Charlie Reeve

1 week ago | fwi.co.uk | Charlie Reeve

The NFU is planning a fresh campaign to engage directly with Labour MPs in rural constituencies, to convince them of the folly of the chancellor’s plan to impose inheritance tax (IHT) on family farms. Lobbying by the NFU to alter the government’s controversial changes to IHT, have so far fallen on deaf ears at the Treasury. This is despite mass farming rallies in Westminster and suggestions of a clawback mechanism as an alternative approach for government.

2 weeks ago | fwi.co.uk | Charlie Reeve

Analysis carried out by farm business analytics company Yagro show how, after accounting for inflation, ex-farm prices for wheat have fallen in recent decades. Industry figures show 1t of wheat 50 years ago would be worth the equivalent to roughly £600/t today when factoring in inflation, putting it at more than three times current ex-farm prices.

2 weeks ago | fwi.co.uk | Charlie Reeve

An already stretched agricultural machinery sector was dealt another blow last week with the announcement of a 10% tariff on exports to the US. Agricultural machinery firms avoided the higher 25% tariff imposed on the motor industry, but will still face significant barriers to trade. Businesses are now frantically looking for solutions to reduce the impact, with costs and export sales set to be hit.

2 weeks ago | fwi.co.uk | Charlie Reeve

A new chairman of the AHDB has still not been appointed by Defra ministers, despite the application window closing back in December. Current AHDB chairman Nicholas Saphir has already served a five-year term and was due to stand down at the end of March, however he has been asked to stay on in the role until a replacement is found. Interviews should have been completed by mid-February, according to the government’s own timeline, and no further update has been provided.

3 weeks ago | fwi.co.uk | Charlie Reeve

UK wheat production has been projected at 13.1m tonnes for this year’s harvest, with favourable weather in recent months helping crops to progress in the ground. This is up by 2m tonnes on last year’s wheat crop, but still marginally below 2023 levels. The latest Crop Development report published by the AHDB, in partnership with Adas, showed that 67% of the GB winter wheat crop was classed as in either excellent or good condition at the end of March.