also be an option on seed crops, where pre-harvest glyphosate cannot be used.
AHDB guidance says crops can be swathed around six weeks after the end of flowering, when seeds in the top third are green and green/brown, those in the middle third are
OSR pre dessication
green/brown, and those in the bottom third are dark brown/black.
When swathing, leave a good stubble height (20 to 30 cm) to keep the swathed crop off the ground and aid air flow.
In some situations, growers may choose to allow crops to ripen naturally and combine directly, without desiccating or swathing, reducing costs and avoiding any risk of wheeling damage.
This can be an option for weed-free and very uniform crops, and is useful if you have large areas and are trying to spread the harvest window. Remember, though, that the crop will take longer to ripen and it’s not generally an option further north, due to lower temperatures and higher moisture content.
DAVID SHEPARD
GROWING EXCELLENCE
As the academic year draws to a close, Hadlow College can reflect on another outstanding 12 months packed with student success, national recognition and community celebration. Here’s a look at just some of the standout moments from 2024/25:
SEPTEMBER – OFSTED SAYS ‘OUTSTANDING’
We officially revealed that Hadlow College’s residential provision was rated Outstanding across all categories following an inspection by Ofsted. In a glowing endorsement of our supportive campus environment, inspectors praised the “warm, caring and nurturing relationships” between staff and students, noting learners make “excellent progress academically, socially and emotionally”.
OCTOBER – STUDENTS JOIN TV GARDEN MAKEOVER
Horticulture students joined gardening expert (and former Hadlow College student) David Domoney for a live garden transformation on ITV’s This Morning. With just two hours to complete a full makeover, the students helped complete an impressive garden facelift and enjoyed a taste of the highpressure skills sometimes needed in industry.
DECEMBER – A YEAR OF GROWTH AND GIVING
The new Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence at Hadlow College capped a bumper first year with a tonne of its fresh produce being redistributed to national food charity FareShare, providing over 2,000 meals in the process. The facility is the UK’s first centre of excellence in greenhouse growing.
JANUARY – BLOSSOM TO BOTTLE
Planted in July 2021, the college’s threehectare orchard delivered its first harvest in 2024, with students leading the process from pruning to production. The result? Bottles of Hadlow College’s very own apple juice.
JANUARY – BIG CAT WEEK ROARS BACK
Hadlow’s annual Big Cat Week returned in partnership with The Big Cat Sanctuary. Students presented conservation campaigns to peers and staff, with top presentations winning a private tour of the Smarden-based conservation centre.
MARCH – APPRENTICESHIP FIRST FOR HADLOW
Apprentice greenkeeper Max Sutton made history as the first person in England
Hadlow College highlights from 2024/2025.
to complete a revised golf greenkeeping apprenticeship standard. Max demonstrated not just technical ability but precision, diligence and a sharp eye for detail in his landmark achievement.
APRIL – SUNSHINE AND LAMBS DRAW 10,000-PLUS
Lambing Weekend remains one of Kent’s favourite spring events and 2025 was no different. More than 10,000 visitors enjoyed lamb cuddles, animal encounters, archery, tractor rides and more, all in glorious sunshine.
MAY – SILVER GILT AT RHS CHELSEA
Most recently we were thrilled to announce we took home a Silver Gilt medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for our fungi-focused exhibit No Such Thing as a Toadstool. The immersive display, built and planted with the help of our students, drew admiration from both judges and celebrity visitors.
START THE JOURNEY
To find out more about studying at Hadlow College, come along to our open morning on 15 November or visit www.hadlow.ac.uk
This Morning garden makeover
Hadlow College apple juice
ORGANISED CHAOS ANITA HICKSON
RESOUNDING SUCCESS
Farm open Sunday was a resounding success again as we joined forces with Solley’s Ice Cream Parlour. Fergus and the lads took a lot of farm machinery to the parlour for the general public to look around.
The day was incredibly busy, but it always amazes me how many people don’t have a clue how the food they eat is produced or even where it comes from. Having said that, the equipment seemed to generate a lot of interest, and with Ted explaining each piece of kit they seemed genuinely fascinated.
Friday 13 June was a beautiful day with blazing temperatures until… 10.30pm, when we had the most beautiful lightning storm lighting up the whole of the countryside.
This light display continued for approximately 90 minutes and then the first crack of thunder was heard in the distance. This quickly erupted into a full-blown thunderstorm with a torrential downpour. The poor drains just couldn’t keep up with the pace at which the rain was falling, and most roads
resembled running rivers.
Basement flats in Dover had water to the roof, cars were moved into the middle of the road (district council traffic wardens had the bright idea of issuing parking tickets to abandoned cars the following morning, showing absolutely no common sense at all) and the bottom of our drive did an amazing impression of looking like a stony beach. Sixty millimetres of rain in around half an hour was an inordinate amount. On the plus side, it would appear that we had no crop damage, and the maize is looking pretty well after having a good drink.
At the end of June, we hosted a Grassland Group farm tour and barbecue. It was a pleasure to spend time with like-minded people who are all striving to achieve the same goal and it was a well-attended meeting.
As we start to turn our mind to harvest,
baling, carting etc, the boys have been making sure all our farm implements, including tractors, are all above board when it comes to being road legal. I have been through all the first aid equipment and purchased new plasters etc (I didn’t know a bandage could have a ‘use by’ date. I’m still not sure why?) All lights, brakes etc have been checked and sorted out if necessary.
We also had some exciting news this month. Zara has been long-listed for the Junior European Championships in eventing to be held in Stzegom, Poland at the end of August. Fingers crossed for the final trial. I think it’s an amazing achievement to get this far with all the hard work and determination that she puts into the sport.
Our red Labrador also gave birth to some scrumptious puppies this week – another piece of good news.
ANITA HICKSON Farmer
AT COLCHESTER MARKET
BEEF MARKET CONTINUES TO CONTRACT
Dry weather continues to prevail, with very limited prospects of any significant rainfall. This is resulting in producers reporting poor silage and hay crops in terms of volume, with most being 50% down on last year. The cereal crops are also now struggling, with crops on light land looking likely to be written off.
