Trespass has long been an issue for landowners and lawful occupiers.

This issue has become an area of focus in lockdown as people have been restricted on permitted activities and travel, leading in many cases to reports of more trespass issues and greater numbers of people on the land.

Use of proper public rights of way is not the issue but often requires management.

Trespass has long been an issue for landowners and lawful occupiers.

This issue has become an area of focus in lockdown as people have been restricted on permitted activities and travel, leading in many cases to reports of more trespass issues and greater numbers of people on the land.

Use of proper public rights of way is not the issue but often requires management.

Farmers and rural business owners could be able to recover thousands of pounds in over-paid Council Tax due to houses being valued incorrectly, particularly on houses associated with mixed use developments, such as farms, fisheries and rural business parks, which can often be overvalued. The owners and occupiers of these properties often have no idea they are overpaying tax to their Local Authority – and they can claim it back.

Whilst a good period of spring weather will have allowed many arable enterprises to catch up with drilling, harvest 2020 is still likely to produce only average returns at best and, in many cases, cropping activities will barely show a surplus over subsidy receipts.

For businesses operating typical contract farming systems, the difference between crop margins after contract charges is stark and this is particularly true for oilseed rape which is becoming more and more difficult to grow successfully. The push towards a greater proportion of spring cropping in the rotation to help to control blackgrass is also, often producing poorer crop margins and some soil types just aren’t suitable for this cropping regime.