Various LEADER Local Action Groups (LAG) are located across the region providing support to help increase farm productivity with grants of up to 40%.

Examples of projects that LAG groups may support include

• A project to improve the overall performance and sustainability of an agricultural holding
• An investment to support animal health and welfare improvements
• The processing, marketing and/or development of agricultural products
• Investment in reservoirs and irrigation systems

If you have an idea for a project and would like to discuss whether it may be covered by the grant scheme please contact Laura Carrick

A tremendous day was had by all at National Sheep Association North Sheep yesterday with Vickers and Barrass and Darlington Farmers Auction Mart taking home the prize for best outdoor stand! A special thank you goes to W H Smith & Sons for hosting the event, to Ian Potts of Redburn Farm, Rookhope, John Smith-Jackson of High Town, Melkridge and N G Beveridge of Low West House Farm, Tow Law for providing a spectacular show of sheep on the stand and to Davina Lovegreen Catering for providing the fabulous refreshments.

We are now only a few days from one of the most important sheep events of the years, NSA North Sheep. This is only held in the region every two years and we are absolutely delighted that as major sponsor the event is being held on our doorstep here in Tow Law.

With clients stretching from the Scottish Borders to North Yorkshire, Adam Barrass practice manager at Vickers & Barrass Chartered Surveyors explains why they were so keen to be a part of next year’s NSA North Sheep:

“We are very closely linked to the Smith family at West Shields Farm and the wider farming industry in this area. Many of our clients are sheep farmers and when the NSA announced that 2017 North Sheep would be held so close to our main office and on one of our clients’ farms we felt it was important to be part of it.

“Having visited the site today it looks in tremendous condition and it’s clear to see that the Smith family have worked tirelessly to put on what is undoubtedly going to be a fantastic event.”

As major sponsors of the event Vickers & Barrass are very privileged to be involved and want to reiterate to new and existing clients that NSA North Sheep is an important event to attend in terms of learning and knowledge transfer.

“We are eager to welcome people to our stand to discuss the future of farming, and also the procurement of livestock with our partner, Darlington Farmers Auction Mart, NSA North Sheep is going to be an ideal opportunity for new and existing clients to find out what we can offer their farming business,” adds Adam.

Vickers & Barrass and Darlington Farmers Auction Mart are running a tremendous competition and there will be refreshments throughout the day.  Up for grabs are some fantastic prizes, including an ATV trailer, free land agency and accountancy work, free livestock commission, tickets to major agricultural shows and much more.

Vickers & Barrass (formerly T H Vickers & Sons) are firmly cemented in the local rural and agricultural community and have been operating as auctioneers and valuers for over 65 years. They offer a wide range of services from sales of farm property and farming stock, farm management, valuations, dispute resolution, compensation and compulsory purchase claims and Basic Payment Scheme claims together with Environmental Stewardship matters.

Darlington Farmers Auction Mart is a long established Auction centre based in the heart of County Durham within the town boundary of Darlington. DFAM is a main centre for sales of prime cattle and sheep in the north east of England. The company also handles large numbers of store and breeding stock at weekly and seasonal sales throughout the year.

Vickers and Barrass are pleased to be in attendance at Northumberland County Show sponsoring the Young Sheep Handlers Class and Supreme Pedigree Beef Champion Class. We would like to wish everyone good luck during the show season and look forward to welcoming existing and new clients to enjoy our hospitality at our stand located on Row F

BPS claimants are required to abide by the closed period which runs from 1 March to 31 August where cutting and trimming hedges and trees are banned. However derogation can be given in the following circumstances

1. to enhance the environment, improve public or agricultural access, or for reasons relating to livestock or crop production;
2. to cut or trim a tree in a hedgerow during the month of August for the purposes of sowing oil seed rape or temporary grass.

Requests must be in writing to the RPA and work should not be started until a response has been received.

Vickers and Barrass are giving away two tickets to North Sheep every other Friday leading up to the event and we still have four tickets left to give away!

To enter “like” our page Vickers and Barrass Chartered Surveyors on Facebook, share our post about the competition and comment with the name of who you would like to take with you.

The Rural Payments Agency has confirmed that bridging payments will be made to those farmers who have not yet received their BPS 2016 payment from 1 April. When questioned regarding the date “from” the RPA said they would pay 75% of the claim based on the information they held at that date but could not confirm that all outstanding payments would be looked at from 1 April. If you have are still encountering problems regarding your outstanding payment and would like some further help please contact the Tow Law office.

Moving forward to the 2017 BPS claims the deadline for these applications is 15 May 2017. If you are having difficulty completing your application and would like some assistance then please contact Adam Barrass on 01388 730095.

The 2017 Hedgerow & Boundary applications are still available and the deadline for submitting applications is 28 April 2017. All applications, maps and supporting documents must reach Natural England by this date and late applications will not be considered. Vickers & Barrass have had a very good uptake for this and if you are interested or would like any further guidance please contact the Tow Law office.

Following on from our note that the application window is to open “very shortly”, it opened officially on 10^th March. Deadlines for application submissions are 30^th September 2017 for Mid-Tier and 5^th May for Higher-Tier. If you wish to discuss your eligibility and suitability for Countryside Stewardship please do not hesitate to contact Pat Cotterill.