The tour, entitled Learning to Farm With No Support is aimed at future leaders of the agricultural sector, the study tour will provide an insight to min/no till systems and role of GM’s together with establishing the competitive threat of low cost beef to UK Agriculture. Delegates will see how other farmers and competitors on the world commodity markets operate their businesses and how some of the simplicity of approach to production and margin protection may be applied to UK agriculture.  This study tour is being run with grant support from Landskills East. For further information and booking details, please see the attached.

The Coalition Government has made the promise of being the ‘greenest government ever’ but property and business consultants Brown & Co are concerned whether this will materialise.

Brown & Co recently held two machinery auctions, one at Elm House Farm, Weston Hills near Spalding and the other at Cliff Farm, Pinxton near Nottingham.

Property and business consultants Brown & Co are opening an office in Ely adding to their network of ten offices throughout the East of England.

Responding to rising demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) farms – generating electricity from solar radiation – a new site tendering service to help farmers and landowners obtain the best deal has been launched by Brown & Co.

With uncertainty hanging over future UK energy supplies, renewable energy alternatives are becoming increasingly attractive to a wide range of businesses in East Anglia and the East Midlands, say business consultants Brown & Co.

As the renewal date for Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) schemes looms farmers must reapply on time to avoid a gap in funding, says Brown & Co agricultural business consultant, Andrew Fundell.

Having recently moved to the Atrium, on St George’s Street, Brown & Co has wasted no time expanding its Norwich based rural team with two appointments – Edward Plumb as a graduate land agent and Henry Barringer as an assistant to the agri-environmentalconsultancy team.

To help the region’s farmers tackle spiralling energy costs, a group of Brown & Co consultants and clients returned last week from a fact finding tour of farms in northern Germany exploiting solar photovoltaic (PV) technology – generating electricity from solar radiation.

Visitors to Brown & Co’s stand at Cereals (B436) have the opportunity to enter a competition to win a Renewable Energy Audit and a bottle of champagne.

With growing demand for clear and impartial advice on renewable energy, Brown & Co’s agricultural consultancy team has launched a new service for farmers to help them capitalise on the benefits and opportunities.

Business consultant Rob Meadley has joined Brown & Co’s Brigg based agricultural team bringing specialist knowledge in renewable energy.

Agriculture is considered contra-cyclical, so if the general economy is set to improve what steps can East Anglian farmers take to ensure their businesses remain strong?

Agricultural business consultancy Brown & Co has opened an office in Melton Mowbray to serve existing clients in the area and offer services further afield.

Agricultural business consultants Brown & Co have identified a potential problem with leased Single Payment Entitlements reverting back to landlords without warning.

“In 20 years of giving farm business advice I can’t remember a more volatile year,” says arable consultant Paul White.

Water resource management is becoming more important in agriculture as it strives to compete against global warming and other industries for their share of water.

With agricultural profitability once more taking a nosedive, the availability of grant funding should be considered before starting any new on farm project.

The roller-coaster ride is back – commodity prices are falling and input prices are rising resulting in an imbalance between risk and reward. But Guy Plenderleith, agricultural consultant at Brown & Co’s Bury St Edmunds office says, despite the financial squeeze this puts on Contract Farming, it is possible to ‘keep the show on the road’.

Having recently graduated from Newcastle University, James Thomas has joined property and business consultants Brown & Co as an Assistant Agricultural Business Consultant.

With the rising cost of new high performance farm machinery combined with falling commodity prices, Brown & Co reports a significant increase in farm businesses looking to collaborate to purchase key equipment.

Agricultural business consultant Paul White has returned to his roots in South Lincolnshire to establish a new department at Brown & Co’s Spalding office.

A recent Brown & Co farm machinery survey reveals over 60% of farmers in the East of England are in the market for new machinery with dealer backup as important as price in the decision making process.

Livestock farmers will feel the most pain in regard to defra’s new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) proposals, warns Nick Steed, environmental consultant with Brown & Co.

Brown & Co’s has expanded its international land agency and farm management/ consultancy services to South America, opening a brokerage and consultancy business in conjunction with Argentine partners this summer.

Following the recent foray of communication from the NFU and British Sugar, Charles Whitaker of Brown & Co advises farmers to think carefully before committing to sugar beet for the ’09 season.

