Big J on radio 4..

[Big J]

3 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

I only add this for context, but folks often aren't aware of the comprehensive suite of advantageous trading, tax and regulatory concessions in the ag sector.  I'll list a few of the top of my head:

 

Exemptions from planning regs

Exemptions from inheritance tax

Exemptions from Council tax (farm homes auto reduced by 1 band)

Rebated diesel (regularly misused for other business benefits such as haulage and recreation)

 

Add all of that into the direct financial subsidy and the whole package starts to look wholly unsustainable under the current model.

 

 

Agreed. 

 

I believe that it's due to our very low forest cover (by European standards) that it's not included significantly within rural planning law. 

 

I'd be keen to learn more about agro-forestry too, as livestock within woodlands can be wonderfully symbiotic. 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

44 minutes ago, LeeGray said:

Eventually you’ll either stop arguing with planners and telling them the rules are bollocks and get on with it or give up and not get permission. 

 

I tell our kids there’s no point being right if everybody else thinks your wrong.

Bastard!  That's my life summed up in 12 words!  ??????

Edited August 29, 2019 by kevinjohnsonmbe

[LeeGray]

1 minute ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Bastard!  That my life summed up in 11 words!  ??????

Sorry Kev ?

[AHPP]

56 minutes ago, difflock said:

Ah, so you accept that farmers do not get special treatment then?

That is absolutely not what he said and you know it. You've done similar talking to me on this thread too.

[Conor Wright]

2 hours ago, difflock said:

Re economical viability and scale "J"

A local farmer has just put up a new chicken house, to supply organic eggs to the London market, the hens need access to 12 acres, he with much previous experience,i.e. 30 years running the first, now demolished chicken house.

He also bred pedigree bulls for a substantial number of years.

Based on his previous experience with the hens has said that he wants his young son, not yet 30 with a wife and 2 children, to give up a good government job.

So based on that, a finanically viable agricultural unit could be as little as say 13 acres.

I do not know the size of his farm, but probably surprisingly small, since he bought the land when his other brother got the home farm.

I was surprised at his clear idea that his son did not need the Govt job..

But Brains beats brawn most times.

A brother of mine has 7 acres and makes a good living off it. Organic salad leaves to supermarkets and direct to hotels and market stall holders. Churns out 250 kg in a good week. Polytunnels keep production going year round, although they usually stop for January as it's the only chance they have for a holiday.

No subsidies. No grants for the tunnels, we took down old mushroom houses and bought secondhand over a number of years.

Zero govt support meant he had to make it work. And he did.

[difflock]

12 minutes ago, AHPP said:

That is absolutely not what he said and you know it. You've done similar talking to me on this thread too.

To quote "J"

"I'm not asking for special treatment, rather to be considered on the same footing as a farm."

 

 This clearly states that farmers do not get special treatment, by way of direct inference.

 

just saying like.

Edited August 29, 2019 by difflock

[Big J]

4 minutes ago, difflock said:

To quote "J"

I'm not asking for special treatment, rather to be considered on the same footing as a farm.

 

 clearly states that farmers do not get special treatment, by direct inference.

Semantics.

 

The right to build that farmers have should anything exceptional. It does after all make sense to build suitable accommodation and premises for your business. However, due to the arcane planning restrictions we have in the UK, it's only really farmers that are afforded this (what some would consider a basic human) right. 

 

If I had a decent business plan, an established business, an environmental impact survey and an ecologically sound design, I'd flip it so that the council would have to provide me with a solid reason not to give me permission.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

55 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

... And some folk understand sarcasm, others don't but that's the nature of Internet forums.

I think he might have double spoofed you there ??s

[eggsarascal]

1 minute ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

I think he might have double spoofed you there ??s

Quite possibly, never sure with folk you don't 'mix' with often.

[Mick Dempsey]

Because there’s no situation that can’t be answered with a Father Ted reference..

11 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

I think he might have double spoofed you there ??s