The beef market supply continues to contract, with the clean cattle trade easing slightly following the increased supply of Australian, New Zealand and Uruguayan beef now being readily available. However, the reduction in the supply of UK beef and sustained consumer demand will, we feel, result in beef prices remaining good.
Trade in Colchester has reflected this, with prime cattle regularly trading at between 360p/kg and 380p/kg live weight, with
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exceptional conformation cattle trading at 400p/kg to 420p/kg. Cow beef continues to sell well, with good conformation cows wanted to satisfy the manufacturing market.
The dry weather is allowing lambs to thrive with reduced worm burdens. Prime lambs are trading from 330p/kg to 370p/kg and old season lambs are continuing a good trade, selling from 270p/ kg to 310p/kg. Although the cull ewe trade has been slightly easier following the Eid Festival, good ewes are still trading from £140 to £200 a head, giving the producer a good return.
The store cattle trade remains strong, with buyers re-stocking as feed barley prices remain low and the majority of finishers feeling bullish about the future beef trade.
Store lamb sales will soon be underway and it will be interesting to see the level of demand, given the feed situation and the memories of last season’s hogget trade.
BRITS DEMAND MORE HOMEGROWN FOOD
New research commissioned by Red Tractor reveals that 94% of UK consumers – a four-year high – trust food produced in the UK, while nine out of 10 want to see more food produced here.
The findings, part of Red Tractor’s fifth Trust in Food Index, also show that traceability and animal welfare remain the main drivers of trust in British food.
They also show a distinct slump in the confidence shown in food produced elsewhere. Just 33% of people say they trust food produced in the US and 31% feel the same about food from India, well down from the Index’s 2023 findings of 74% and 62% respectively.
The research suggests many people believe these countries have lower animal welfare standards than the UK. Nearly three out of five British shoppers (57%) believe the US has lower standards than this country, up from 46% in 2023.
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Red Tractor believes the higher level of trust in food is due to a number of factors, with rising confidence across all aspects of UK food production and assurance, and cites the UK’S record on animal welfare as another key driver. More than four in five people (83%) point to the UK’s high animal welfare standards as the reason to trust homegrown food.
The year seems to have flown by; we are now well into the summer months and, scarily, halfway through 2025 and past the longest day.
Throughout the summer there are many local shows, including the Kent County Show, which takes place in the first week of July and provides another great opportunity for farmers to showcase their important contributions to the public and highlight what farming has to offer, from production roles right through to the environmental aspects of the countryside.
In the market, livestock prices seem to have steadied for the time being, with the cattle trade pulling back to a more realistic level for all.
Although we have enjoyed an absolute flyer in the store cattle ring throughout the spring, we have certainly seen this mellow out in the past few weeks as recognition grew that continued increases were unsustainable.
Led down by supermarket pressure, the throughputs and dead weight prices of the big Anglo-Irish meat firms have slipped back. Credit to the medium-sized wholesalers and their quality butchers who continue to provide service, quality and diversity from their counters 52 weeks of the year.
There have been cattle well sold in the past year and prices will never continue upwards forever, but finishers will have to balance earlier purchases with others bought more recently. This trade reaction in the marketplace is necessary and another beauty of the live auction market to buyers and sellers.
This is not all negative as the cattle trade, right through from calves and store cattle and into finished and cull stock, remains in a more respectable place than previously.
Store cattle numbers for the first six months of 2025 at Ashford have been substantially higher than in 2024, with average prices pushing towards £500 dearer on the year.
Much of this additional stock has come from the counties to the west, with earlier bluetongue restrictions preventing many from selling in their traditional outlets. We have forged many new relationships with vendors and their hauliers with all categories of stock and thank them for their business during this period.
OUT WITH THE SPRING AND INTO THE SUMMER
From July, England will be treated as one zone as far as bluetongue movements are concerned, with many store lamb customers in the West Country and the West Midlands able to come to Ashford and trade as usual.
Hopefully the Welsh and Scottish animal health departments will see similar sense.
Many cattle this spring have been sold for in excess of £2,000/head with a top price in Ashford of £2,700 for a single black Limousin steer, followed closely by a large pen of Limousin cross steers at £2,580 per head.
More cows and calves have also been sold this spring, which, while something of a double-edged sword, saw quality outfits to £3,050 for Simmental cross cows with springborn Simmental calves at foot.
While selling plenty of store cattle at over £2,000 per head and, again, plenty of finished cattle at well over 400p/kg it is great to see so many farmers coming to Ashford to see for themselves the trade and the asset that is their continued future, the auction market system.
With the hogget season now over, there is time to reflect. Certainly, there would have been many stores brought to farm on the expectations of 2024 trade levels. It was never to have been, with a strange alignment of conditions in 2024 bringing exceptional prices.
Circumstances have been different, and with the early wet weather pushing hoggets later and later, getting bigger and bigger, it was simply a case of supply and demand, with too many on the market. The trade remained satisfactory for many, but it never spiked.
This could be different again next year, but the frequently asked question which will start this cycle off again is: “How much are store lambs and breeding sheep going to be this year?” Not long to go now until we find out, with the first of our Friday store lamb and breeding sheep sales taking place on 25 July.
Despite the early worry that grass may be short, this has become less of an issue following rainfall at the end of May and thunderstorms into June which freshened everything up.
Supply of grazing will always cause a slight reaction in the trade for store and breeding stock, and the point of this is to highlight another factor which can affect the trade that is completely out of our control. This has always been the case, but current climate changes mean more dramatic swings in conditions, making it harder to predict the future or to plan without contingency.
The livestock market is there to help balance the equation.
JAMES COOK O’CONNELL ALAA Auctioneer
There are plenty of things going on that may give sheep producers some cause for concern, including proposed inheritance tax changes, dry weather and poor grass growth, increasing costs and poorer than anticipated prices. These are short-term issues, some of which may have significant longer-term implications, but there are other potential issues on which we need to keep an eye; issues that are unlikely to have an immediate impact but which, in the long term, may have a significant bearing on the wider sheep industry.
Rewilding is a philosophy that is gathering increasing interest and support amongst certain sectors of the agricultural community; producers will inevitably have mixed views on the subject, but I suspect most have a rather negative opinion, possibly tinged with an element of doubt. There is, though, one aspect of rewilding, posited by some of its more enthusiastic advocates, for which that element of doubt will almost certainly disappear amongst sheep producers; proposals for the reintroduction of apex predators, notably lynx, wolves and bears.
