Tag: NFU

Sitting on a fortune- local authority farm estates rise in value

07:11 Monday 4th August 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Let’s move to farmland and the cost of it in Cambridgeshire. Apparently it costs more than ever before. The price of an acre of English farmland has risen past £10,000 for the first time ever, according to research from a national property consultancy. So is this good news for farmers, or does it limit those who want to expand? And what does it mean for those who want to enter the farm industry? Is the rising cost of land pricing out the next generation of farmers? Well Jason Beedell is Head of Research at Smiths Gore, who are rural property advisers. They have offices in Peterborough and Newmarket and elsewhere. Jason, good morning. What’s happening then to the price of farmland in Cambridgeshire? Why is it rising so steeply?
JASON BEEDELL: It’s been rising steeply all across the country, and for quite a while now.
PAUL STAINTON: So it’s not just here?
JASON BEEDELL: No no. No. For the last ten years it’s been going up, so it’s really gone up 100% over the last ten years. And that’s purely because of the demand. It’s been a relatively profitable period for farming, and so those farmers who’ve got farms and land already want to expand their businesses, so they’ve been buying.
PAUL STAINTON: We keep being told it’s difficult for farmers out there.
JASON BEEDELL: It is for some, and for some sectors it’s terribly difficult. So if you’re a dairy farmer for example, and I know there are not too many Cambridgeshire dairy farmers, but if you’re a dairy farmer, only the top 25/30% are making a profit. But for arable farmers so much more important here, it has been a good decade.
PAUL STAINTON: Right. So it’s just farmers that are wanting to expand. Is that what’s causing the spike?
JASON BEEDELL: Well most land is bought by existing farmers, and like you say it’s very difficult, very expensive for new people to buy land. But it’s also bought by investors, people who want to put their money somewhere safe. And farm land is really seen as a safe investment. And it’s also bought by just normal people like you and me, who’ve got a little bit of money, and want their patch of England. So there are three types of buyers really.
PAUL STAINTON: It could be a good investment.
JASON BEEDELL: It’s a very good investment. hardly any investments have done better during the recession, over the past ten years.
PAUL STAINTON: Well I can’t think of anywhere where you’ve got 100% return on your money.
JASON BEEDELL: In ten years?
PAUL STAINTON: Yes.
JASON BEEDELL: No no. And there are some really good inheritance tax benefits as well, if you’re an individual. So there are lots of good things about it. And people seem to love farming, not just the people who do it at the moment, but a lot of people want to get into it.
PAUL STAINTON: And Bob Lawrence is with us as well, from the Cambridgeshire National Farmers Union. Bob, morning.
BOB LAWRENCE: Good morning to you.
PAUL STAINTON: So you’ve never had it so good.
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Anaerobic Digestion in Chatteris – Renewable Energy for Cambridgeshire

08:08 Thursday 24th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Proposals to build an anaerobic digestion plant in Chatteris are being put out to consultation. If it gets the go-ahead it will see a huge plant built near the Mepal Outdoor Centre which will process maize and then turn it into energy. It could be a lifeline for some farmers, who could grow maize on their farms and then turn it into energy and act as a second income. .. Joining me on the line now is Matt Hindle who is a policy manager at the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association. Matt, good morning.
MATT HINDLE: Hi there Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: Just tell us a little bit about your association. What does it do?
MATT HINDLE: We’re the trade association for anaerobic digestion. In the UK we represent about 350 businesses who are involved in all parts of developing anaerobic digestion plants, and that can be on farms , that can be to treat food waste from homes and businesses, on food production sites and for water companies on sewage treatment sites.
PAUL STAINTON: In a nutshell, if you can, could you simplify what anaerobic digestion actually is?
MATT HINDLE: It’s not the most nattily titled technology.
PAUL STAINTON: No it’s not. I’ve been struggling with it all morning. energy from waste is easier
MATT HINDLE: Well that can encapsulate a number of things, and anaerobic digestion is one particular process. It’s a natural process. It uses bacteria to break down organic matter from the sort of material I’ve just mentioned, so food waste, farm material and sewage waste. But anything with organic content basically. That’s broken down in the absence of oxygen, hence anaerobic. And that produces biogas, which is captured to produce renewable energy, and is a very flexible form of renewable energy.
PAUL STAINTON: So there’s no burning going on, or anything like that. It’s just a natural way of doing it.
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The Newborough And Thorney Solar Debate

19:00 on Friday 13th December 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: So tonight (Thursday 12th December 2013) we bring everybody together that’s got something relevant to say about one of the biggest issues that I’ve ever known in Peterborough, in the 25 years I’ve lived in and around the city, the grand Newborough and Thorney solar debate. We also bring together two people who have played out a bit of a debate in public as well. The MP for Peterborough, Stewart Jackson, and the Leader of the Council, Marco Cereste. The key facts: the debate is about 900 acres of farmland North of Peterborough (East), described as good quality land, most of it around Newborough Thorney and Eye, fields that are used to farm crops to feed what is an ever-growing, as well known, population. But cover it in solar panels is the plan, and some wind turbine,. and you have, according to the Leader of the City Council, an income that will protect front line services. It will mean the people of Peterborough will have more, pay less, at a time when the Government has put the squeeze on local councils. Well tonight we’ll look at the wider issues, around the financial challenges of the Council, around the potential black hole in five years time in their finances, and how do we balance farm land, green energy, sustainability and the future of our children. We begin though with the two men who have been it’s fair to say I think right at the heart of the debate. We’ll start with Leader of the Council Marco Cereste. Marco, good evening. And just explain your position if you would.
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Cambs Carnage in Coalition Shuffle

07:41 Wednesday 5th September 2012
Cambridgeshire’s Bigger Breakfast
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: David Cameron didn’t show a lot of love to our Cambridgeshire MPs yesterday. Andrew Lansley demoted to Leader of the House, Jonathan Djanogly of Huntingdon lost his job as Justice Minister. And earlier, former MP and GP Dr Richard Taylor told us he was flabbergasted by Mr Lansley’s demotion, and doubted Jeremy Hunt’s credentials to take on the health portfolio. (TAPE)
DR RICHARD TAYLOR: I think Cameron wants to get rid of him, because he knows he has made himself very unpopular. But, to give him his credit, he has worked incredibly hard, and studied the NHS for years and years, because he was the Shadow Heath Secretary. Now the worry about Hunt is that he comes in, what is his background? We know very very little about him. What does he know about health? (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well despite being a critic of Mr Lansley’s changes. Dr Taylor wanted the South Cambridgeshire MP to stay on in the role. He also said the changes raised more questions than answers. (TAPE)
DR RICHARD TAYLOR: Is it a sign that David Cameron is genuinely thinking of watering down the proposals somewhat? Is it for Jeremy Hunt a reward for the Olympics? Or is it a punishment for Murdoch for giving him what is an absolutely impossible job? (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well if all that wasn’t enough, MP for South East Cambridgeshire, Jim Paice, was also sacked as Farming Minister. Bob Lawrence is the County Chairman of the NFU. There’s a lot of love for Jim in them there fields, isn’t there? Continue reading “Cambs Carnage in Coalition Shuffle”