Tag Archives: national
Cellulosic Leaders Talk Feedstock Procurement At Neb. Event
Taylor Scott International News Taylor Scott International Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott Continue reading
Farmland In The South ‘Outstripping The National Average’
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. “We have seen some exceptional transactions during the first half of 2013 with the larger sales being dealt with ‘off market’ and showing the strength of land as a safe haven and hedge against economic ills,” he says in his leading national market comment for the latest RICS rural market survey covering the first half of this year. “Whilst the UK economy shows signs of recovery, I am still of the opinion that we are at the peak of the market for average or less well equipped farms.” “But the best in class will still rise in value and be keenly sought by the non-farming investors who value the safe haven status and inheritance tax advantages that land offers. The number of investors buying in the area has risen by 166 per cent despite some recent suggestions that investors are baling out. It is understandable that some have been taking advantage of the healthy price growth to take their ‘profit’ and plough their cash into other opportunities which may offer chances of better capital growth in the next five to 10 years. “The rise in values comes despite seeing more farms in the market but there are some holdings that are sticking, particularly if they are overpriced or do not have strong local demand to push values higher.” “Many buyers are yeoman farmers – members of families who have been in farming sometimes for generations. They see the value of enlarging their existing holdings, particularly where a senior member of the family retires to be followed by additional family members looking to become involved in the farming enterprise.” Continue reading
Yunnan Launches Carbon Offset Program
Forested mountains in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Earlier this week China held its first ever National Low Carbon Day (全国低碳日). Several of the mainland’s megacities instituted cap and trade programs aimed at limiting pollution levels. Yunnan, although not required to participate by Beijing, launched a carbon sequestration program of its own. In a provincial first, the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission has brokered a deal wherein Yunnan Forestry Investment Company (YFI) sold carbon credits worth 17,800 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) to Guangdong-based Friends of Iron and Steel (FIS). In exchange for the credits, FIS has agreed to pay 1.07 million yuan (US$174,000). With the money it has earned from the sale of its credits YFI is now under contract to plant and maintain forest or bamboo groves that will sequester carbon equal to the amount of credits sold. In order to accomplish this, YFI has been granted a 30-year lease by the provincial government to manage unused land in Xishuangbanna totaling 3,500 hectares — or roughly one-eighth the size of Dianchi Lake. It is hoped the new forest managed by YFI will serve the dual purpose of becoming a carbon sink while also reclaiming land that is too steep or too eroded to support agriculture. Once fully under cultivation, trees and bamboo grown in areas such as these are expected to capture 550,000 tons of CO2 over the course of three decades. These numbers were calculated using metrics set out in a 2005 version of the Kyoto Protocol. Media reports have not discussed to what extent Yunnan industries are limited regarding CO2 output. However, according to Yunnan Info, per capita CO2 emission levels are down 16 percent province-wide since 2010. Whether or not this new system of carbon trading will succeed is difficult to predict. The unit price of 60 yuan per ton of CO2 in Yunnan is 20 percent lower than its equivalent in Europe’s carbon trading program. That system saw its carbon offset program crash earlier this year, largely due to CO2 credit prices deemed too insignificant to alter industry behavior. Continue reading
