AG Flashcards
Different methods of farming?
- Inhand
- Tenanted
- Contract Farming agreement
- Share farmingH
How wide is a typical SPF barn bay?
6 metres
How to calculate how many tonnes of wheat in a store?
- Walk the heap and get dimensions (wxhxl)
- Divide by specific weight of the crop
- Divide volume but 1.33 to reach tonnage
What does APHA stand for?
Animal and Plant health agency
what does AIPZ stand for?
Avian Influenza Prevention Zone
What is a CPH?
County Parish Holding number
- required for livestock traceability by DEFRA
What is the average year for a shepard?
October/November - Tupping
April/May - Lambing
Rest of the year - Fattening lambs, worming, fly spraying, shearing and dipping.
What is an NVZ?
Nitrate Vulnerable Zone
What are some dairy breeds of cattle?
Holstein
Fresian
Gurnsey
Jersey
How many acres in hectare?
2.471
What factors affect yield?
- Soil Type
- Structure
- Rotation
- Weather/climate
- Disease
What is a contract farming agreement?
Where the landowner supplied the land and buildings and the contractor supplies the machinery & labour.
Profits are typically split in some way.
What are some crop diseases?
- Black grass
- Blight
- Take all
What does DEFRA stand for?
The department for the environment, food and rural affairs
What are different soil types?
- Sand
- clay
- Silt
- Loam
- Peat
Why is it important to have a break crop?
To break the cycle of weeds, pests and diseases by replacing nutrients in the soil such as nitrogen.
What is a gross margin
Revenue minus costs for a specific good.
What are common types of fertilizers?
Nitrogen
Phossuras
Potasium
Gestation periods
Cow - 9 months
Sheep - 147 Days (5 Months)
Pig - 114 days (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)
What is an example of good husbandary?
- Good paperwork records
- Adequate ventilation
- Access to food and water
- Good bedding.
What is the governing legislation of agricultural and what did it introduce?
The Agriculture Act 2020
- Removal of BPS and introduction of replacement schemes
What is a type of cover crop?
- Grasses (Rye)
- Legumes (Clover)
- Brassicas (Turnips)
What is a cover crop?
A plant used to cover the soil rather than for harvest.
- used to manage soil erosion, fertility, quaility etc.
What have been some big changes in the AG land market in the last 12 months?
- Introduction and amendments to schemes
- Introduction of BNG
What is the role of DEFRA and the RPA?
DEFRA are the policy makers and RPA are the processors of the policy with a payment portal to support them.
What is grass silage?
Chopped grass that is then usually clamped and fermented to encourage sugars to be released.
– Used as winter feed for cattle
What rules are imposed in an NVZ?
- Closed periods for not spreading manures
- Strict record keeping of spreading
- Slurry stores
- Risk maps
What is a killing out percentage?
Determines how much suitable carcase wight is obtainable
Cattle - 55%
Pig - 75%
Sheep - 45%
Can you explain what a typical farming system would look like in your area?
Primarily livestock with supplementary arable with few dairy.
What are different types of beef systems?
Typically;
Suckler - Calves bred on farm and sold as calves, stored or finished
Stores to sell - Calves bought in and sold again around 15-18 months
Finishing - Purchased 15-18 months old to finish for slaughter
What is a shearling?
Young sheep/lamb that is weaned but not been sheared.
Usually 9-18 months old
What has happened to entitlements/BPS payments
Entitlements are being phased out from 2024 to 2027
What is an entitlement?
The means to collect payments under BPS and farmers should hold an entitlement for every ha of eligible land they claim under.
When can you cut hedges
Between 1st September to 1st March
What legislation governs hedge cutting?
The Wildlife and Countryisde Act 1981
What factors are affecting land sales market currently?
- High interest rates
- Two wet summers means harvest are depleted
- for investors and change following government budget and APR
When would you choose a contract farming agreement over fbt?
- When wanting great control for the land owner
- Tax benefits
- Can retain vacant possession quicker.
What were 2023 entitlement rates per ha?
£233 non SDA
£231 SDA
£64 Moorland
What does SDA stand for?
Severely disadvantaged area
What legislation governs the management of Hedgerows?
