Ian Ashbridge

Never before has land been subject to so many competing demands. Could it now be time to embrace the concept of a Land Use Framework? And where does that leave farming, now in a largely unsupported world?

Announcements on the next set of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Actions are long overdue, with some future Actions yet to be confirmed. However, the recent release of the 2023 SFI Handbook is very welcome as it offers land managers a more flexible and simplified opportunity to receive payments.

Looking out at your plot of land, it may seem like a pristine site ready for new homes, businesses, and a thriving community. But it's not just the open space that matters. There are several crucial factors to consider before making any substantial decisions about development. Three Bidwells Partners explain where to begin.

It turns out that announcements on farm and environmental policy are like London buses - you wait for ages and then three come along at once. Bidwells’ Ian Ashbridge welcomes revelations on DEFRA’s Environmental Land Management scheme.

A new movement is gaining pace in farming. It’s even found its way into farm policy. Yet it remains opaque, nebulous and slightly hard to define. In this paper we look at Regenerative Agriculture, and where it might cross over with other schools of farming thought.

Regenerative Agriculture is capturing headlines and attracting attention – but few agree on exactly what is involved. In a paper published by Bidwells earlier this year, we attempt to define the concept – and find a lot of good old-fashioned husbandry at its heart.

Many farmers and landowners will see an increase of up to 30% in payment rates under environmental conservation schemes, as the government seeks to increase participation in its schemes. These levels of payments emerged during Secretary of State, George Eustice’s speech at the Oxford Farming Conference in early January.

It has been hard to miss the seemingly constant, upward trajectory of a lot of agricultural commodities within the last 12 months. Let’s look at some of the contributory factors causing this rise.