Red Tractor publishes new guidance on joining Red Tractor Assurance schemes Red Tractor Assurance has published this guidance on the benefits of joining its assurance schemes. Farming Recovery Fund: Guidance for applicants Guidance on how farmers can apply for funding to restore flooded agricultural land and bring it back into production.  Any farm holding in England can apply for grants of between £500 and £5,000 if they are or have been affected by the recent flood events (since December 1, 2013).  The application form will be available on Friday 28 February 2014. Unlocking Poland's Dairy Potential The dairy industry in Poland provides plenty of investment opportunities to those players who have the right strategy, according to a recent report from Rabobank – Poles Apart. While production has increased at farm level, further investment is needed to realise Poland’s full potential after the removal of production quotas in 2015. Agriculture regulations aligned to Lisbon Treaty Under the Hellenic Presidency, the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) approved a final compromise on a regulation on imports of rice originating from Bangladesh. The Council and the European Parliament representatives identi fied the overall compromise during a trilogue meeting held on 10 February. January 2014 farming and food brief This monthly paper produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) brings together the latest key information relating to agriculture and the wider economy. In particular it highlights the results of recently published economic and statistical evidence and research. Investing in Farmland and Farming - January 2014 In this edition we focus on the growing institutional interest in farmland as an investment class, look at the compelling case for investment in blueberry production in CEE, give an overview of CAP reform, assess renewable energy opportunities and how crop management software is used in CEE. The Offshore Wind Installation Market The high growth rates in offshore wind energy have led to an influx of new installation ships and new concepts being considered as turbine and park designs get bigger. According to a recent Rabobank report, a more radical redesign of these vessels - dedicated to either installing turbines or foundations - is needed in the long-term to lower installation costs and realise projected capacity growth. While financiers prefer multi-purpose vessels with a scope that goes beyond offshore turbine installation, dedicated vessels are likely to remain in use as new installations in Europe are expected to slow down around 2023. Companies building dedicated vessels can expect a cost upwards of EUR 150 million and rising, but by doing so could quickly become leaders in an immature, but innovative and fast-growing, market. These companies must carefully weigh the risks to future growth created by current policy uncertainty. SEPRA Market Report: 17th January 2014 SEPRA Market Report: 17th January 2014 Agriculture in the English regions 2012 – 2nd estimate This release presents the second estimates on agriculture for NUTS1 regions in England for 2012 using the European Union Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) regions. The second estimate incorporates data that has become available since the first estimate was released and revisions may have been made to previous years. Commitment of Traders Report - 14th January 2013 Non-commercial participants continued to liquidate their net long position across agri commodities, which is now at 1,808 lots, the lowest level since August 2013–down 23,575 lots week-on-week (WOW). This was largely driven by the ongoing selloff across grains and oilseeds. The S&P Agri Index lost 0.1% WOW.