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Rural Professional
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Whitton Charity Lands Grass Keep
McCartneys (Knighton) report a very brisk trade on the annual sale of grass keep at Whitton, Nr Presteigne on behalf of Dame Anna Childs Charity. In total some 147 acres of keep was offered in 15 lots. Top price was £465 per acre and 7 lots made in excess of £300 per acre. The overall average was well in excess of £200 per acre.
There was definitely more interest shown in the keep and this is doubtless due to the large lamb crop and also a shortage of grass due to the continued dry cold weather. McCartneys have a further 1500 acres of grass keep available for sale by auction or tender. Contact your local office for further details or see our grass keep sales page on our website.
www.mccartneys.co.uk/content/Rural_Professional/Grass_Keep_Mowing_Grass_and_Standing_Straw_Sales/ -
Established Agricultural Consultants Firm Joins McCartneys
McCartneys auctioneers and land agents are pleased to announce that they have been joined by P J Jennings Associates Agricultural Consultants.
P J Jennings Associates is a long established firm of agricultural consultants who have been offering a wide range of consultancy and management advice to farmers. Clients range from small holders to the largest agricultural businesses in Herefordshire and surrounding counties.
The acquisition of this business extends the professional services offered by McCartneys.
Mr Gareth Wall, McCartneys partner at Kington who will be overseeing the new venture commented;
“We at McCartneys are delighted to have the opportunity to extend our professional services in the farm and business management area. We feel we can now offer an up to date and beneficial service to farmers and landowners in this present busy and technical age, when precise management is vital to the survival of a business”.
Peter Jennings will continue to act as consultant to McCartneys during the amalgamation of the two businesses.
Gareth Wall can be contacted at 01544 230 316 or 07974 143 336. -
Give Glastir a second chance
The application window for Glastir All-Wales Element agreements to start on 1st January 2013 is now open. Many of us dismissed Glastir last time around thinking it was too restrictive, however perhaps it is now time to seriously reconsider with an improved scheme on offer. The last Tir Mynydd payments have been made, existing Tir Cynnal and Tir Gofal agreements are coming to an end and forthcoming reforms of the CAP suggest historic subsidy payments will be cut. Glastir is the only scheme on offer to replace all of these income streams.
The Welsh Assembly undertook a rigorous review of the scheme after the initial low uptake. There is now a wider range of management options on offer, including new less restrictive options, and an increased payment of £34 per hectare. This makes the scheme far more practical and achievable.
The current application window runs from 30th January – 30th March 2013. For sound advice on completing your application and choosing the most suitable management options for you and your business contact your local McCartneys’ agent.
Jenny Layton Mills / Katie Morris – Knighton office Tel. 01547 528621
Katie Morris - Welshpool office Tel. 01938 531000
Gareth Wall – Kington office Tel. 01544 230316 -
England Catchment Sensitive Farming Capital Grant Scheme is open for another year
The popular England Catchment Sensitive Farming Capital Grant Scheme will be open once again this year for applications from 1st March to 30th April 2012.
The scheme remains available to the existing 50 priority catchments, locally including River’s Teme, Lugg, Wye and Leadon, with special target areas within these wider catchments.
There is a wide range of capital works that are funded through the scheme including roofing of manure stores and livestock gathering areas, concreting yards, watercourse fencing, installing watergates, livestock drinking bays and tanks to name a few. Two new options are being offered this year, these are installation of biofilters and fencing alongside livestock tracks.
A maximum grant of £10,000 is available per holding however the way in which grant payment is calculated has changed. This year payments for capital items will be based on 50% of the actual cost of agreed capital works up to the maximum guide price as shown in the scheme handbook.
Application packs can now be ordered from Natural England on 0300 060 1111.
For sound advice on completing you application contact your local McCartneys agent.
Jenny Layton Mills / Katie Morris, Knighton office Tel. 01547 528621
Gareth Wall/ Ameila Illingsworth, Kingoton office Tel. 01544 230316
Katie Morris, Welshpool office Tel. 01938 531000
Philip Blackman Howard /Tom Greenow, Worcester office Tel. 01905 769770 -
Rural Professional Jenny Layton-Mills Looks Back on 2011
McCartneys Livestock Markets and Rural Professional Department have had another very successful 12 months throughout their 17 offices and 5 livestock markets. With an outstanding year on lamb and cull ewe prices McCartneys have sold over 500,000 finished lambs and cull ewes with many vendors selling live again. It just proves that selling live is the most transparent method of selling livestock. They have also sold over 70,000 finished and store cattle, again with much better prices than in 2010. The most worrying part is the shortage of suckler cows that remains. Over 20,000 breeding ewes and 90,000 store lambs have also been sold in seasonal sales.
The Rural Professional Department has been working hard too with over 12,000 acres let annually on grazing and arable licences. Licence fees have risen generally by over 30% on 2010 due to the high demand. Over 540 SPS applications were completed on behalf of clients together with advice in relation to the new Basic Payment Scheme.
Land and farm sales have totalled 4,010 acres with process continuing to rise with demand outstripping supply and land prices reaching over £10,000 per acre. Professionals have also been conducting many valuations, tax valuations, compulsory purchase claims and ELS/HLS schemes to name a few.
2012 will be another interesting year and Rural Professional Chairman Jenny Layton Mills states:
“We hope that the euro crisis will not affect the livestock prices in a negative way. With lamb and cull ewe trades at an all time high we hope farmers will re-invest into sheep as they see fit. Cattle are short nationally and now is the opportunity to re-invest in suckler cows. 2012 will be another learning curve as the story will unravel with regard to the new basic payment scheme”.
