Last year saw the first reduction in the amount of land rented to farmers since Farm Business Tenancies were introduced in 1995, according to Defra聮s own figures.听
No doubt that the introduction of the Lump Sum Exit scheme, the pandemic and business uncertainty meant that landlords were holding onto their land and not reletting it.听
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However, this year seems to be a bumper one, with 16 national searches for tenants launched on the Tenant 草榴社区 Association聮s website in March.
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It聮s an encouraging sign and hopefully something that will continue across the year. There seems to be something for everyone, from 56 acres in Somerset to 1,383 acres in Cumbria.
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In 2021 I was contacted by Forces Farming, a charity that helps place service men and women in farming jobs as they leave the Army.听
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I was paired up with an ex-Royal Artillery leaver who had left after a long service. He worked with us one day a week over the course of 15 months, while running his own business in the week and quickly learned a bit of tractor driving, cattle handling and the 聮basics of farming聮.
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I聮m delighted that he聮s now in full-time farm work, working on a large mixed farm, living his dream with his family all in one place.
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Armed forces leavers are a huge untapped resource for farming, they have staying power to keep up with the work, and are excellent at adapting and overcoming problems.
Forces Farming is a great charity and if you need someone full-time or could support training someone, I would encourage you to get in touch.听
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If you聮ve watched the second series of Clarkson聮s Farm, you聮ll have seen the battle that he has to do with his local council.
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These restrictions are not just affecting monied celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson, but also hard-working farmers and rural communities who want to create economic development and job opportunities.
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As a district councillor, each month I review applications evaluated by council officers at a committee meeting.
Often excellent proposals are recommended for refusal, or councillors will overturn the recommendation to approve, because the rules treat the countryside like a museum, frozen in time rather than something that evolves as required by the businesses that operate in it.听听
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Planning policy needs to change to give more weight to economic growth and job creation, while training for councillors should include guidance on how to evaluate planning applications with wider community benefits.
