Farming Articles
12th August 2022
The Winter Wheat harvest has begun up to a month earlier for some growers and despite the warm, dry temperatures in those areas, yields and specific weight are doing well.
Indeed some farms expect to have completely finished harvest by the middle of August.
The country experienced two weeks of warm, dry, sunny weather with temperatures consistently above 25C and then a heatwave which peaked at 40.5C. Where fields would usually gradually ripen, this weather suddenly burnt crops off and meant the UK harvest has begun a good two weeks earlier than usual. Although this isn’t normal, harvesting in July is not unheard of, as 2018 was a similar year.
... more
15th July 2022
For the rural community in the Cotswolds, Moreton Show is the highlight of the year.
Run by a traditional Agricultural Society, the Show promotes all the best local produce, crops and livestock together with agricultural skills and modern farming practices. It offers a wonderful opportunity for a terrific family day out, with a showground packed with activities from falconry and working dog demonstrations, to parades of the best cattle, sheep and pigs, show jumping and stunt bikes, to stonewalling and stands full of ‘big boys toys’.
Butler Sherborn looks... more
5th April 2022
An interview with Richard Greasby - What brought you initially to the Cotswolds?
I was born into a farming family in Oxfordshire, and came to the Cotswolds to study for my degree in Rural Land Management at the RAU about 30 years ago! I took my first job with Strutt & Parker in Moreton in Marsh.....................and haven't left the area since, with the Cotswolds becoming my home. I now live with my wife and three children near Winchcombe, where we are all fully embedded in many aspects of the local community.
How did you become involved in rural property... more
12th March 2021
With a milling legacy spanning eight generations, Matthews Cotswold Flour is one of the UK’s oldest family-run flour mills.
Trading grain and milling flour in the heart of the Cotswolds since the1800s, they believe passionately that local partnerships, traditional methods and premium grains make for better baking. Matthews offers premium quality Organic and Stoneground Wholemeal flour, using grain from local farmers and time-honoured milling techniques. They still use the original building that was completed in 1912, and set beside the railway, which in former times was used to distribute the flour across the... more27th January 2020
How will it impact farmers?
The government published a new version of The Agricultural Bill last week which is expected to go through without amendment and become an act of parliament. The original bill fell by the wayside last autumn amidst the Brexit and political chaos at the time.
The key points of the bill are:
The 2020 BPS payments will remain unchanged. The phasing out of direct payments (BPS) from 2021 to 2027. The % deductions for 2021 have been set at 5% for... more