Farming diary

As we are well into August it seems a good time to reflect on the year so far.  On the property front we have seen a strong demand for rural properties and this market has remained buoyant after the nil rate band, which had been temporarily increased to £500,000, was reduced to £250,000 from 1^st July.  Buyers and sellers are reminded that this will return to the standard amount of £125,000 on 1^st October 2021.

In terms of farm and land sales we have some exciting properties to launch.  Our most recent launch was Bybeck on the edge of the National Park.  The farm will be known to many as the one which has just sold a fell pony to the queen – but there’s a lot more to it than that with fantastic views towards the Howgill fells, fishing and grazing rights as well as a profitable free range poultry unit and land extending to circa 60 acres.  The property is conveniently located close to J.38 of the M6 motorway and on Saturday I had the pleasure of overseeing the first viewing day.

I’m pleased to report that this week has seen a major change in the balance of my workload.  Friday 30^th July saw the window closing for Countryside Stewardship applications – the Kendal office alone has applied for over £1.5 million in mid-tier capital and annual revenue payments.  This complements £500k+ funding we applied for farming businesses through the standalone capital grant back in April.

For those farmers not in a high priority water area there has been some welcome news with the Environment Secretary, George Eustice, recently stating that funding would be doubled and he hopes to have every farmer in the country taking part by 2023.

This week has been filled with RICS compliant property valuations for both probate and secured lending purposes – to be honest I have loved the change and getting back out of the office to see people (and properties) again. On that note John, Emma and I are excited to see you all at the Westmorland County Show (8^th – 9^th September 2021) and extend the invitation to call by the stand and say hello.