This is welcome news for rural businesses; however, whichever party wins the election, significant changes to the distribution of rural funding are on the way. Also, in a recent survey 78% of farmers said a factor outside their control was hampering the development of their business; will the election end the turmoil around the uncertainty of Brexit and start to give businesses actionable direction?

Elsewhere WWF Scotland is calling for urgent action to protect and restore peatland after scientists calculated that a wildfire in Scotland’s Flow Country generated carbon emissions equivalent to six days of Scotland’s usual total greenhouse gas emissions. In their manifestos all the parties have committed to peatland restoration activity as well as ambitious tree planting targets. Key questions remain about how this can be converted into deliverable policy on the ground.

FOOD & FARMING

Uncertainty stifles growth
Nearly a third of farmers have said that market uncertainty has deterred them from investing in the growth of their business over the last six months. Overall 78% of the 1,200 respondents to a YouGov survey for Hitachi Capital Business Finance said an external factor outside their control was hampering the development of their business. Volatile cash flows, unpredictable / extreme weather and red tape were the other leading external factors. Given the significance to agriculture of the Brexit negotiations and associated trade deals, these results are not surprising but serve to illustrate that in a long-term industry with tight margins a lack of direction tends to damage growth.

Dean Foods makes a fatal error
The cost of ignoring alternative products and changing consumer attitudes has been made clear across the pond. America’s biggest milk producer, Dean Foods, recently filed for bankruptcy after historically being a dominant force in the dairy industry. In 2011, revenues hit a record high of $12.6 billion. By last year they had almost halved to $7.5 billion. Dean Foods CEO Eric Beringause put it down to “continuing declines in consumer milk consumption”. The business had looked well set to adapt to changing market conditions following its 2002 acquisition of WhiteWave Foods, maker of Silk Soymilk. However Dean Foods later sold WhiteWave to Danone for $12.5 billion and ultimately paid a larger price for sacrificing its position in the alternative market.

Parasite found in the UK for the first time
Babesia venatorum, an organism that causes a disease called babesiosis, has been found in the UK for the first time. The disease is transmitted via tick bites and was considered an animal disease but is now emerging as an infection in humans. A study by the University of Glasgow found the parasite in sheep in the north east of Scotland. The disease is treatable but relies upon rapid and accurate diagnosis. Symptoms can include flu and jaundice in humans but the risk of infection is low.

All acorns wear capes
Acorns are a superfood. So much so that the squirrels of South Korea are being forced to compete with humans for their usual winter staple. Acorn Rangers are now protecting the local oaks from acorn-pickers after it was found squirrel populations had declined by 30% over the last ten years. Research indicates that acorns could possibly help fight a range of conditions including type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer.

POLICY

Rural commitments: Party promises revealed
Polling day is approaching and all the party manifestos have been released. Here is our brief breakdown of the key rural affairs commitments or click here if you would like to read our full Manifesto Summary for Land Users.

Agricultural support
The Conservative Party has guaranteed that it will match the current annual support budget available to farmers in every year of the next Parliament (this could extend until May 2024). In England its plan remains a seven year transition during which the CAP is phased out in favour of public money for public goods based payments. Labour says it will maintain agricultural funding but repurpose funds to support environmental land management and sustainable methods of food production. The Liberal Democrat Party has declared that it will reduce agricultural support to the larger recipients and redeploy the savings to support public goods that come from nature. The Green Party promises to work with farmers to refocus farm payments towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices such as organic farming, agroforestry and mixed farming. The SNP wants to make sure that any compensation for UK farmers fairly applies to Scotland, and if the UK leaves the EU, the SNP would ensure that funding and rural policy is repatriated to Scotland. Labour promises to re-establish an agricultural wages board in England, increase access into farming and invest in county farms. The Conservatives plan to increase the quota for the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme pilot from 2,500 to 10,000 places. The Green Party has proposed legislation to give farmers greater security of land tenure and encourage new entrants to the sector.

