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BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we formalise staff housing rights?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Aiden Wiffen of Thrings’ property litigation team, advises on formalising employee accommodation agreements in light of…

INPUT MARKETS AND PRICES

Growers squeezed as input costs soar while grain prices lag

Farmers are facing tightening margins as rising input costs continue to outpace gains in grain prices, with the conflict in the Middle East having a significant impact on costs of…

BUSINESS

Farm viability under mounting pressure, MPs told

UK farming is approaching a critical pressure point this summer, as soaring fuel, fertiliser and energy prices threaten production decisions and the sector’s longer-term viability, industry leaders have warned. Giving…

INPUT MARKETS AND PRICES

Fertiliser reliance leaves UK farms exposed to global shocks

UK farmers remain vulnerable to disruption in fertiliser supply, with geopolitical tensions and concentrated global markets posing ongoing risks to input costs and food production. A report from the National…

BUSINESS

What the biomethane revolution could mean for UK farms

The UK produces about 7TWh (terawatt-hours) of energy from slurry, food waste, manure and crops, each year meeting just 1% of gas demand. However, the potential biomethane demand and output…

BUSINESS

Farm leaders press government over rising costs

Farm leaders have warned that UK agriculture is being left dangerously exposed as input costs surge with no sector-specific support package from Westminster, while European competitors move to shield their…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Clarkson's Farm star urges growers to focus on margins

Arable farmers may need to rethink cropping plans and prioritise margin over output as fertiliser and fuel costs come under renewed pressure, a leading farm adviser has warned. Speaking to…

MARKETS AND TRENDS

GB milk production surges to all-time record high in 2025-26

The GB dairy sector set a new production record in the 2025-26 milk year, with deliveries hitting an all-time high of 13.02bn litres according to the AHDB, up by 5%…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: What is most tax-savvy option for farm?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Kate Bell, of Albert Goodman chartered accountants, advises on the tax implications of four business scenarios…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

How dairy farm’s new staffing model benefits people and cows

Like many other UK dairy businesses, Steve and Carolyn Cope’s Bawhill Farm in Shropshire relied on a steady flow of Eastern European workers to milk the cows. But Brexit rules…

FINANCE

Farmers share £265k as ANM turnover jumps 20% to £13.8m

Scottish agricultural co-operative ANM Group has increased its turnover by 20% to £13.8m in 2025, after a successful trading year. ANM Group increased its trading profit to £2.8m and made…

PLANNING PERMISSION

What new planning framework means for farmers

The final version of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is due to be published in the summer and should set a smoother path for both farming developments and…

LAND MARKETS

Large farms offer scale and scope for additional income

Farms with large acreages and enterprises generating diversified income lead a clutch of mid-April launches, bringing some scale to the market. At a guide price of £11.5m, Manor and Field…

INPUT MARKETS AND PRICES

Farmers cut fertiliser use in response to rocketing prices

Major disruption to fertiliser supplies from the Middle East has led to prices surging throughout the spring and becoming unaffordable for many farm businesses. Global nitrogen demand is forecast to…

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INPUT MARKETS AND PRICES

Growers squeezed as input costs soar while grain prices lag

Farmers are facing tightening margins as rising input costs continue to outpace gains in grain prices, with the conflict in the Middle East having a significant impact on costs of…

BUSINESS

Farm viability under mounting pressure, MPs told

UK farming is approaching a critical pressure point this summer, as soaring fuel, fertiliser and energy prices threaten production decisions and the sector’s longer-term viability, industry leaders have warned. Giving…

BUSINESS

Farm leaders press government over rising costs

Farm leaders have warned that UK agriculture is being left dangerously exposed as input costs surge with no sector-specific support package from Westminster, while European competitors move to shield their…

MARKETS AND TRENDS

GB milk production surges to all-time record high in 2025-26

The GB dairy sector set a new production record in the 2025-26 milk year, with deliveries hitting an all-time high of 13.02bn litres according to the AHDB, up by 5%…

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BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we formalise staff housing rights?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Aiden Wiffen of Thrings’ property litigation team, advises on formalising employee accommodation agreements in light of…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: What is most tax-savvy option for farm?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Kate Bell, of Albert Goodman chartered accountants, advises on the tax implications of four business scenarios…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

How dairy farm’s new staffing model benefits people and cows

Like many other UK dairy businesses, Steve and Carolyn Cope’s Bawhill Farm in Shropshire relied on a steady flow of Eastern European workers to milk the cows. But Brexit rules…

PLANNING PERMISSION

What new planning framework means for farmers

The final version of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is due to be published in the summer and should set a smoother path for both farming developments and…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Expert advice on managing arable fixed costs

A greater focus on labour and machinery costs, including depreciation, will potentially lead to a better arable net margin.     With no standard format for labour and machinery costs they often…

DIVERSIFICATION

Structural considerations before converting a farm building

Many 20th-century farm buildings are being repurposed for diversification projects, but their conversion and change of use needs more care and attention at the early stages, advises Savills architect Andrew…

