Rural Bulletin: 15 February 2018

Scottish farmland value up in 2017

The average value of Scottish farmland increased slightly by 1% during 2017, according to the latest results of the Knight Frank Scottish Farmland Index.

Prices ended the year at £4,271/ac, however, performance varied depending on land type, said the report. Good arable land and hill land recorded the biggest gain, up 3% year-on-year to £9,319/ac and £719/ac, respectively, while the best arable land in sought after locations commanded premiums of up to 20%.

In contrast, poorer quality and smaller blocks of arable and grazing land were less in demand which kept prices static in 2017.

Read the full report. 

MoD pays out £2m to farmers after spooking livestock

The Ministry of Defence has paid out £1.9m to farmers to compensate for the distress caused to livestock by low flying jets and helicopters.

Over the past four years, there have been 22 payouts to poultry farmers totalling £240,000. They had claimed the distress caused birds to stop laying and trample each other to death in panic.

The biggest payment over this period was £79,041 to a poultry farmer in East Sussex after claiming hundreds of birds died from panic after a low flying Chinook flew overhead. 

A spokesman for the British Egg Industry told the Times: “Low flying aircraft can cause the birds to smother in a panic reaction. Smothering is when the hens all pile on top of each other, sometimes against an obstacle such as a wall. The ones at the bottom suffocate. Many hundred of birds can be lost in this way.”

TB slaughterings up 10% in 2017

The number of TB-infected cattle slaughtered in Britain increased by 10% in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to latest statistics released by Defra this week.

Between November 2016 and 2017, 43,590 animals were killed in England, Wales and Scotland as a result of TB. Driving this, was an increase in new herd incidents - totalling 3,878 in England – 3,326 of which were in the high-risk area. In the edge area, incidents were up by 7% to 421.

In terms of individual countries, Wales saw the biggest increase for new herd incidents, up 16% compared with the previous year.

Under one month left to apply for productivity grant

Leading industry bodies are warning farmers not to miss out on a new productivity grant scheme as the closing date for applications quickly approaches.

The government’s £60m Countryside Productivity Small Grants Scheme was launched only last week, however, applications are due to close in just under a month on 14 March. The scheme is available to farmers in England and will award payments of between £3,000 and £12,000 to put towards equipment which will improve the productivity of their farm. 

With a large volume of applications expected, industry bodies are urging farmers to submit applications well ahead of the deadline.

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