The new Single Payment Scheme, now looming large on the horizon, is set to bring with it new greening complications and already questions are being asked about the impact of ploughing up land which is classified as permanent grassland.

Fields which have been down to grass for five years of more have been denoted as PP1 in England and GR2 in Wales on this year’s Single Payment application.

It’s important to note, the long standing taboo that land defined as permanent pasture on your SPS form cannot be ploughed is misleading and not entirely accurate.  

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A landlord’s life is not always an easy one, as the Rostons team has been discovering in recent months.

The team is receiving more and more instructions from traditional landlords or former farmers  who have let their land out on a variety of agreements, because a lack of pro-activity from the previous agents which, in turn, has raised a number of issues.

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Reaction to the last edition of Farming Focus has proven that demand for land for purchase remains strong.

In the opinion of Tony Rimmer, Director of Rostons, while the heat has gone out of the market generally, demand is stronger than ever for the right parcels of land. The Cheshire average is holding steady at £8,000 to £10,000 per acre – and in a number of locations £10,000 to £15,000 can be readily achieved.

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Rostons has recently agreed the first deals of the 2015 entitlement trading period. Even though the busy 2014 trading period only finished in April it won’t be long until deals are being agreed for this year’s trading.

In previous years, late spring and early summer has proven to be a quiet time in trading terms, but this year appears to be different. Even though the April 2nd deadline has only recently passed we have already received an unusually high number of enquiries and expressions of interest from both buyers and sellers.

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With the latest round of Single Farm Payment forms just completed, Rostons Director Tony Rimmer is concerned that many farmers have failed to grasp the important changes that will arise from the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme.

With many farmers beginning to plan how they will deal with the Greening issues and the associated Ecological Focus Areas and Crop Diversification it’s clear that greater understanding and professional advice is needed.

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Cheshire West & Chester Council has opened up a second call for sites to be added to their Local Plan and to be put forward to the Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment.

If you have any land which you believe is ripe for development, or borders housing within a village or town, you should submit details to the Council in the appropriate format prior to the 19th June 2014.

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While not normally ones for grand celebrations, Rostons directors Ros and Tony Rimmer are making an exception this year to mark their 10th anniversary of running their own business.

The husband-and-wife team initially operated as Carver Knowles (NW) Limited before becoming Rostons.

Ros said: “To mark this momentous occasion, we are planning some small events – the first of which will be at the Nantwich Show.

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The number of enquiries about biomass boilers received by Rostons is continuing to climb because farmers are looking to take advantage of the Governments Renewable Heat Incentive and make savings on heating costs for cottages, grain drying or kiln drying to name a few.

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