The environment
The environment has been a hot topic for all the major parties in this year’s election. The target year for Net Zero ranges from 2030 for the Green Party to 2050 for the Conservatives, 2040 for the Scottish National Party, in the 2030s for Labour and 2045 for the Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party has proposed a £640 million Nature for Climate fund to support the restoration of nature. Labour’s Plan For Nature will set legally binding targets to support species and habitat restoration, alongside a Green Transformation Fund with £250 billion dedicated to renewable energy, green transport, biodiversity and environmental restoration. The Liberal Democrats will introduce a Nature Act to restore the natural environment through legally binding targets and funding of at least £18 billion over five years; the party has also promised to increase Defra’s budget. The Green Party has proposed its Green New Deal, with £100 billion a year to increase funding for the Environment Agency and Natural England and support hedgerow restoration, encourage rewilding, support farmers in diversification and research into methane reduction. All the major parties want to promote peatland restoration.

Tree planting
The parliamentary tree planting competition ramped up last week, with news that Labour is promising to plant two billion new trees by 2040, backed by £2.5 billion of funding.

Flood prevention
In terms of flood prevention funding, Labour has proposed £5.6 billion, the Conservatives propose £4 billion and the Liberal Democrats want to establish a £5 billion fund.

Public access to green space
All major parties promise to increase public access to green space; the Conservatives, Labour and the Green Party want to create new National Parks (Labour has committed to ten new National Parks), and the Liberal Democrats have committed to completing the coastal path as well as creating National Nature Parks.

Animal welfare
Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have all declared they would tighten up on animal welfare standards and introduce bans on the use of cages in farming. Labour wants to ban live exports for slaughter and fattening, the Green Party wants to limit maximum animal travel time to eight hours, and the Conservatives say that it will end excessively long journeys for slaughter and fattening. The Hunting Act appeared as a point of debate - Labour wants to strengthen the legislation, as does the Green Party, however the Conservative Party has committed to make no changes to the Act. Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party all want to end or review the badger cull.

Tax
The Green Party is proposing a Meat and Dairy Tax alongside a new Land Value Tax. The Liberal Democrats want to introduce a Commercial Landowner Levy to shift the burden of taxation from tenants to landowners, and Labour is proposing to tax capital gains and dividend income at the same rate as income tax, so that wealth and income from work are treated equally.

National food policy
The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats both support a National Food Strategy, and Labour has proposed a National Food Commission, enshrining the principle of a ‘Right to Food’. The Green Party wants to establish a Food and Agriculture Research Council.

Communications
The Conservative Party has pledged to end poor mobile network coverage in its first 100 days in office, by striking a £1 billion agreement with the four major network providers so that they pool their existing phone masts and erect new ones. The policy is not new but a commitment to prioritise the issue is.

Scotland: CAP could continue
Legislation proposed in Scotland could allow CAP funding to continue during a five-year post-Brexit transition period. Besides maintaining current CAP schemes beyond 2020, it would also allow amendments to the scheme and pilots of new approaches to rural support. Scottish ministers would also be able to collect information from those carrying out “agricultural activity” or those associated with the “agri-food supply chain”. A call for evidence has been published and comments from all interested stakeholders are invited.

Wales: Intention to extend Basic Payment until 2021
Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths has confirmed that provided the next UK government makes sufficient funds available for agricultural support, a form of the Basic Payment Scheme will be offered in Wales in 2021. This would mean that 2022 becomes the earliest point at which Wales can begin its planned transition towards a single scheme designed to encourage sustainable farming practices.

