Tag Archives: alternative
Land Owners Warned Of ‘Pitfalls’ As Values Strengthen
Farmland continues to rise in value according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and, with a slow upswing in the economy, greater pressure will be brought to bear on those who own farmland to release it for development. “The attraction of disposing of parcels of ground for development is bound to increase as land values continue to rise, and many farmers and farm businesses will have land covered by option agreements with developers waiting to move,” said Mike Harrison, Partner in the Landed Estates and Rural Business Group of Saffery Champness. “Our concern is with those who intend to sell not only being totally aware of exactly what they are selling and the terms of that disposal, but also who actually owns the property in the first place. “Particularly where farms have expanded over time, and comprise a number of different businesses or structures, then the owners of the land and those who operate their business over it may be different and such differences may only come to light at the time of disposal. In addition the tax treatment of the sale may vary depending on the type of structure in which it is held, for example whether the disposal will be taxed at 10 per cent or more likely 28 per cent.” While many farm businesses will have everything well thought through, properly structured and the consequences taken into account, others will not, and such a process can open the inevitable can of worms. There are many pressures on getting the ‘vehicle’ going forward right – whether joint venture, option agreement or promotion agreement for example – and an assumption made over the ownership of the land in question. It may not be until both parties are well into proceedings that the consequences of such a sale become apparent. Mike Harrison also said that with the RICS survey predicting continued future strengthening of farmland prices the same applies for farms wishing to expand and to buy neighbouring land should it become available. He says: Any purchase requires careful thought in terms of the entity that will take ownership of that asset, and the consequences particularly in the longer term, of its retention or future disposal. Agricultural land prices in the south are outstripping the national average, with non-farming investors helping push the market along and to the south of the M3 and M4 corridors. Richard Liddiard, head of farm agency for national property consultancy Carter Jonas based in Newbury, says that while the national average price per acre for arable rose to £8,193 and pasture to £6,689 the strength of the market in Berkshire and Hampshire has driven values far above that level with arable regularly achieving £10,000 per acre and pasture £8,000. The larger difference between the two land types in this region illustrates the emphasis on arable crops rather than livestock farming. The strength of commercial farmland demand is not broad-based. Indeed, surveyors note that farmers in the main are discriminating in favour of large, top quality, neighbouring plots with as small a residential component as possible. As such, there is considerable price dispersion, even in the same areas; plots that are smaller and of lower soil quality are attracting much less interest and achieving lower average per acre prices. Looking forward, surveyors are very optimistic about commercial farmland price prospects over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, price expectations in the residential arena, whilst relatively modest, have turned positive for the first time since H2 2010. This may reflect developments in the broader national housing market. “We have seen some exceptional transactions during H1 of 2013 with the larger sales being dealt with ‘off market’ showing the strength of land as a safe haven and hedge against economic ills,” Richard Liddiard from Carter Jonas. “Whilst the UK economy is showing the green shoots of recovery I am still of the opinion that we are at the peak of the market for average or less well equiped farms. This will indicate that the best in class will still rise in value and be keenly sought after by the non-farming investors who are seeking the safe haven status and IHT tax advantages that land offers. We are also seeing more farms in the market and there are some holdings that are sticking particularly if they are overpriced or do not have strong local demand to push the values higher.” Continue reading
Eco2 Ltd. of UK to Implement Trimble’s Forestry Bioenergy Solution from Cengea
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB ) announced today that Eco2 Ltd. will be implementing its forestry bioenergy solution from Cengea , a Trimble Company and part of its Forestry Division. The Cengea solution will be used to manage Eco2’s supply chain operations for its state-of-the-art, straw-fired Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant in Lincolnshire in England. “Eco2 spent some six months reviewing the marketplace for integrated biomass supply chain solutions, and found that Trimble’s solution from Cengea provides the closest match with our application,” said David McDonald, operations director of Eco2. “With full implementation support and a hosted platform, we will be able to rapidly configure the software and integrate it with systems at the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant. We look forward to working closely with Trimble and demonstrating the full capabilities of the system in the coming months.” About Eco2 Ltd. Established in 2002, Eco2 is a leading renewable energy project developer specializing in the initiating, developing, financing and operating renewable energy