Hydrogen heating, climate friendly milk, Ox/Cam arc

Our weekly dose of news, views and insight from the world of farming, food and landownership

Milk producers generally get a good bashing from climate change campaigners so it’s great to read the results of a study that shows UK dairy farmers produce carbon emissions well below the global average. It shows that focusing on, or even demonising, specific sectors is not necessarily the right approach when it comes to hitting net zero aspirations. Management techniques and the role of improved technology and nutrient can be just as important.

Please do get in touch with me or my colleagues mentioned below if you’d like to discuss any of the issues covered. We’d love to hear from you

Andrew Shirley, Head of Rural Research

In this week’s update:

• Commodity markets – Beef holds firm
• Oxford/Cambridge arc – Landowners should have their say
• Residential portfolios – Heating for the future podcast available
• Residential lets – Scottish landlords hit by licencing charge
• Climate change 1 – Net zero plans hit Northern Irish farmers
• Climate change 2 – UK milk producers have low carbon footprint
• The Rural Report – Sign up to watch our ground-breaking video
• Overseas news – Taliban says poppy farming to cease

Commodity markets – Beef holds firm

A drop in the number of prime cattle being slaughtered is helping to sustain high prices, according to the latest stats from Defra. Abattoir throughput was down 10% year-on-year in July. In terms of beef consumption the AHDB expects volumes to fall slightly in 2021, but remain above pre-pandemic levels.

Oxford/Cambridge arc – Landowners should have their say

Landowners within the Oxford/Cambridge development arc (covering Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire) have about six weeks left to respond to two consultations on the growth proposals for the area that could see the creation of one million new homes and 700,000 new jobs.

• Oxfordshire Call for Ideas consultation, which is open until 8th October.
• Ox-Cam Arc consultation, which is open until 12th October.

Roland Brass, a Partner in Knight Frank’s planning team says: “The ambitious Ox Cam arc targets aim to deliver much more than just housing, but seek economic development, sustainable place-making, great design and importantly the provision of supporting community, energy and green/blue infrastructure.

“The consultation documents are intended for all interested parties and we strongly suggest that any landowners in the area consider making representations, as this provides an early opportunity to shape future plans.”

For more information please contact Roland

Residential portfolios – Heating for the future podcast available

Residential landlords, or for that matter any homeowner, will be wondering how their houses will be heated in the future as conventional fossil fuel boilers are gradually phased out. The latest in our Intelligence Talks podcast series, hosted by my research colleague Anna Ward, addresses the issue with contributions from our energy expert David Goatman and Graham Cooley, CEO of hydrogen specialist ITM Power.

Residential lets – Scottish landlords hit by licencing charge

Anybody planning to rent out accommodation, such as holiday cottages, B&B, spare rooms or glamping tents, on short-term lets in Scotland will have to apply for a licence for each premises being let. From 1 October 2022, new hosts must not take bookings without a licence.

Existing hosts who make an application before 1 April 2023 can continue operating while their application is being determined. Fees will be set by local licencing agencies.

Read the full regulations

Climate change 1 – Net zero plans hit Northern Irish farmers

Plans by the Northern Irish government to help achieve net zero by 2045 could devastate the agricultural sector, according to a new report from KPMG cattle and sheep numbers would fall by 86% with the dairy sector all but wiped out. Over £10bn could be wiped from the economy with 13,000 people losing their jobs, predicts the gloomy report.

Climate change 2 – UK milk producers have low carbon footprint

A report produced by milk processor Arla concludes that the business’s direct suppliers produce carbon dioxide emissions of just 1.13kg per litre of milk, which is about half the global average and slightly better than the UK average. The dairy co-op wants to cut its farmers’ emmissions 30% by 2030.

Water abstraction licences – Charging consultation opens

Natural England has just launched a consultation on how those who abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water a day, including farmers who use it for irrigation, should be charged. Based on recent projections, says the CLA, more than 3.4 billion additional litres per day will be needed in England by 2050, 23% more than today’s supplies.

The consultation closes on 10 November and the new charging scheme will then be implemented from 1 April 2022.

The Rural Report – Sign up to watch our ground-breaking video

This year’s edition of The Rural Report, our unique publication for rural landowners and their advisors, launched last month with a video highlighting some of its key content around the topic of ESG. If you missed it, you can sign up to watch on demand at your leisure. It was a lot of fun making it and includes a thought provoking interview on diversity, with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones AKA The Black Farmer. I think you’ll find it both entertaining and informative.

Sign up to watch The Rural Report launch video

Overseas news – Taliban says poppy farming to cease

Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of heroin, accounting for 80% to 90% of global supply. In 2020 the area devoted to the crop rose 37% to around 224,000 hectares. Prices, however, have slumped significantly, according to this report from Sky News.

The new Taliban government has said it will end the production of opium, but give the country’s reliance on the income from illegal narcotics – a fifth of its GDP comes from the crop – this seems unlikely without huge amounts of Western support.