With the current crime wave hitting agriculture in this region, farmers should take steps to make sure they are adequately insured, urges land agent Chris Purllant, of Brown & Co’s King’s Lynn office.

A unique new independent crop risk management package – incorporating comprehensive training and optional ongoing specialist advice – is to be launched at Cereals 2008 by agricultural business consultants Brown & Co.

Arable farmers must not be seduced by theoretical margins and consider ’09 land use options carefully, warns Brown & Co agricultural business consultant Charles Whitaker.

Well known Derbyshire hill farmer and previous NFU county chair Andrew Critchlow has joined property and business consultants Brown & Co.

As the all-important May 15 deadline approaches, farmers and growers should be turning their attention to completing their 2008 SP5 forms while taking note of important changes, says Edward Blundy of Brown & Co’s Spalding office.

James Brown has been appointed a trainee farm business consultant at Brown & Co’s King’s Lynn office.

Having provided legal and technical advice to farmers and landowners as an NFU Callfirst adviser – on topics ranging from cross compliance to water and drainage -Martin Newton has joined the business consultancy team of Brown & Co.

A major Business Link contract to bolster the flow and provision of information to the region’s farmers, growers and other land based businesses has been awarded by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to Brown & Co, in a consortium with Andersons and Ipl.

Rising food prices are boosting turnovers in some sectors of the region’s farming community, however escalating fuel, chemical and labour costs are eroding a large proportion of the gains, says Paul White of Brown & Co.

A Fresh Start Academy for the Wolds, being launched at Bishop Burton College, aims to help tackle succession in the region’s farming community.

Having pedalled over 500 miles in a week, Brown & Co agricultural business consultant Philip Dunn, and son Ben, presented a cheque for £10,536.48 to Macmillan Cancer Support this week.

Richard Alderson has taken on a consultancy role with the expanding agricultural business consultancy team at property and business consultants Brown & Co.

At busy times of the year, such as during harvesting, some farmers are inadvertently breaching cross compliance regulations which can be a costly mistake, warns Peter Caley of Brown & Co.

Global beer consumption rose by 6%* last year and, with a worldwide shortage of hops, Tim Passmore of the Suffolk Hop Company is confident the recently reintroduced crop has a great future in East Anglia.

As routine arable crop margins rise and sugar beet becomes the poor relation, Brown & Co’s Andrew Fundell believes growers should renegotiate and seek an extraordinary price adjustment to help secure the beet area and grower commitment for the future.

With over £3 billion of new grant funding for farmers and rural businesses on the horizon, agricultural business consultants Brown & Co are urging farmers in North Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire to start planning ahead.

With over £3 billion of new grant funding for farmers and rural businesses on the horizon, agricultural business consultants Brown & Co urge farmers in the eastern region to start planning ahead.

Leading by example, the Grantham office of property and business consultants Brown & Co has gone ‘Carbon Neutral’ – offsetting its carbon emissions against a new scheme helping to restore ancient woodlands at Bardney Limewoods near Lincoln.

Brown & Co’s new carbon footprinting services for agricultural businesses set out to help reduce energy and CO2 emissions and deliver benefits to the bottom line.

Time is running out for Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk farmers and landowners in designated catchment sensitive areas to apply for up to £10,000 grant funding to help reduce the impact of agriculture on the region’s waterways, warns environmental consultant Tony Hargreaves, of Brown & Co.

Rachael Mowbray has been appointed a trainee agricultural and farm business consultant with the expanding Brigg team of Brown & Co.

Experienced environmental scientist Tony Hargreaves has been appointed to lead a new Environment Team at the Bury St Edmunds office of property and business consultants Brown & Co.

Farm business consultant Philip Dunn has been made a partner of business and property consultants Brown & Co.

Contract farming is coming back in to fashion according to Rob Hughes, of property and business consultants Brown & Co.

Two neighbouring West Norfolk farmers, operating a joint venture supplying potatoes to Tesco, have been awarded this year’s Grower Long Service Award in recognition of the first class service and quality of their produce.

Paul White of property and business consultants Brown & Co believes a general air of optimism is returning to UK farming but warns there is no room for complacency.

Sir Ben Gill, former NFU president, is taking centre stage at two Lincolnshire seminars – ‘Energising Farming Assets’ – exploring new possibilities for UK farmers aimed at reversing the downward trend in farm incomes.