Thomas Armstrong, Director of H&H Land & Estates, shares his overview of the farm and land market through a turbulent 2020. FOR H&H Land & Estates, 2020 it has been a big year, with a number of firsts, including the first ever “socially distanced” on-farm public auction in July of Dove House Farm. This was a resounding success and still proves to be the best and most efficient approach for selling the right type of agricultural assets. At the turn of the year, the market was strong and has since remained so. In the first half of the year we brought to market a 230-acre former dairy farm to let on a Farm Business Tenancy, this along with the traditional grass letting season delivered healthy results and numerous tenders. Spring saw a large amount of land coming forward, and the strength of offers for next year’s grazing season gives us confidence looking forward.
By Debbie James A sheep farmer who says he has incurred losses of £32,000 as a result of raw sewage repeatedly contaminating pasture grazed by his flock is appealing to Welsh Water to take remedial action to prevent further spillages. Richard Lee has a Farm Business Tenancy on 86 acres of National Trust land on the Southwood Estate at Newgale. He has been locked in a battle with Welsh Water since December 2019 when raw sewage first flooded onto his land from the main sewer pipe than runs between Roch and the treatment works at Newgale. A flock of 470 pregnant ewes were grazing that land and a significant number of those developed a serious eye infection.