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Talk Farm is brought to you by HCR Law’s Agriculture and Estates team. Each month, we amplify voices from across the industry and discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping rural life in Britain and beyond our shores. Tune in for insights into everything from government policy to mental health in farming.
Partner, Head of Agriculture and Estates Team
As an agricultural lawyer, I have a huge interest in the work I carry out as well as farming in general. My clients have included a variety of diverse farming businesses including livestock, arable and dairy farms, agricultural cooperatives, certification organisations, agricultural shows and tourist enterprises. I take the time to understand my clients on a personal level, and get to know their needs as agricultural businesses.
Acting for landowners and farmers is about being at the heart of their business and family. I enjoy working with clients and other advisers and being part of the client’s team. I also enjoy working on diverse matters as my farming and charity clients tend to be innovative and always looking for the next opportunity. Working in the Agricultural and Estates team is about long-term relationships.
From AI to autonomous machinery, farmers across the world are starting to adopt new technologies – but questions around cost, skills and data ownership can make it hard to know where to start.
In the latest episode of Talk Farm, Rory Hutchings is joined by experts from Wales, Western Australia and Zambia to explore how digitalisation is changing the agriculture industry and what it means for farms of all sizes.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In this episode of our Agriculture and Estates podcast, Talk Farm, sees Partner James Frankland speak to Lisa Millington, Head of Agricultural Private Client, about the fast-moving inheritance tax landscape for farmers and rural business owners.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Welsh farmers face a tough climate. Beef prices are high due to a national shortage, while milk prices have dropped. Arable farmers are struggling after years of unpredictable weather, avian influenza continues to affect poultry producers and changes to inheritance tax remain an overriding concern.
In this episode of Talk Farm, Bryn Thomas speaks to Abi Reader, Vice President of NFU Cymru and dairy farmer, about the current state of Welsh farming.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
It will soon be one month since Labour released their new budget, which confirmed the fears of the rural community in reducing Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, amongst other changes that will squeeze farmers and other agricultural professionals.
The first episode of Talk Farm is dedicated to helping you understand these changes and mitigate negative impacts on your livelihood. James Frankland, Co-Host and Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, is joined by Lisa Millington, Partner in Private Client.
The second episode of Talk Farm, the podcast brought to you by our Agriculture and Estates team, is here. Partner Rory Hutchings is joined this month by Aled Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.
During the episode, conversation ranges from the role of agricultural shows in combatting loneliness and helping farmers overcome adversity, to how they have encouraged financial resilience, innovation and diversification over the centuries.
It’s been an eventful few months for UK farmers and agricultural professionals, with developments both at home and abroad posing a new set of challenges and opportunities.
In the latest episode of Talk Farm, host James Frankland welcomes Ed Barker, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Institute of Agricultural Industries Confederation, as his guest. James and Ed’s conversation addresses the key trends – both micro and macro, national and international – shaping UK farming
Partners James Frankland and Rory Hutchings are joined by Denise Wilkinson, Head of HCR Law’s Agriculture and Estates team.
Denise, Rory and James explore the year ahead in agriculture in a wide-ranging conversation, covering Environmental Land Management Schemes and Sustainable Farming initiatives, the changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief, and how the budget will affect land values.
In this episode, host James Frankland, Partner in the HCR Agriculture and Estates team talks to Richard Crane, current Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers.
Join James and Richard as they discuss how liveries work and the vital role of education in upholding skills and standards in farming.
In the latest episode of Talk Farm, HCR is delighted to collaborate with the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth to hear perspectives on farming from beyond our shores.
Chris Riddle, Trustee of the RASC, is joined by Jessica and Ella Underberg – a mother-daughter duo on a mission to improve awareness of the importance of agriculture through education and community-building.
Seven months on from the October Budget, and following a technical consultation process, the government has confirmed that it has no current plans to change proposed IHT legislation. In this episode, host James Frankland, Partner in the HCR Agriculture and Estates team talks to Lisa Millington, Partner and Head of the HCR Agriculture Private Client team – as they discuss how farming families can adapt to the changes brought by the Budget.
We end the first series of Talk Farm on the important subject of mental health in farming, something which has become more widely talked about in recent years.
Host Rory Hutchings and Malcolm Thomas MBE, Trustee and former Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), discuss some of the causes from the weather and livestock disease to loneliness and a perceived lack of public support.
In this first episode, James Frankland, Co-Host and Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, speaks with Roz Scott, Gleaning Coordinator at Still Good Food – a charity making a big impact in Suffolk by reducing surplus farm produce and redistributing it to the community.
James and Roz discuss how supermarket policies shape what ends up on our plates – and what doesn’t.
Host Rory Hutchings is joined by Aled Owen, Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, and Lynne Adams, Legal Director in our Employment and Immigration team, to unpack a recent case involving migrant workers and the lessons it offers for the farming community.
The case concerns a leading dairy farm in Wales, known for its high standards in animal welfare, regulatory compliance and progressive waste management. After Brexit, the farm hired migrant workers to address a labour shortage but was later raided by immigration authorities.
Welsh farmers face a tough climate. Beef prices are high due to a national shortage, while milk prices have dropped. Arable farmers are struggling after years of unpredictable weather, avian influenza continues to affect poultry producers and changes to inheritance tax remain an overriding concern.
