Why Coodes is proud to support the Young Farmer of the Year award

Coodes Solicitors is sponsoring the Young Farmer of the Year award in the inaugural South West Farmer Farming Awards. Coodes Partner and Head of Rural Services Pam Johns invites you to nominate someone for the award and explains why it is so important for the firm to recognise the vital contribution young people make to agriculture in our region.

“By sponsoring the Young Farmer of the Year award, we want to make the first South West Farmer Farming Awards a success. We need your help: perhaps you know a young farmer who has shown themselves to be particularly creative, innovative and forward thinking and have achieved positive results from their new ideas.

“We are delighted to be involved with these awards. Generations of landowners have trusted Coodes with their legal work and we take great pride in watching rural businesses develop, diversify and succeed. There are challenges that are unique to the industry, so it is crucial that we do not just offer specialist legal advice, but that we understand the sector and can provide business advice and friendly support.

“We can support young people with personal and business legal advice as they embark on a farming career. We know there are a whole range of issues and questions that face young farmers. If they are already part of a farming family, is succession planning in place? Is their role in the business properly represented in a Partnership Agreement? Are they able to get their new ideas for running the farm across to the older members of the family? Do they know how to claim Young Farmer supplement for Basic Payment Entitlements?

“Young farmers also need to consider how their personal circumstances might impact on the farm business. If they are preparing to marry, have they considered pre-nuptial agreements to protect the value of the farm? Or if they are cohabiting with a partner, are they aware that a Living Together Agreement offers some legal protection? With many farming families having assets running into hundreds of thousands of pounds, we can advise young farmers on making a Will – it’s never too early.

“Coodes is one of the few law firms to have a specialist Rural Services team and we are proud that five of the team are Fellows of the Agricultural Law Association. We have specialist lawyers based in offices across Cornwall and into Devon. This depth and breadth of expertise means we understand the range of personal and business issues that a young farmer needs to consider.

“The South West has a fantastic agricultural heritage, but we know it is vital to invest in the future. That is why Coodes Solicitors is proud to support the Young Farmer of the Year award. That is also why we are asking you to please consider nominating someone for this award.”

You can nominate someone for the Young Farmer of the Year, and any other of the South West Farmer Farming Awards, on the website before Monday 8^th August 2016.