Trade deal pressure
Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that the 11 month transition period, ending on 31 December 2020 would normally be far too short to negotiate a trade agreement. However Brussels will aim to have a deal in place and he would firstly prioritise nailing down the fundamentals and aspects which do not need ratification by the EU Member States national parliaments.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

Scottish wildfire caused significant emissions
A single wildfire could have released the equivalent of six days’ worth of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Analysis for the WWF by Ricardo assessed the impact of a wildfire in the Flow Country which burned for six days in May 2019. The Flow Country in the far north of Scotland is estimated to hold 400 million tonnes of carbon and is being considered for World Heritage Site status because it is a globally significant blanket peatbog habitat. The study estimated that the fire released 174,000 tonnes of carbon. If these emissions were from a coal fired power station, under the present system of the UK Carbon Price Support and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, they would cost industry around £6.7 million. WWF Scotland is calling for urgent action to protect and restore peatland; it wants the Scottish Government to commit to multi-year spending of at least £20 million per year.

EasyJet to offset emissions
EasyJet will spend £25 million per year to offset the carbon emissions from all its jet fuel use. The airline has signed a three year offsetting contract which involves 17 environmental projects and costs less than £3 per tonne of carbon offset. All the projects are accredited with Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard awards and involve promoting forestry, supporting communities and investing in renewable energy. After the three year period, EasyJet says it will have developed its own offsetting schemes. In addition to offsetting, the airline says it has reduced its emissions per passenger by 34% since 2000.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

Funds to reduce future flood damage
Flood-hit homes and businesses will be able to apply through local authorities for grants worth up to £5,000 to help them increase their resilience to flooding. It could help fund the installation of flood doors or to raise electrical circuits off ground level. It will be available in areas which were seriously affected by flooding this autumn, including South Yorkshire. Other support for flooding includes:

•  Council tax and business rate relief

•  An extension of the Farming Recovery Fund

•  A Community Recovery Grant scheme

•  Activation of the Bellwin scheme

Building heritage into neighbourhood plans
To help show local communities how heritage can be incorporated into neighbourhood plans, the National Trust has published a new guide.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Inheritance tax case: What constitutes agricultural activity?
The estate of a farmer who allowed other farmers to graze their livestock on his land in the latter years of his life has won an important appeal against HMRC. Its application for Agricultural Property Relief was initially refused by HMRC because the farmhouse and outbuildings were not “occupied for the purposes of agriculture” in the two years before Mr Gill’s death. The estate argued that separating the farm into distinct elements was incorrect as possession, control and occupation of land remained with the deceased farmer. He also kept detailed records of his work on the farm including attending to hedges, fences and weed control. Mr Gill had also played a very active role in managing the grazing of the livestock.

The First Tier Tribunal recognised the “wide range of activities that can constitute agriculture”, and concluded that by undertaking the day-to-day husbandry of the grass and animals, Mr Gill had been actively farming. The farmhouse therefore qualified for Agricultural Property Relief and the machinery for Business Property Relief. Good evidence of husbandry including up-to-date records, invoices, field books and witnesses were a key element of the estate’s case. It allowed positive husbandry to be proven and the reliefs to be extended beyond the land to relevant buildings.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

Estate has use of General Licences restricted
A Scottish estate has had its use of General Licences restricted for three years by the issuer Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH took the action based upon evidence provided by Police Scotland of wildlife crime against birds.

World’s fastest tractor
A JCB Fastrac has hit a peak speed of 153.771mph at Elvington Airfield near York. The machine claimed the Guinness World Record for the fastest tractor with an average speed of 135.191mph across a pair of one kilometre runs. The tractor was driven by motorbike rider Guy Martin who said it was a “proper privilege to be involved” but that he was a “very small cog in the machine”.

And finally…
Buoyant bovines swim for miles
Three cows are believed to have swam across four miles of open water. When Hurricane Dorian hit North Carolina, 28 wild horses and 17 cows were swept from Cedar Island by a “mini-tsunami”. All were presumed dead, yet a trio of cows were later seen grazing peacefully on another island. Cape Lookout Park spokesman BG Horvat said the animals were lucky not to have been swept out into the Atlantic. Locals are now planning a recovery effort. Cows are known to swim short distances but covering miles of open water in hurricane conditions would be considered outside their usual comfort zone.