Although the latter receives support from some of the more extreme rewilders, in reality coexistence with such a large, free-ranging predator in the UK would simply be neither feasible nor achievable. The reintroduction of wolves has wider support but is again highly unlikely. Wolves require huge territories and individuals may range silently and unseen over hundreds of miles, way beyond anticipated territories. Public perception of wolves, possibly somewhat biased and based largely upon myths and folklore, would almost certainly preclude any attempts at reintroduction, or at least free ranging reintroduction. Which leaves the Lynx.
There are strong lobby groups that have produced a number of quite exhaustive, serious studies considering the feasibility and impacts of lynx reintroduction in the UK, calculating sustainable populations and identifying suitable areas for free release. Three key areas pinpointed are parts of the Scottish Highlands, Kielder Forest and
APEX PREDATORS AND THE TRIBULATIONS OF SHEEP PRODUCTION
Forest, with
the most favoured option and Thetford the least.
OK, but these are all a long way from the South East, so why should it impact us? A good question, but one that ignores the integrated and stratified structure of the UK sheep industry; any action that has a significant bearing on one sector of the industry, such as the hills and uplands, will ultimately have a consequential impact elsewhere, no matter how far removed.
The lynx is not just a big pussy cat. It is a powerful (up to a metre long and 20kg-plus) predator that will, given the opportunity, predate on sheep; statistics vary, but experiences of sheep producers in Norway indicate a kill rate of up to 10 sheep per lynx per year.
The logic of those pressing for reintroduction is that the lynx will help protect proposed afforestation projects in some areas by killing off one of the main pests that cause significant damage in fresh forestry planting, the red deer, an assumption that is somewhat simplistic, because it does tend to ignore some blindingly obvious facts. Firstly, whilst Lynx may be quite successful in hunting some of the smaller deer species, red deer are generally rather too large for successful predation, although the ‘climate of fear’ created by their presence in an area may have limited success in scaring them away. Secondly, sheep represent a somewhat easier and more manageable option for a lynx’s lunch
than a red deer; that same ‘climate of fear’ will no doubt have greater impact on upland/ hill sheep producers than the deer and will inevitably lead to reductions in hill and upland sheep numbers.
Lynx will kill foxes, which is only a small plus as there are already rather more established and proven control options available. Similarly, in terms of protecting new forestry from deer damage we already have a rather more successful and effective apex predator in ourselves. The wider use of controlled harvesting of wild deer populations may be more emotive and may have other financial implications, particularly for deer stalking estates, but is a rather more effective and significantly less complicated option.
Certainly, now and in the foreseeable future the reintroduction of apex predators is something the sheep sector can do without and, although not imminent, is an area that needs careful watching. Who, 20 years ago, would have thought that we would see the reintroduction of the beaver to wetlands and rivers in the UK? We have quietly transitioned, in the space of a few years, from contained to free-range reintroduction; beavers may not be predatory but they are capable hydrological engineers, adept at generating significant changes to local environments and ecosystems with possible unintended and unforeseen consequences that may not always be beneficial.
At least for one significant proxy-predator,
Thetford
Kielder
ALAN WEST Sheep farmer
THE BARBER'S POLE WORM
Even though I’ve just realised my colleague Bill Pepper wrote about worms last month, I still feel the need to highlight haemonchus. This worm continues to surprise me. Where we used to see it only every couple of years on a handful of farms, it’s now appearing earlier in the year - as early as May this year - on many more farms and in consecutive years. What makes haemonchus especially worrying is that it affects adult sheep. This raises concerns that we may now need to worm ewes more frequently than the traditional once-a-year approach. That’s a significant shift, especially as many of us have been working hard to follow SCOPS (sustainable control of parasites) guidelines and avoiding routine treatment of ewes unless absolutely necessary, such as at lambing time. Haemonchus contortus, commonly known as the barber's pole worm, is a blood-sucking gastrointestinal parasite. It’s a serious threat to sheep health and productivity, particularly in warm, humid conditions. It causes anaemia, weakness, poor weight gain and even sudden death, making effective control essential for sheep producers. The parasite lives in the abomasum (the sheep’s true stomach) and feeds on blood. In severe cases, a sheep can lose a considerable amount of blood each day. The signs are usually pale mucous membranes, ‘bottle jaw’ (swelling under the jaw), and sudden death. In fact, this is how the problem is often first noticed; farmers calling us after finding a couple of seemingly
the domestic dog, there is some positive news. After several changes of sponsor and a rather juddering, one-year journey through Parliament, there has been a successful conclusion to the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill. The amendments add clarification and extend what constitutes an offence, with a separation between livestock worrying and the more serious offence of attacking livestock.
There is also provision for greater police powers to seize and detain dogs where there
An increasing concern for sheep farmers.
healthy ewes dead in the field.
Now that we’re seeing haemonchus more frequently, relying solely on chemical treatments is no longer a sustainable strategy. Integrated parasite management is now the best way forward.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Where haemonchus is present, extra monitoring and management must be built into the flock’s worm control plan. It’s made even more challenging by the sporadic nature of haemonchosis, which tends to appear when warm, wet weather coincides with contaminated pasture, creating the perfect storm.
One widely used tool for managing haemonchus is the FAMACHA system, which assesses anaemia in individual sheep by examining the colour of the lower eyelid. The scoring chart runs from one to five, with one being red and not anaemic to five being white and severely anaemic
Generally, only sheep scoring three or higher require treatment. This allows for targeted treatment, reducing the use of wormers and helping to delay resistance development.
FAMACHA can be used alongside regular worm egg counts, particularly in animals showing signs of poor performance. Haemonchus tends to produce large numbers of eggs, so high counts are a good indicator of its presence.
There is a vaccine developed in Australia
are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are responsible for worrying or attacking livestock, plus powers to recover, from owners, the costs associated with seizure, securing evidence and detaining dogs. Probably the most significant aspect of the changes, however, is the increase in the maximum penalty from £1,000 to an unlimited fine.
