* In association with Nat West,Tesco is offering 1500 of its farmers preferential rates on finance to help in a switch to more sustainable methods of farming.
* According to Strutt and Parker,7398 acres of farmland were marketed in the first 3 months of 2024,6% up on the previous year.Knight Frank report an average land price in the same period of £9250 per acre
* Data published by HM Revenue and Customs shows it received £6.8 billions in Inheritance Tax receipts in the year to March,up £400 millions on the previous year.
* Sterling closed down against bot Euro and US Dollar this month, albeit marginally.
* The UK milk price fell further in February.The UK average all milk price for February,reported in April,was 37.34 pence per litre (p/l): 0.34 p/l below the Jan average,10.96 p/l below the price a year earlier but 2.53 p/l above the rolling 5-year average of 34.81 p/l.The EU average for February was 40.85 p/l; 0.51 p/l below the Jan average and 7.79 p/l below the price a year earlier.
* Data from the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) reveals that,in 2023,2.28 million cattle were slaughtered in Great Britain.Of the total,52% were born to dairy dams.Of the cattle slaughtered at prime ages (12-30 months old),43% had dairy dams compared to 40% in 2019, while 35% can be classified as dairy-beef,up from 28% in 2019.Cattle slaughtered as suckler beef has fallen from 60% of total prime slaughterings in 2019 to 57% in 2023.
* Irish milk production fell by 29% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2023 and has continued the downward trend in 2024 with January down 18% and February down 13%
* First Milk has increased its milk price by 0.75 p/l to 39.5 p/l whilst Barbers has increased its price by 1.5 p/l to 39.15 and Freshways by 2 p/l to 37 p/l
* Prices of imported ammonium nitrate (34.5%) averaged £342/t in March,down from £347 a month earlier.UK produced ammonium nitrate averaged £339/t.Muriate of potash and diammonium phosphate registered small falls to £370/t and £571/t respectively.
* The Agricultural Price Index for Feb shows increases of 4.3% for veterinary services,compared to a year earlier and 7.5% for equipment maintenance but falls of 1.9% for seeds,14.6% for energy and lubricants,33.4%for fertilisers,3.7% for chemicals,15.2% for animal feed stuffs and 1.9% for buildings maintenance
* According to the Office of National Statistics,only 6% of farmers are below the age of 34 while over two-thirds are 55 or older.
* The UK Agri-Tech Centre has been launched following the merger of Agri-EPI,CIEL and CHAP.
* Graeme Jack, previously Communications Director for Muller UK and Ireland, has been appointed to the AHDB Board.