Welcome to our Agricultural e-bulletin, a series of updates to give you some topics of current interest and the latest developments in the Agriculture sector.
In a previous article written by Ashfords' Jonathan Hickman he gave a brief summary of Agricultural Property Relief (APR), making reference to the requirements for APR to apply in situations where the property in question may not actually be farmed or occupied by the owner of the property and there is an agreement or letting in place.
In this new, follow-up article Jonathan sets out the most common forms of lettings and how they are treated for the purposes of APR.
To read more click here
For all the challenges faced by agricultural businesses in the past year, one sector of the food supply chain continues to thrive. Over the 12 months to the end of June 2018 alone, sales of organic fresh produce grew by 5.3% (according to market and consumer data provider Nielsen Scantrack).
Yet even as this organic market goes mainstream, new entrants and existing competitors are under constant threat. How can businesses in the food and drink sector, even those with a strong standing in the organic market, future proof themselves against this oncoming disruption to their supply chains?
To read more click here
If planning permission is granted for a residential property outside a recognised settlement, the permission is usually only granted if the occupation of the property is controlled through an occupancy condition.
If one seeks to remove such an occupancy condition then this is usually by an application to the Local Authority to, in effect, remove the condition from the planning consent. The process pursuant to Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which, if approved, has the effect of creating a new freestanding planning consent without the agricultural occupancy condition.
What is required to remove an agricultural occupancy condition? To read more click here
The Agricultural Credits Act 1928 ("ACA 1928") enables a farmer to grant an Agricultural Charge to a bank over all his farming stock and other agricultural assets, but not the land he farms.
An Agricultural Charge can be a fixed charge, a floating charge or both. However, any assets obtained by the farmer after the creation of the Charge will only be subject to a floating charge. Only a registered deposit taking bank or the Bank of England can take an Agricultural Charge.
To read more click here
Recent headlines featuring Pret a Manger have led to heightened public and social media interest in allergen labelling. The recent inquest into the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who suffered cardiac arrest after eating a baguette containing sesame has been widely reported upon. In addition, this has led to a second instance of a Pret customer passing away last December following an allergic reaction to dairy to surface with Pret and dairy-free yoghurt supplier COYO exchanging press releases to deflect the blame.
Interestingly, during the inquest for Natasha, the coroner concluded that he will be making a report to the Environment Secretary Michael Gove urging a review of current allergen labelling requirements. It is therefore more important than ever for businesses to review their current labelling processes.
To read more click here
On a grey morning in the Ashfords Taunton office guests were greeted by hot coffee, filo pastries, granola pots and smoked salmon to launch the first Foodie Connections event. Ashfords in partnership with PKF Francis Clark hosted the first event on the topic of growth and how to make your business look at attractive as possible to prepare for investment, funding or a sale.
Chris Ormrod, Chief Flavourista at The Flavourworks kicked off the round table discussions with key questions for the guests such as; what is important to the people who buy your products, why are you in business, and what do your shareholders want? All things that every business should be continually reviewing. Other soundbites included, you need to talk about food and make lovely food happen for other people and you need to protect your brand.
To read more click here
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