In spite of recent rains, the dry spring continues to be an issue for many sheep producers and has now reached a point where, for some, the longer-term impacts
to protect sheep specifically from the barber’s pole worm. Instead of killing worms like a drench, it boosts the sheep’s immune system to stop worms feeding and reproducing. It’s quite a complicated vaccination programme, used in Australia regularly. It is not licensed in the UK as yet but can be imported with a special licence.
Historically, haemonchus larvae would overwinter inside sheep through a process known as hypobiosis. However, with milder winters becoming the norm, we’re now seeing worms survive on pasture, ready to flare up with the first warm, wet spell. This means it’s more important than ever to identify high-risk and low-risk pastures to help manage exposure through careful grazing planning.
It looks like the barber’s pole worm is here to stay – and becoming more of a regular problem. It’s one we’ll all need to monitor closely, learn more about, and adapt our practices to manage effectively.
will be felt for the rest of the year through poorer grazing and reductions, in terms of both quantity and quality, of next winter’s forage crops. With such prospects adding to increased production costs already incurred as a result of the dry weather, firmer lamb prices would be more than welcome, but although better than in 2023, many producers are seeing returns on comparable finished lambs significantly down on those presented at a similar time last season. The tribulations of sheep production!
FROM THE VET
A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO PREVENTING SHEEP ABORTION
A successful lambing season is paramount for any sheep enterprise, and abortion can be devastating. Understanding the causes and implementing robust preventative measures are key to protecting your flock's health and your bottom line.
TAMING TOXOPLASMOSIS: HYGIENE, CONTROL AND VACCINATION
Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is a common cause of sheep abortion. This parasite spreads by infected cat faeces contaminating feed and bedding. Sheep act as hosts, leading to late-pregnancy abortions or foetal reabsorption. Live lambs are often weak. While sheep can develop some immunity, an abortion storm can have a huge impact on lamb numbers. A multi-pronged defence combining stringent biosecurity with vaccination is crucial.
Vaccination is highly recommended for effective, long-term protection. Ewes should be vaccinated at least three weeks before tupping. Once vaccinated, protection lasts for at least two lambing seasons.
Identify and vaccinate 'naïve' ewes (those that have never been vaccinated or exposed). Discuss a strategic vaccination plan with your vet, especially for replacements.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Even with vaccination, vector control and stringent hygiene are vital:
• Cat and rodent proofing: Securely store all feed and bedding in cat and rodentproof containers or wraps. Lockable bins are ideal.
• Farm cat management: Neuter farm cats to control their population and reduce parasite spread. Continue rodent control.
• Abortion management: Promptly remove any aborted materials. Present them to your vet for testing to identify threats on farm, then incinerate any not needed for testing.
DEFENCE AGAINST OTHER ABORTIVE DISEASES
While toxoplasmosis is a major concern, it's vital to consider other potential causes of abortion.
DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS AND SUBSIDISED TESTING
Review your last lambing season. If you experienced more than a 2% rate of barren ewes or abortions, an underlying abortive disease is likely.
Many subsidised testing schemes are available for barren or aborted ewes. Discuss these with your vet. Testing helps identify common problems like enzootic abortion of ewes (EAE) and toxoplasmosis, informing breeding and vaccination strategies. Knowing the cause is also vital for human safety, as some abortive diseases are zoonotic.
ENZOOTIC ABORTION OF EWES
Enzootic Abortion of Ewes (EAE), caused by Chlamydophila abortus, is the most diagnosed bacterial abortion cause in sheep. It leads to late-pregnancy abortions, spread by carrier sheep often introduced via purchased animals. Ewes may abort the year after exposure and can continue to do so in subsequent years.
The most effective weapon against EAE is vaccination. Ewes should be vaccinated a minimum of four weeks before tupping, making timing critical. Revaccination is recommended every three to four years, and replacements should be factored into vaccine purchases.
OPTIMISING EWE HEALTH AND MITIGATING EXTERNAL THREATS
Beyond specific disease prevention, the overall condition of your ewes is paramount. Now is the ideal time to ensure your breeding flock is in peak condition:
• Culling: Cull ewes with poor teeth, poor body condition or a history of vaginal prolapse, poor mothering or mastitis.
• Nutrition: Address metabolic or nutritional imbalances that lead to lambing problems. Regular body condition scoring is essential.
• Trace element and metabolic profiling: Blood sampling can provide insights into supplementation needs and nutritional status, allowing for timely adjustments.
Lastly, ensure your tups are in top condition. Consider breeding soundness checks with your vet, assessing their body condition, teeth and feet before they join the ewes.
While seated near the back of the class in an economics lecture, in, oh dear, 1983, I heard the late Professor Nix describe the most profitable crop rotation. “Wheat, wheat and more wheat...” he intoned in that lively, learned, London voice. The great professor’s ironic disregard for his biologist peers was enjoyed. This was what made his teaching such fun.
In five words, three of them the same, he demonstrated the kernel of the great challenge of farming. The difference between what is financially optimal and what is physically sustainable. To rub it in, he would add that one should “farm for an average year, though such has never happened”. Impossible rotations in constantly shifting conditions thus define theoretical profitability.
It follows, then, that theoretical profitability is at best a chimera. An improbable monster, illusory and unwinnable. Far better to strike out towards that which is obtainable and fits with existing circumstances.
I’m sure John Nix also mentioned “a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush”. His Farm Management Pocketbook annually offers the gross margins for hundreds of different enterprises, which farmers can apply in the right ways in the right places. Or just keep calm and carry on, like the fabled frog in the pot, who made the fatal mistake of sleeping in the warm water without reading its rising temperature.
The counter intuitive and unpredictable doesn’t just apply to economics. Try botany. Pyramidal orchids occur high up in dry chalky pastures. They should not occur in salt marshes alongside the Swale estuary, except, ahem, when they do.
The curator of natural history at Maidstone Museum, then the wonderful Eric Philp, happily ate his words after having implied that this young plant surveyor had made an error. Eric was invited to the shoreline to see a dozen or more specimens, below the high tide mark. Thriving, and unmistakably pyramidals, they bloomed amongst the sea lavender and aster. The great authority simply coughed in disgust. “Blasted rule breakers,” was his scratchy, but amused, response. There are no certainties.