TAX

Why a check on trading activity could preserve IHT relief

Lower farming incomes and profits, alongside the search for alternative incomes to make up for this, mean more businesses are moving closer to the point where they will be judged…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we set up permissive access?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, financial or management question, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Richie Rees, legal director in Thrings’ agricultural litigation team, outlines what's involved in granting…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Farm's buyer wants pre-exchange inspection

Whether it’s a legal, tax, financial or management issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Sam Johnson, associate partner with Carter Jonas, Harrogate, sets out how a request for…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Advice needed for farm's new bookkeeper

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Kate Bell, of Albert Goodman chartered accountants, advises on bookkeeping practice so that year-end information…

DIVERSIFICATION

How padel can make a profitable farm diversification

From the outside, it looks like any other on-farm grain store, but as the door opens, the scene is far from typical. There’s brightly coloured carpet surrounded by glass and…

FINANCE

How the Universal Credit system is failing farming families

Falling farm incomes mean that many more people are eligible to receive Universal Credit. For some, it is the stigma associated with claiming that puts them off; for others, it…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Share farming rises up agenda as a farm structure choice

Once used mainly in livestock and dairy systems, share farming is now a common joint venture arrangement in arable too, as practical, financial and tax pressures present new challenges to…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we convert buildings to residential?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, financial or management question, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Fred Quartermain, a partner in Thrings’ planning and environment team, sets out the…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Where do we stand on IHT with let farm?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here Kate Bell, a partner in accountant Albert Goodman’s farms and estates team, sets out…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we identify disputed boundary?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, financial or management issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Mark Kieras, a partner and head of measured survey at Carter Jonas, explains how…

Business Clinic

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we formalise staff housing rights?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Aiden Wiffen of Thrings’ property litigation team, advises on formalising employee accommodation agreements in light of…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: What is most tax-savvy option for farm?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, finance or management question, Farmers Weekly’s expert panel can help. Here, Kate Bell, of Albert Goodman chartered accountants, advises on the tax implications of four business scenarios…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Can FW's Business Clinic experts solve your farming problem?

Business Clinic is a free service for readers, offering expert advice on legal, tax, finance, farm and land management issues from law firm Thrings, accountant Albert Goodman and land agent…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: How do we set up permissive access?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, financial or management question, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Richie Rees, legal director in Thrings’ agricultural litigation team, outlines what's involved in granting…

 
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Markets and trends

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INPUT MARKETS AND PRICES

Growers squeezed as input costs soar while grain prices lag

Farmers are facing tightening margins as rising input costs continue to outpace gains in grain prices, with the conflict in the Middle East having a significant impact on costs of…

BUSINESS

Farm viability under mounting pressure, MPs told

UK farming is approaching a critical pressure point this summer, as soaring fuel, fertiliser and energy prices threaten production decisions and the sector’s longer-term viability, industry leaders have warned. Giving…

BUSINESS

Farm leaders press government over rising costs

Farm leaders have warned that UK agriculture is being left dangerously exposed as input costs surge with no sector-specific support package from Westminster, while European competitors move to shield their…

MARKETS AND TRENDS

GB milk production surges to all-time record high in 2025-26

The GB dairy sector set a new production record in the 2025-26 milk year, with deliveries hitting an all-time high of 13.02bn litres according to the AHDB, up by 5%…

CROPS MARKETS AND PRICES

Improved OSR crop offers relief for UK growers

Growers with oilseed rape in the ground are generally faring better than at this time last year, with crops progressing well and farmgate prices remaining relatively supported. More than 80%…

MEAT MARKETS AND PRICES

UK beef and sheep numbers contract at worrying rate

The UK’s beef suckler herd has declined by 20% in the past decade, with 313,000 fewer breeding beef cows on farm than in 2015. This worrying trend has continued in…

BUSINESS

Farmers hit by red diesel price surge as PM offers no relief

Farmers facing a sharp rise in red diesel costs were told during a Commons debate on the Middle East crisis that the government was “looking at contingencies” but had offered…

DAIRY MARKETS AND PRICES

Supply chain adjudicator seeks dairy farmer feedback

Dairy producers are being encouraged to share their views on milk pricing and supply chain relationships with Defra’s agricultural supply chain adjudicator. A sharp fall in farmgate milk prices in…

Land in your area

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LAND MARKETS

Farmland in your area 2025: East Midlands

A slowdown in new instructions and completed sales in the East Midlands was evident in the spring and summer. The combination of downward pressures of extreme weather, economic challenges, crop…

LAND MARKETS

Farmland in your area 2025: West Midlands

Supplies of farmland in the West Midlands have bucked the national trend with the number of acres marketed in 2025 among the highest for five years. According to rural agents,…

LAND MARKETS

Farmland in your area 2025: South-east England

While the market for farmland in the south-east of England is undeniably cautious, land that is well presented and sensibly priced continues to find a buyer. The acreage launched in…

LAND MARKETS

Farmland in your area 2025: North-west England

Sales of smaller blocks of bare land have been the most common feature in market activity in the north-west of England in 2025. This is a development which agents say…

 
 
 

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