The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024
and;
Hedgerow regulations 1997.
- Requires a 2 metre buffer strip
- Cutting ban from 1st March - 31st August
What does the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 do?
Offers protection to wild birds, their eggs and nests. There are some exemptions but the act generally stops;
- Intentionally killing, injuring or taking any wild bird.
- Intentionally taking, damaging or destroying the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.
- Intentionally taking or destroying the egg of any wild bird.
- Possessing wild birds (dead or alive) and their eggs
- Using traps, poison or similar items to kill, injure or take wild birds.
What are the exemptions under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981?
The most notable exceptions to the Wildlife and Countryside Act include:
An authorised person (eg a landowner or occupier) may kill or take, in certain situations and by certain methods, so called ‘pest species’ and destroy or take the nest or eggs of such a bird. This is allowed under the terms of General Licences issues by government departments (see Licences).
It is not illegal to destroy a nest, egg or bird if it can be shown that the act was the incidental result of a legal operation which could not reasonably have been avoided.
A person may kill or injure a wild bird, other than one included on Schedule 1, if they can show, subject to a number of specific conditions, that their action was necessary to preserve public health or air safety, prevent spread of disease, or prevent serious damage to livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, or fisheries (contact Defra for more information).
A person may take or kill (or injure in attempting to kill) a bird listed on Schedule 2, Part I, outside the close season (see Schedules).
A person may take a wild bird if the bird has been injured other than by their own hand and their sole purpose is to tend it and then release it when no longer disabled. These provisions enable people to care for sick, injured or orphaned birds. Additionally, a wild bird may be killed if it is so seriously disabled as to be beyond recovery. Sick and injured birds listed on Schedule 4 should be registered with Defra.
When might a licence be permitted under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981?
TO permit an otherwise illegal act for some reasons such as;
- Scientific or educational work
- ringing or marking
- Preventing the spread of disease.
When might you apply lime to the ground?
- To balance the PH levels in the soil
What would be the average lambing percentage for a lowland flock?
Average between 170-180%
What is the current milk price?
August price - 40.62p
What is the current price of red diesel?
68p/litre
What is share farming?
Where a landowner and a farmer operator run separate farming businesses on the same land, with the landowner providing and looking after the property and the operator undertaking the farming. They share a common gross output from the farming of the land divided between them on an agreed basis, with each having the exposure to risk that that may give. Each business carries its own costs
What are the tax implications of contract farming?
- The two businesses remain separate and independent, with each recording their income and costs to calculate the taxable profits as appropriate.
- The farmer, by continuing a farming business with risk and responsibility for positive husbandry of his land (and where relevant livestock), can continue to qualify for farming and business status for tax purposes. The instructing farmer retains risk and responsibility for the business; attempts to avoid that can prejudice the status of the business for tax and other purposes.
- The contractor’s buildings could be exempt from business rates if solely used for agriculture.
What are the tax implications of share farming?
- The operator has an independent farming business assessed to tax in the usual way
- Where the landowner is seen to be farming, the income may count as farming income for Income Tax. For Inheritance Tax (IHT), the land would typically qualify for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and may also count towards Business Property Relief (BPR). Where the landowner is farming, their house might qualify as a farm house for APR on meeting the required tests
Crop Rotation in my area
Crop rotation is the practise of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimise nutrients and combat pest and weed.
Wheat - Wheat - Beans - Barley - Oats
When did cross compliance rules end?
31st December 2023
What has replaced Cross Compliance?
There are various rules for farmers and land managers and are now grouped by farming activities rather than individual regulations. The rules are monitored by existing statutory bodies such as DEFRA and RPA.
What are SMRs?
Statutory Management Requirements
Give some examples of some options under SFI?
SAM3 - Herbal Leys - £382 per ha
HRW2 - Manage hedgerows - £13 per 100m - one side
NUM3 - Legume Fallow - £593 per ha
LIG1 - Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs - £151 per ha.
Give some examples of options under Countryside Stewardship (capital)
BN5 - Hedgerow laying - £13.52/m
FG2 - Sheep netting - £7.47/m
TE4 - Supply and plant a tree - £1.72/tree
RP2 - Gateway relocation - £369.59/gateway