By the end of this autumn, Baroness Minette Batters will have chaired the DEFRA enquiry into farm profitability. Our government, having ended early the single
THE GREAT CHALLENGE OF FARMING
By NFU East Sussex Chair Martin Hole.
farm payment and already slashing away at environmental land management schemes, also seeks to raise the tax regime faced by the inheritors of family businesses.
Minette’s report will require her considerable diplomacy. Undoing these threats will be hard. The report also has terms of reference requiring it to be consistent with the UK carbon budget framework and the environmental improvement plan 2023. However, I simply cannot imagine our baroness being shackled by Yes Minister-isms.
One hopes she will guide a route out of the current messes, put nature friendly farming back on track and deliver some long-term reassurance. If not, then it is a bit like the enquiry into the sinking of the Titanic being
asked to ignore icebergs.
The ridiculous, the unexpected, the human diversity and the environmental all coalesce into factors affecting our profitability. The targets move each year. Forty years ago, set-aside underpinned arable incomes, and before that, in that great anti-war novel Catch 22, we read about Major Major’s uncle, whose “speciality was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any”.
In holding up a mirror to our government, the baroness will have the opportunity, ably backed by her old colleagues at the NFU, and many others, to help them out of their own absurdity. A route to farm profit would be political salvation. I wish Minette the best of fortune in this gallant quest.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED SOLUTIONS
The increasing success being enjoyed by English wines has seen a huge increase in the amount of land given over to vineyards across the South East.
For farmers, the temptation to look for a piece of the action by taking a suitable area of gently sloping, south-facing land and converting it to growing grapes can be strong, but it’s not an easy decision.
Establishing the vines and caring for them for the first few years comes with a significant cost, and while the future rewards may be temptingly high, the first few years can be expensive, not least in terms of the specialist machinery needed.
Step forward Vitimech, a relatively new player in the world of viticulture but one with a mission to ease the transition from farmer to grape grower by providing a cost-effective package of machinery that will do an excellent job at an affordable price, without compromising on quality.
Vitimech, which has the backing of long-established parent company Chichester Farm Machinery, headed up by managing director Lewis Ramm, has made its intentions clear from day one by focusing on high end viticulture machinery manufacturers Collard and Calvet, both renowned for innovative designs and strong build quality.
It may be a relatively new player when it comes to supplying vineyard equipment, but Chichesterbased Vitimech has made its intentions clear from day one.
And while the viticulture side of the business was only established last September, Chichester Farm Machinery has many years’ experience in supplying, repairing, servicing and providing parts for a wide range of other quality equipment.
Farmers and growers were given a taste of the new vineyardfocused equipment alongside the existing groundscare ranges at a well-attended open day held at the companies’ base at Leythorne Nurseries just outside Chichester, in the heart of the South East’s wine growing area.
Alongside Collard and Calvet machinery, visitors were able to chat to staff about Chichester Farm Machinery’s wide range of kit, including mowers, trailers, compact tractors, mulchers and telehandlers, as well as Bomford Turner’s impressive Flailbot.
Crucially, one of the highlights of the open day was a selection from the vast Avant range, a versatile loader-cum-multitool that Vitimech sales manager James Brett believes is an ideal bridge between agriculture and viticulture.
The flexibility of the Avant range has inspired James to put together a package of equipment that is designed to support new vineyard owners, particularly those who are looking to enter the industry from a farming, rather than a city, background.
Sofiane Dahou from Calvet
Managing director Lewis Ramm
The idea is to fit an Avant 760 loader with a Collard LZP polyvalent frame that can then be used with a vine trimmer, leaf remover or pre-pruner.
“That gives a smaller vineyard, perhaps one that represents a farm diversification, all the equipment needed to establish and care for the vines, plus a flexible loader and multi tool, for about the same cost as a high-end vineyard tractor,” James pointed out.
Central to this plan are Chichester Farm Machinery’s talented team of in-house designers who can adapt a wide range of vineyard machinery to be mounted on the impressive Avant range, which can already be fitted with around 200 pieces of equipment.
One open day visitor, long-standing customer Jack Newcombe of JN TreeCare, described his Avant as “a game changer”, adding: “I use it every day and wouldn’t be without it.” He uses the loader with everything from a mulching head to a bucket, forks, a rotating head for tipping IBCs and a road sweeper.
Vitimech was set up in response to customers asking for replacement parts for Collard machines bought direct from the French manufacturer, inventor of the world’s first vine trimmer in 1962. Not only did Collard make Vitimech its sole UK distributor, it introduced the company to Calvet, a leading sprayer manufacturer with a well-deserved reputation.
Chichester Farm Machinery supplies a wide range of other machinery including Teagle flails, mowers and spreaders, Bomford Turner and Kirogn hedge trimmers, Stiga ride-on mowers, Grasshopper zero-turn mowers, Iseki compact tractors and Marshall trailers, including one designed with central wheels to suit the pivot-steer Avants.
James Brett
Chichester Farm Machinery sales manager Steve Everton
Customer Jack Newcombe with a Bomford Turner Flailbot
Legal services for farmers & rural businesses
Call us today or visit our website: 01227 763939 furleypage.co.uk
UNMARRIED PARTNERS AND THE FAMILY FARM
For farming families, the lines between home, work and relationships are often blurred. When an unmarried partner moves into the farmhouse or becomes involved in the business, it can feel like a shared life in every sense.
However, despite the common myth of a ‘common law marriage’, under UK law unmarried couples do not benefit from the same legal protections as married couples. This misunderstanding can lead to serious legal and financial issues if the relationship breaks down, especially where the family farm is involved.
If a cohabiting couple separates, there is no automatic right to financial protection, even if the relationship has lasted for many years or involves children. Laws relating to property, pensions and inheritance are significantly different for married and unmarried couples. Disputes between cohabiting couples are, in fact, governed by property and trust law, not family law, meaning outcomes can be complex and often unpredictable.
For many couples, the division of property is one of the most significant issues on separation. The legal ownership of property, whether it’s in one partner’s name or held jointly, along with each party’s contributions to the mortgage or renovations, can heavily influence the outcome.
These risks are amplified when one partner owns or works within a family farm or farming business. If the farm becomes part of a dispute, it could threaten the continuity of the business and impact the wider family’s livelihood.
Having open conversations before moving in together, or even once cohabiting, can help clarify expectations, but informal arrangements carry little weight legally.