McCartneys would like to thank all their clients and customers in 2011 and wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year. -
Experienced Rural Professional joins McCartneys
McCartneys are delighted to announce the appointment of Phillip Blackman-Howard.
Phillip who has a wealth of experience and a career of over 30 years in the agricultural sector will join McCartneys based at their Worcester Office.
John Uffold Chairman of McCartneys said “We are extremely pleased that Phillip Blackman-Howard has decided to join us. He will bring a new dimension to our Rural Team. He has a wide professional following and is highly regarded in the rural community. McCartneys cover an extensive geographical area and offer a comprehensive range of professional services. Phillip will add to the diversity of service based upon professionalism with strong local contacts”
Phillip who is Herefordshire born and bred lives at Rowden, Near Bromyard. Married to Jo for 22 years he has two daughters. He enjoys hunting and has been Joint Master of the North Herefordshire Foxhounds for 19 years.
Phillip said “I am keen to progress McCartneys rural business and look forward to offering a high quality service to McCartneys clients throughout the area”
Philip can be contacted at Worcester Market on 01905 769770, his mobile 07815 743478 or e-mail at phillip.blackmanhoward@mccartneys.co.uk. -
Mid Wales Land Sales Up £8,100 Per Acre
McCartneys Knighton Office are pleased to report a very successful sale of land at Newbridge on Wye, sold by Public Auction on Friday 14th October 2011.
In all some 54.27 acres of good pasture land-forming part of The Lletty Farm was offered for sale in two lots.
‘The sale had sparked a lot of local interest’ comments McCartneys Agent Jenny Layton Mills, ‘it is very rare that a substantial block of land comes for sale in this area’.
In front of a packed auction room at the Metropole Hotel Lot 1 was offered comprising 37.08 acres. The bidding started at £200,000 and rose to reach the eventual sale price of £302,000 (£8,144 per acre). The competition remained strong for Lot 2 being 17.19 acres. Bids started at £90,000 and did not ease until the land sold at £130,000 (£7,562 per acre).
‘It is a fantastic result, we are really pleased’ says Jenny Layton Mills ‘It shows that there must be optimism for the future and that land remains one of the safest long term investments’. -
Top Breeder Joins McCartneys
Mark Lewis from Nash Farm, Milson, Cleobury Mortimer joins McCartneys as one of the Field Officer Team which serve McCartneys network of 5 Livestock Markets. Mark joins McCartneys from a strong agricultural background with a vast knowledge in livestock procurement (Sheep, Store Cattle, Prime Cattle and Fat Stock in general) both in live auctions and for the wholesale meat trade.
With experienced breeding knowledge, Mark is a breeder of Pedigree Limousin Cattle and takes regular trips to France to find new bloodlines and genetics to produce quality livestock, as seen in his Junior Stock Bull (Eldorado) Reserve Overall Intermediate Champion at the recent Limousin Show held in Carlisle.
Mark is well known through Suffolk Sheep circles also for breeding pedigree Suffolk Sheep, again concentrating on the production of quality rams for commercial farmers.
After farming in Northumberland for many years Mark has returned to his roots by moving back to farm in the area that he grew up in.
On joining McCartneys Mark commented ‘ I am very pleased to be joining McCartneys as they are one of the major players in the region as regards livestock sales and the position has presented me with a great opportunity to utilize my skills and experience, hopefully to further the name of McCartneys both commercially and for pedigree stock’
John Uffold Chairman of McCartneys and auctioneer at Ludlow concludes ‘Mark Lewis has all the right experience and knowledge to be able to help our farming clients in a hands on way to produce and market livestock to the benefit of not only themselves but also to meet the needs of the buyers who attend our sales regularly’ -
Media attention for McCartneys Auctioneer
It was fantastic to see one of our professionals in the media recently, Jenny Layton-Mills our Auctioneer and Rural Professional at Knighton was featured in not one but two publications. An excellent article in The Farmers Guardian for Women on the Rostrum and an interview in RICS Modus Magazine for her insight into working as a Rural property and land expert, Livestock auctioneer and chair of our Rural Professional department here at McCartneys. It’s great to see our professionals in the media and showing that we really do care about what we do and the service that we provide to our clients here at McCartneys.
I’m sure we will continue to see Jenny and our professionals in the media, as local people we not only pride ourselves on the support we provide our clients but also to our local communities too. -
McCartneys Welcome Tom Greenow to the Worcester Market team.
Worcester Market welcomes a new member to it’s team. Tom Greenow joins us from a strong agricultural background, born to a large Herefordshire farming family in 1990 Tom spent much of his time helping on his Father’s mixed livestock farm in Dinedor. He attended Hereford Cathedral School, before going on to The Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester to complete a BSc (Hons) in Rural Land Management. He has conducted machinery auctions throughout Herefordshire since 2008 and was regularly to be seen in markets across the county. He has a passion for seeing good quality livestock produced and believes the role of the Market is essential for the future of farming.
McCartneys are very pleased to have Tom on board and he is swiftly becoming a valid member of our team, assisting with auctions, specialist sales and attending shows to give advice and welcome clients.
-w120h80q80c0.jpg "Rob Evans presents Mark Lewis with his Junior Stock Bull Eldorado, Reserve Overall Intermediate Champion at the recent Limousin Show held in Carlisle")