projects throughout the UK and Europe. Initially focused on onshore wind and landfill gas projects since 2006, Eco2 has concentrated on developing biomass projects. Over the last 20 years the management team has extensive experience in the development and construction of over 390MW of biomass projects throughout the world and the Eco2 Team has been involved in over 60 percent of the UK Dedicated Biomass Capability. For more information about Eco2, visit: eco2uk.com . About Trimble’s Forestry Division Trimble’s Forestry Division offers field hardware, field software and enterprise solutions that improve the productivity and operations for some of the world’s largest integrated forest product companies, forest land owners, international food processing companies and conservation organizations as well as small and medium-sized businesses and state and federal departments involved in soil, water and biodiversity protection. For more information, visit: www.trimble.com/forestry . About Trimble Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, forestry, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, visit: www.trimble.com . GTRMB SOURCE Trimble RELATED LINKS http://www.trimble.com http://eco2uk.com Continue reading
Making Biomass Pellets from Grass
Sep. 7, 2013 http://www.environmental-expert.com/ Grass is familiar to everyone, which is distributed all over the world, such as farmland, residential green belt and square lawn, and you can see it everywhere and anytime in a year. Generally, it is used as feed for livestock and poultry, but now it can be a treasure with the way it present changed. That is biomass pellets. The Benefits of Grass Pellets Grass pellet is a kind of green energy resource. With the wide distribution and sustainability of raw materials, the biomass pellet becomes an available alternative to traditional fuels and relieves the shortage of fossil energy. What’s more, grass pellets can help keep agricultural open space, and provide a new revenue stream and profit center to the farmers and other landowners. It has a great potential as a low-tech, small-scale, renewable energy system that can be locally produced, processed and consumed. It has a positive impact on rural communities and helps people become independent from foreign oil. Besides, grass pellet can be burned without emissions problems, and it has almost the same BTUs as wood pellet. Grass biomass pellet is much better for the environment because it emits less greenhouse gases than oil, coal and natural gas do. Furthermore, grass is perennial, does not require fertilization and can be grown on marginal farmland. Because of the rising cost of fossil fuels, the shortage of hardwood pellets and the need for energy resource, grass pellets have gained an extensive popularity. The most important point is that they can be made at home completely. Forming the grass into pellets allows the materials to be handled and stored easily, transported economically, and burned efficiently. One advantage to this method is that grasses dry in the field, which reduces the drying cost at a pellet mill. Comparison between Grass Pellet and Wood Pellet The combustion characteristics of grass pellets are different from wood pellets. Grass pellets in general will produce much higher ash content. And possibly create a clinker and slag formations. Fortunately, research has indicated that adding 20% wood pellets to the grass pellets will prevent this phenomenon. Another aspect of grass pellets that must be paid attention to before using in a pellet stove or boiler is the increased risk of corrosion. During combustion, many grass pellets at a higher temperature will generate corrosive called chloride. Most pellet stoves and boilers are designed to purely burn premium wood pellets. if grass pellets are used in most pellet stoves and boilers, it will accelerate corrosion, which could destroy the unit within a few years, so be very careful. Hemp grass pellets produce the least issues. As for people who are interested in investing in biomass pellet industry, grass pellet mill is an ideal option because of the facile raw material and good performance. The raw materials for pellet mill can be grasses everywhere from lawns, grassland, or farmland like unwanted hay, switch grass, alfalfa, straw, etc. It is very convenient for people to start grass pellet making. The only thing you need to do is obtain the grass pellet machine. Grass like weeds can be processed into pellets as fuel, in other words, the grass pellet mill can not only turn the waste materials into wealth, but also reduce the environment pollution and create economic value in commerce, which make it become more and more popular at present both at home and abroad. Now there has been a growing interest in grass pellets for the pellet fuel industries. Grass pellet mill is different from wood pellet mill in feature. Generally, grass pellet mill operates at higher speed. The lower density makes grass easier to gelatinize. Higher productivity can be achieved through higher die speed, reducing the cost of grass pellets. Grass pellet mill is featured by compact structure, low consumption and large capacity. It can utilize all kinds of grasses to make pellets as fuel, while wood pellet mill is faced with a shortage of raw materials due to the forest protection. Our grass pellet mill adopts advanced molding technology to increase the forming rate of grass pellets. The key components adopt wear-resisting materials. The main driving adopts high-precision gear drive. Imported high-quality bearing and oil seal are adopted to ensure efficient, stable and low noise whole machine operation. Therefore, our grass pellet machine is your ideal choice. Continue reading