Francesca
Easter, Partner, Family Law at Ellisons Legal looks at the risks every farmer should understand.
To provide real protection, a written cohabitation agreement is essential.
A cohabitation agreement is a legally binding document that outlines what should happen if the relationship ends. For farming families, this can be particularly valuable.
Key benefits include:
• Clarifying ownership of the farmhouse, farmland and farming assets
• Setting out financial arrangements, including each partner’s contributions to the business
• Recording how each partner is involved in the business: the work they do, how they are paid and their responsibilities
• Stating how business or personal assets should be divided if the relationship breaks down
• Addressing inheritance issues in the event one partner passes away.
The main advantage of a cohabitation agreement is to reduce the risk of disputes and protect family assets. It offers both partners clarity and gives the wider family peace of mind that the farm is safeguarded. If those partners later marry, their legal status will change. In that case, they should consider a post-nuptial agreement (or a pre-nuptial agreement prior to marriage) to carry forward the intentions set out in the cohabitation agreement.
For the best outcome, seek legal advice from a solicitor with experience in both family law and the agricultural sector. A tailored agreement can help secure your relationship and your farm’s future.
PROTECTING GENERATIONAL ASSETS
Divorce presents unique challenges for farming families, especially when the farm has been passed down through generations. While the farm’s book value may be high, many farmers view themselves as custodians of a legacy, aiming to preserve the land for future generations.
This article explores how divorce can impact farming businesses and how courts approach farm valuations and inherited wealth, and offers practical steps to mitigate these challenges.
HOW DIVORCE AFFECTS FARMING BUSINESSES
In divorce proceedings, the court’s primary concern is to meet the capital and income needs of both parties, with priority given to the housing of any dependent children. The first step involves financial disclosure. For farming families, this means valuing land, livestock, equipment and other assets, many of which are integral to the farm’s operation. The impact of divorce on a farming business can be significant, potentially threatening its continuity and financial stability.
COURT APPROACHES TO FARM VALUATIONS
Courts consider several factors when valuing a farm:
1. Market value: The current market value of the land, buildings, and equipment. This can be complicated by the unique nature of farming assets, which may lack a straightforward market comparison.
2. Income potential: The farm's ability to generate income. This includes evaluating crop yields, livestock production and other revenue streams.
INHERITED WEALTH
Farms that include inherited wealth from previous generations are typically treated as non-matrimonial assets, as opposed to a matrimonial asset, which is an asset generated during the marriage. While matrimonial assets are usually shared equally (unless a departure from equality is needed to meet needs), non-matrimonial assets are not automatically shared on a divorce unless needed to meet the financial needs of the non-owing spouse.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
One of the biggest concerns during a divorce is maintaining business continuity. Asset division can disrupt operations, leading to financial
instability and even the potential loss of the farm. Preserving continuity is often a priority for farming families.
PRACTICAL STEPS TO MITIGATE IMPACT
To mitigate the impact of divorce on farming businesses, those affected should consider the following:
1. Early legal advice: Engage a family lawyer who has experience of farming cases early in the process. They can provide guidance on protecting your interests and navigating the complexities of farm valuations and inherited wealth.
2. Business structuring: Consider restructuring the farm and creating a business entity, such as a limited company or partnership, to help separate personal and business assets, as this will make it easier to protect and ringfence the farm on divorce.
3. Dispute resolution options: If divorce is inevitable, explore alternative dispute resolution options, such as mediation or collaborative law. These approaches allow parties to approach their divorce holistically so they are able to reach amicable agreements, where both parties have their needs met without the need for contentious court battles. However, without doubt the best way to protect a farm and meet the needs of a non-owning spouse is to enter into a pre- or post-nuptial agreement. If correctly drafted, and if both parties receive independent legal advice, they are given a considerable amount of weight by the courts and tend to be followed in the event of a divorce.
CONCLUSION
Divorce can significantly impact farming businesses, particularly those with generational ties to the land and assets. Understanding how courts approach farm valuations, inherited wealth, nuptial agreements and business continuity is crucial. By seeking early legal advice, structuring the business appropriately and considering nuptial agreements, farming families can better protect their interests and ensure long term success.
Rights over land for electricity infrastructure Code of Practice
■ The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the RICS and Energy Networks Associations have recently published a Code of Practice intended to :
“provide best practice guidance to encourage behaviours that seek to balance the rights and interests of those who install and operate electricity infrastructure (Licence Holders) with those whose land and property is impacted by such equipment (Landowners)”.
The local and national grid are going through a significant period of investment, descried by UKPN as both radical and innovative. The major projects underway, and to come, will require taking rights over farms and other land, impacting owners, tenants, users and their businesses, all of whose interests need to be properly recognised. The Code of Practice is to be seen as best practice guidance to
NORTH KENT
National Grid’s project to upgrade overhead cables in North Kent.
professionals, acknowledging their role in the delivery of electricity infrastructure, ensuring those who host such equipment on land are properly and fairly advised, represented and treated.
It is clear that an improved network is key to the Government achieving both the ambitious Net Zero target and supporting the drive to build more houses. The Code of Practice pre-empts this investment at it’s core encouraging both sides to be transparent, fair and professional when it comes to both negotiating compensation and agreeing matters such as accommodation works and easement terms. In recent years we have acted for landowners in a range of projects, including a major project by National Grid to upgrade and replace overhead cables on their network in North Kent and a range of UKPN projects including
EAST SUSSEX
South East Water installing a 12 mile long mains water pipeline between Bewl Water & Rotherfield, representing 15 of the 40 affected landowners.
undergrounding overhead lines, new sub stations and in one instance an emergency job to first locate and then repair a 33kv pressurised fluid filled cable.
If you are affected by such a project, or wish to instigate a project to improve your own supply, then please get in touch with the rural professional team.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
In each case our role typically includes:
■ Agreeing survey access.
■ Reviewing developers works plans.
■ Arranging accommodation works to mitigate the impact.
■ Negotiating compensation for disturbance and other losses, including temporary access for compounds.
■ Agreeing terms of Deeds of Easement.
KENT
Environment Agency project to reduce flooding on the Hildenborough Embankment Scheme.