In the this episode of Talk Farm, Bryn Thomas speaks to Abi Reader, Vice President of NFU Cymru and dairy farmer, about the current state of Welsh farming.
In this episode James Frankland speaks to Lisa Millington, Head of Agricultural Private Client, about the fast-moving inheritance tax landscape for farmers and rural business owners.
They revisit the 2025 Autumn Budget, unpacking Rachel Reeves’ announcement that relief allowances will remain transferrable between spouses, and the pre-Christmas uplift in Agricultural and Business Property Relief from £1m to £2.5m. The increase creates up to £5m relief for married couples and opens new planning opportunities for younger farming families.
From AI to autonomous machinery, farmers across the world are starting to adopt new technologies – but questions around cost, skills and data ownership can make it hard to know where to start.
In this episode of Talk Farm, Rory Hutchings is joined by experts from Wales, Western Australia and Zambia to explore how digitalisation is changing the agriculture industry and what it means for farms of all sizes.
It will soon be one month since Labour released their new budget, which confirmed the fears of the rural community in reducing Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, amongst other changes that will squeeze farmers and other agricultural professionals.
The first episode of Talk Farm is dedicated to helping you understand these changes and mitigate negative impacts on your livelihood. James Frankland, Co-Host and Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, is joined by Lisa Millington, Partner in Private Client.
The second episode of Talk Farm, the podcast brought to you by our Agriculture and Estates team, is here. Partner Rory Hutchings is joined this month by Aled Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.
During the episode, conversation ranges from the role of agricultural shows in combatting loneliness and helping farmers overcome adversity, to how they have encouraged financial resilience, innovation and diversification over the centuries.
It’s been an eventful few months for UK farmers and agricultural professionals, with developments both at home and abroad posing a new set of challenges and opportunities.
In the latest episode of Talk Farm, host James Frankland welcomes Ed Barker, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Institute of Agricultural Industries Confederation, as his guest. James and Ed’s conversation addresses the key trends – both micro and macro, national and international – shaping UK farming
Partners James Frankland and Rory Hutchings are joined by Denise Wilkinson, Head of HCR Law’s Agriculture and Estates team.
Denise, Rory and James explore the year ahead in agriculture in a wide-ranging conversation, covering Environmental Land Management Schemes and Sustainable Farming initiatives, the changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief, and how the budget will affect land values.
In this episode, host James Frankland, Partner in the HCR Agriculture and Estates team talks to Richard Crane, current Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers.
Join James and Richard as they discuss how liveries work and the vital role of education in upholding skills and standards in farming.
In the latest episode of Talk Farm, HCR is delighted to collaborate with the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth to hear perspectives on farming from beyond our shores.
Chris Riddle, Trustee of the RASC, is joined by Jessica and Ella Underberg – a mother-daughter duo on a mission to improve awareness of the importance of agriculture through education and community-building.
Seven months on from the October Budget, and following a technical consultation process, the government has confirmed that it has no current plans to change proposed IHT legislation. In this episode, host James Frankland, Partner in the HCR Agriculture and Estates team talks to Lisa Millington, Partner and Head of the HCR Agriculture Private Client team – as they discuss how farming families can adapt to the changes brought by the Budget.
We end the first series of Talk Farm on the important subject of mental health in farming, something which has become more widely talked about in recent years.
Host Rory Hutchings and Malcolm Thomas MBE, Trustee and former Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), discuss some of the causes from the weather and livestock disease to loneliness and a perceived lack of public support.
In this first episode, James Frankland, Co-Host and Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, speaks with Roz Scott, Gleaning Coordinator at Still Good Food – a charity making a big impact in Suffolk by reducing surplus farm produce and redistributing it to the community.
James and Roz discuss how supermarket policies shape what ends up on our plates – and what doesn’t.
Host Rory Hutchings is joined by Aled Owen, Partner in our Agriculture and Estates team, and Lynne Adams, Legal Director in our Employment and Immigration team, to unpack a recent case involving migrant workers and the lessons it offers for the farming community.
The case concerns a leading dairy farm in Wales, known for its high standards in animal welfare, regulatory compliance and progressive waste management. After Brexit, the farm hired migrant workers to address a labour shortage but was later raided by immigration authorities.
Welsh farmers face a tough climate. Beef prices are high due to a national shortage, while milk prices have dropped. Arable farmers are struggling after years of unpredictable weather, avian influenza continues to affect poultry producers and changes to inheritance tax remain an overriding concern.
In the this episode of Talk Farm, Bryn Thomas speaks to Abi Reader, Vice President of NFU Cymru and dairy farmer, about the current state of Welsh farming.
In this episode James Frankland speaks to Lisa Millington, Head of Agricultural Private Client, about the fast-moving inheritance tax landscape for farmers and rural business owners.
They revisit the 2025 Autumn Budget, unpacking Rachel Reeves’ announcement that relief allowances will remain transferrable between spouses, and the pre-Christmas uplift in Agricultural and Business Property Relief from £1m to £2.5m. The increase creates up to £5m relief for married couples and opens new planning opportunities for younger farming families.
From AI to autonomous machinery, farmers across the world are starting to adopt new technologies – but questions around cost, skills and data ownership can make it hard to know where to start.
In this episode of Talk Farm, Rory Hutchings is joined by experts from Wales, Western Australia and Zambia to explore how digitalisation is changing the agriculture industry and what it means for farms of all sizes.
