BALE Award is launched.
Competition to find the region’s most successful diversification scheme is launched
The hunt to find the region’s best farm diversification business starts today (Sept 11) with the launch of the 2010 Best Alternative Land Enterprise (BALE) award.
A pet crematorium and cemetery, fishing lakes, business accommodation from obsolete farm buildings, farm cottages, food hall, equestrian centre and time-share swimming pool, children’s nurseries and playbarns, have wowed the judges in the past 18 years, but Suffolk Agricultural Association in conjunction with Ashton Graham Solicitors is on the search throughout Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex to find the farmer that could be this year’s winner.
In the 19th year of the region’s premier farming diversification competition, which the Suffolk based solicitors have sponsored since its inception in 1992, prizes will be awarded for first and second place, as well as for the best newcomer which has been in business for less than three years, and for the best Green Practice.
Judges include SAA council member and EEDA Board member Lord Iveagh whose Elveden Estate has itself diversified some of its buildings into an award-winning food hall and restaurant; Robert Paul , Winner of the 2009 BALE award for the Suffolk Food Hall, and Jonathan Long, Agricultural partner, Ashton Graham Solicitors.
They will be looking for originality and efficacy in non-agricultural diversification projects which are commercial, realistic and make a contribution to the local economy.
Changes within the agricultural industry over the past decade have forced farmers to diversify in order to support their core businesses and many have achieved notable success.
DEFRA’s 2008-9 Farm Diversification report reveals that 51% of farms had diversified activity and that the overall percentage of farms with diversified activities currently remains at about 50%. The percentage of those carrying out activities other than letting buildings for other uses had increased to 28% in 2008. Total income from diversification was £300m for the year 2008-9 and diversified enterprises generated 10% of the total income of farm businesses.
Jeanette Dennis, a former Norfolk farmer and solicitor who has recently joined Ashton Graham’s agricultural department said,” The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) regeneration 2013 strategy notes that diversification will be key to farming success in the future. What is interesting now is not only the amount of alternative farm use but also the way in which more income is being generated from non-traditional farming practises, such as equestrian and residential riding centres, holiday lets and the many other activities that this competition celebrates.
The first prize winner will receive the prestigious Ashton Graham Challenge Cup and £1000 to be spent on the enterprise; second prize is £250 to be spent on the enterprise and £250 for the best newcomer and £100 for the Best Green Enterprise. All winners receive a certificate.
“The aim of the competition is to find and acknowledge the region’s best farming diversification businesses and publicly applaud the enormous entrepreneurial spirit and success of our region’s farmers,” said Executive Director of the Association Christopher Bushby.
For application forms visit www.suffolkshow.co.uk or call 01473 707110.
Completed forms, together with an entry fee of £20 per enterprise should be sent to: Sue Bennitt, BALE Awards, Suffolk Agricultural Association, Trinity Park, Ipswich, IP3 9UH by Wednesday October 6, 2010 and the judging will take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st October, 2009. A presentation will be held at Trinity Park later in the autumn.
The partnership with Ashton Graham Solicitors for the awards acknowledges the strong links that the firm has throughout the agricultural industry in East Anglia. With more than 150 staff in offices in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Felixstowe, it established its agricultural department more than 100 years ago and is fully empathetic with the current issues faced by today’s farmers and landowners, whether in East Anglia or spread throughout the country.