Jon Booth Director Dan Page Director Katie Hurley Director Esther Goodhew Senior Associate
Dan Biddle Graduate Surveyor
Amelia Rogers Senior Valuation Surveyor
A RARE AGRICULTURAL GEM IN THE HEART OF KENT
Nestled in the picturesque countryside around Sheldwich, near Faversham in Kent, Newhouse and Gosmere Farms present a rare opportunity to acquire two substantial and versatile farms in a single block.
Set in a rural yet highly accessible location, the farms have the A251, A2 and M2 all within easy reach, as well as Faversham and Selling stations just a few miles away.
Spanning approximately 293.64 acres (118.83 hectares) of grade 1 arable land, this property is part of the historic Lees Court
Estate, celebrated for its rich farming heritage and environmental stewardship.
The estate is arranged in five lots, offering significant opportunities for farmers, investors, developers and private individuals alike. At its core lies a well-equipped farmyard featuring three substantial grain stores, with a total capacity of 2,300 tonnes. Two of the grain stores benefit from underfloor grain drying systems. All the buildings offer potential for development, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents.
Beyond the buildings, the land itself is a
standout feature – all classified as grade 1 and set out in large, easily workable fields suited to modern farming equipment.
Peter Mason, from selling agent Ceres Property, said: “Following the stewardship of the Sondes family for 800 years, the sale of Newhouse and Gosmere Farms represents a unique opportunity to acquire some of the most productive land in the heart of Kent. Properties of this quality rarely come to the open market, and there is strong interest from local and national buyers seeking a first-class agricultural investment with future potential."
BLENDING STATE-OF-THE-ART WITH TRADITIONAL LIVING
A residential estate within the Cranbrook School catchment area with an outstanding contemporary oast and barn conversion blending state-of-the-art with traditional living, a single storey holiday cottage and a detached farmhouse with separate access has come to the market with Lambert & Foster.
ELM HILL OAST AND BARN
The oast and barn are a stunning and imaginatively designed conversion of two traditional former farm buildings joined by an impressive, vaulted glass link. It is rare to find a conversion of this quality and specification, with attention to detail in every room; the attention to detail here is second to none.
ELM HILL FARMHOUSE
There is also an attractive detached farmhouse, with a separate driveway to the main dwelling with two double bedrooms and a single bedroom and one further double bedroom in the attic suite.
Outside there is a detached garage and adjoining workshop. The farmhouse has ample parking and good-sized mature gardens that wrap around the property.
OLIVE COTTAGE
To the south of the courtyard from the main house is a two bedroom detached L-shaped cottage offering further guest/family accommodation.
STABLES AND OUTBUILDINGS
Elm Hill Farm has a range of outbuildings, equally suited for equestrian or agricultural use, including a substantial stable block with tack room, three stables and workshop, a two-bay Dutch barn and attached carport with a 22kw EV charger and a separate three bay carport.
FARMLAND
The farmland extends in all to some 20.84 acres, mainly laid to pasture with a small area of woodland, where an attractive series of ponds has been created within an amenity area with a firepit. The land wraps around the property and has been let on an annual grazing licence basis to a local farmer.
Catsfield, near Battle, East Sussex
A picturesque country estate with a rich heritage located in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty offering great potential to develop existing enterprises and income as well as for further diversification including enhancing woodland management and biodiversity net gain.
• Range of accommodation (EPC E) • Extensive equestrian facilities • Agricultural barns and outbuildings • Productive farmland • Ancient and planted woodland • Fishing lakes • Diverse income streams • BNG potential IN ALL ABOUT 442 ACRES Guide Price £4m
Westfield, East Sussex
A former grassland dairy farm with a large range of agricultural buildings and associated yards together with a sizable 4/5 bedroom dwelling which is subject to an AOC (EPC E). IN ALL ABOUT 81.53 ACRES Guide £1.5m
NEWHOUSE & GOSMERE FARMS SHELDWICH, KENT
An exceptional opportunity to acquire an outstanding block of Grade 1 arable land in large, easily workable fields, plus farm buildings, including grain storage with potential for development, subject to planning consent. In all, about 293.64 acres (118.83 ha), set in a rural yet highly accessible location.
The farms form part of the historic Lees Court Estate – renowned for its rich agricultural heritage and commitment to farming and conservation.
The property is offered for sale by Private Treaty as a whole or in up to five lots
LOT 2
Guide Price £240,000 LOT 1
LOT 4
267.72 acres (108.35 ha) – Grade 1 arable land and woodland. Guide Price £2,650,000
11.84 acres (4.79 ha) – orchard. Guide
0.92 acres (0.37 ha) – farm building with amenity land. Potential for alternative use (subject to planning).
6.99 acres (2.83 ha) – farm buildings and land. Potential for alternative use (subject to planning).
Guide Price £750,000
Michael Fiddes
Peter Mason
With farming under pressure from unpredictable weather, volatile prices and high input costs, as well as increased ‘red tape’, public and private funding can support existing farming practices, supplement farm income and spread risk.
The main public funding opportunities are:
SUSTAINABLE FARMING INCENTIVE
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers to follow sustainable farming practices aimed at protecting and improving the environment.
The scheme is now closed to new applications, with an enhanced version of the scheme expected to be introduced in the future.
COUNTRYSIDE STEWARDSHIP HIGHER TIER
This scheme pays farmers and landowners to protect, restore and enhance the environment and is available on farmland and woodland, as well as on land of environmental significance. Agreements can run from five to 20 years, with payments made on a quarterly basis.
The scheme is due to open this summer on an invitation-only basis. Natural England and/or the Forestry Commission must be consulted throughout the application process.
FARMING EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY FUND
A new round of the FETF is now open and offers funding in three categories, productivity, slurry management and animal health and welfare. Applicants can apply for between £1,000 and £25,000 per category, with a maximum of £75,000 available overall per application.
Funding is available at either 40% or 50% of the average cost of the item, or in some cases a proportion of the actual cost.
CAPITAL GRANTS
The Standalone Capital Grant Scheme is set to re-open again this summer, but with spending caps on all four categories and a limit of one application per business per year.
The Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Capital Grant Scheme is open all year round and can help pay for specific capital works that support other agri-environment agreements.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Modern day farming can mean integrating alternative income sources.
ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE REVIEW
The Animal Health and Welfare Review funds annual vet visits to livestock farms and is open until 19 June 2027.
Since February 2025, dairy, beef, sheep and pig farmers can apply. Funding for the initial visit ranges from £327 to £557, depending on the species of livestock.
ENGLAND WOODLAND CREATION OFFER (EWCO)
This Forestry Commission initiative funds tree planting and pays up to £10,200 per hectare towards establishment and up to an additional £12,700 per hectare in optional stackable payments to support management of the new woodland.
Other alternative income streams:
BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN
Local planning authorities require developments to provide at least 10% uplift in biodiversity, delivered onsite, offsite or by purchasing credits from the Government. This gives landowners an opportunity to enter into an agreement with a developer to deliver the offsite biodiversity uplift, but legal costs can be high and the commitment is long term.
WATER NEUTRALITY
Development in certain areas must demonstrate that there is no net increase in overall water demand as a result of the proposed development. This requirement, known as water neutrality, is achieved by offsetting any additional water consumption through various efficiency measures. These
may include installing rainwater harvesting systems, using water-efficient fixtures and fittings or sourcing water from alternative supplies such as a private borehole.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Landowners can enter into long-term agreements with renewable energy companies to house solar and battery schemes, usually on sites of at least 10 acres close to a potential grid connection. Plans to streamline regulatory processes, enable quicker grid connections and install new infrastructure could broaden the opportunities available.
THE FUTURE
While many Batcheller Monkhouse clients will continue to focus on food production, the volatility experienced in modern day farming means farmers and landowners are increasingly integrating alternative income sources within their businesses.
PICTURESQUE 442-ACRE ESTATE
Samuel and Son is delighted to bring to the market The Normanhurst Estate at Catsfield. The picturesque 442-acre estate stands in 1066 countryside in the High Weald National Landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty), three miles from the town of Battle and easily commutable to London. Accommodation on the estate comprises an attractive, 19th century, three-bedroom
converted barn, a two-bedroom detached annexe and a pair of two-bedroom, semidetached cottages set in a tucked-away location away from the main residential and buildings complex.
There is a comprehensive range of equestrian facilities with extensive stabling, barns, outdoor manége, grazing enclosures and excellent riding out over private trails throughout the estate. A second yard area
has a range of modern agricultural buildings and storage facilities. The farm land extends to about 235 acres of productive grazing and cropping land.
The estate encompasses several distinct areas of woodland covering about 191 acres, predominantly a mix of chestnut coppice, birch and conifer plantations with some magnificent specimen trees including some majestic pines and mature oak standards
and incorporating about four acres of beautiful lakes, the largest well stocked. Compartments are well laid out, with an excellent network of tracks and rides and the woodland harbouring an abundance of wildlife, making it ideal for walking, riding and sporting activities.
Historically, the wider estate has had a succession of notable owners including Thomas Alfraye, the 16th century Lord Mayor of Catsfield and John Fuller, the uncle of Mad Jack Fuller of Brightling. In 1865 the estate
came into the hands of Thomas Brassey, one of the pioneers of Victorian railway engineering who, by the time of his death, had built one in every 20 miles of railway in the world.
Between 1875 and 1912, the Brassey family carried out a careful programme of landscaping, lake creation and emparkment at Normanhurst with numerous tree and plant specimens, many of which survive today, collected on their global voyages.
The current owners manage the estate
Big changes ahead for landlords
Renters’ Rights Bill
The UK Government is introducing major reforms to the Private Rental Sector with the Renters’ Rights Bill, expected to become law by Autumn 2025. It will impact all Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England.
Key proposed changes include:
Removal of Section 21 ('no fault') evictions
End of fixed-term tenancies
12-month security of tenure for tenants
One rent review per year
Easier renting with pets and children
on a commercial basis with the various property elements providing income by way of licences, leases and tenancy agreements. A comprehensive woodland management plan/ woodland grant scheme could be established with the Forestry Commission to help manage the woodland and the owners have recently had a biodiversity net gain baseline survey undertaken across the entire estate.
The estate is being marketed by Samuel & Son, Horam, at a guide price of offers in excess of £4m.
We are offering a Property MOT service which includes compliance checks, rent reviews and advice to meet the upcoming standards. BOOK YOURS TODAY!
Lucie Allan, Head of Lettings 01444 415151
l.allan@batchellermonkhouse.com
Steel frame buildings.
Sheeting, cladding and oversheeting.
Gutter replacement, repairs and lining.
Steel frame, concrete frame alterations and repairs.
Asbestos removal.
Roof light and sheet changes.
Refurbishments and usage changes.
Demolition, groundworks and site clearance.
24
Roller shutters, sliding and personnel doors.
before
Condition reports and dilapidation work
Mezzanine floors
Insurance and repair work
On
COMPLETE OUR CROSSWORD TO WIN
ACROSS
1 Beach in Cornwall near Zennor (4,4)
5 Biennial cricket series (5)
8 Peach ---- ----, fungus infection of trees (4,4)
9 Famous mammal of Aesop's Fables (4)
11 Home of a pig (3)
12 Body part (4,3)
14 Summer meteor shower (5,9)
16 Plan (6)
18 Artistic dance form (6)
21 Home of books (7)
23 Diving duck (4)
25 Apple variety (5,4)
26 Swan often found feeding on grain or potatoes in fields (7)
27 Compass point (4) DOWN
1 Small rodents (5)
2 Female reproductive organ of a flowering plant (5)
3 Male fowl (4)
4 Plant with small flowers (7)
6 A group of flying insects (5)
7 Large ------- Moth (7)
10 Cover crop (4)
13 Structural part of a plant (4)
14 Rot (9)
15 Regulation, command, order (4)
17 Fish with slender body (3)
18 Scottish island (5)
19 Tree (3)
21 Poorly (3)
22 Surfaces for vehicles (5)
23 Sap sucking pest (5)
24 Card game (5)
To enter, simply unscramble
Correct entries will be entered into a draw which will take place on 21 July. The winner will be announced in the August
With Wimbledon around the corner perhaps celebrate a British winner with two bottles of Gribble Bridge Sparkling White.
For more information about the vineyards, please visit www.biddendenvineyards.com or call 01580 291726.
