JJMK Consultants
Agriculture & Farming
Farming is a complex, unpredictable and individual business and British farmers are among the most innovative in the world

Farming is a complex, unpredictable and individual business and British farmers are among the most innovative in the world, constantly experimenting with new techniques and tools to improve the performance of their farms. Trying out something new on the farm to meet the constant challenges of efficiencies, yield rates, animal welfare and land quality are likely qualifying projects for R&D tax relief enabling Farmers to receive tens of thousands of pounds as a cash boost to businesses.

Examples of R&D qualifying activity in Agriculture

Arable

  • Initiatives to improve soil quality, agricultural trials involving seeds, soils and pesticides
  • Development of crop species with enhanced properties, trialling new varieties to improve yield or disease resistance
  • Optimisation of harvest, irrigation systems and water treatment

Livestock

  • Selective breeding to improve genetic traits and improve animal health and welfare
  • Feeding trials; developing new feeds, feed substitutions, ration timing
  • Reducing antibiotic usage and investigating alternative ways to reduce the risk/rate of disease
  • Food engineering and the processing of agricultural products

All Farms

  • Initiatives to improve sustainability or reduce environmental impact
  • Design of agricultural machinery, equipment, and agricultural structures
  • Innovative use of technology such as drones, sensors, scanners and smart software

What is the Tax Relief?

The Government recognises that encouraging innovation is a vital component in a strategy for improving the UK’s productivity, performance and competitiveness. As a result, R&D tax credits have been substantially increased over recent years:

  • Companies currently profit making can achieve a payment of up to 25% of their innovation spend.
  • For loss making companies the refund benefit is increased and they can receive up to 33%.

R&D tax relief provides a cash payment to the business usually received within 4 weeks of submission. This additional, non-repayable cash injection is making such a difference to Farms in this challenging economic climate.

Costs you can claim

Categories of qualifying expenditure for the enhanced revenue deductions include:

  • Staffing costs
  • Externally provided workers
  • Software costs
  • Consumables
  • Sub-contractors

At JJMK we offer a free, no obligation, consultation to discuss your Farms activity and establish your eligibility to make an R&D claim. For further information please contact info@jjmkconsultants.co.uk