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New President takes up responsibilities at the AEA
Mark Ormond , Managing Director of SAME Deutz-Fahr UK , takes over the annual presidency of the Agricultural Engineers Association .
D uring his speech at this year ’ s annual conference , Mark highlighted the importance the AEA will be to its members as we head on our path out of the EU .
Mark was born into a farming family and has 20 years ’ experience in the agricultural machinery industry at both dealer and manufacturer level . His early career was spent in the implement sector but Mark moved to SDF as MD in 2015 . That role makes him responsible for all sales and aftersales issues for the company in the UK and ROI .
“ The BREXIT process will create unknown challenges and opportunities for our industry . Although the weak pound has resulted in increases to the cost of imported machinery , farm profitability improved substantially in the 2016 / 17 year . That created a significant increase in demand for agricultural tractors and machinery ”, explained Mark . “ March tractor registrations reached a record high .”
“ As the UK continues on its path out of the EU , members will rely heavily on the AEA for economic information , market data , and standards information , all of which will change dramatically in the coming years .”
“ The AEA is very well placed to provide its members with accurate and timely information to ensure they can react to the needs of the
market to maintain / improve their business activities . Furthermore , strong connections to government institutions and to Brussels will ensure we can lobby for the best interests of our members during the Brexit negotiations .”
“ The Board has worked hard , in recent years , to ensure the AEA
£ 8.5million fund for small dairy farmers
Applications opened this week ( April 24 ) for an £ 8.5 million funding scheme to support small dairy farmers in England .
T he Small Dairy Farmers Scheme will provide a oneoff payment to active cows ’ milk producers who produced up to 1,000,000 litres during the period April 1 , 2015 to March 31 , 2016 .
The scheme is for producers in England but cross-border farmer in Wales or Scotland can also apply if the majority of their land is based in England and they received their Basic Payment Scheme ( BPS ) 2016 payment from the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ).
The rate of payment will be calculated once all applications are received and should be published on GOV . UK in mid-June . Payments will be capped at 500,000 litres of cows ’ milk production and paid into claimants ’ bank accounts by the end of July . Farmers must be registered on Rural Payments before RPA can make a payment .
Farmers looking to apply should fill in a Small Dairy Farmers Scheme application form at GOV . UK and send it to the RPA provides for its members ’ needs . That will now be more important than ever .” Mark looks forward to meeting members and nonmembers at regular AEA meetings and at industry events during the course of the year , and welcomes ideas to further improve the standard of service provided .
along with the proof before midnight on May 31 , 2017 .
“ The RPA will need proof showing your total cows ’ milk deliveries to first purchasers during the period April 1 , 2015 to March 31 , 2016 ,” explained Edward Tyler , a consultant with Berrys at Shrewsbury .
“ Proof could be a copy of your annual production statement or individual monthly production statements . If you sold cows ’ milk or milk products directly , you will be asked to provide proof of the total volume of cows ’ milk produced during that period , either for sale directly to the public or used to make products for sale directly to the public .
“ Direct sellers will also need to send a copy of their Animal and Plant Health Agency ( APHA ) levy invoice . Additional proof could be production records , sales invoice / sales records , milk / milk product stock records .
“ You will also need proof that you were still active in cows ’ milk production in April 2017 ,” he added .
08 | Farming Monthly | May 2017 www . farmingmonthly . co . uk