[starcana]

Hello everyone,
We just moved two months ago from Warwickshire to Cornwall having taken early retirement and having 'one last project in us'! We are very lucky having bought a beautiful farmhouse that needs just cosmetic work (only to get it to our taste really) on the house, but with 13+acres of land. Now about 10 acres is in three fields which is cut for hay in a contra deal (although this year as the house was empty, the hay got too wet and was dumped rather than take away - more questions on that later). AS well as good gardens, and a grassed over yard, we have two other fields, one which we intend to use as a play field for the grandchildren and the other which will have fruit, veg a small orchard and hens. We have just been in two months and have already dug a good veg patch (not huge, but we want to it to be manageable rather than too ambitious too early on), a fruit bed which I will plant up this week, have some fruit trees on order and will get the hens in the spring once we've 'dog proofed' an area of the field (is electric netting best to keep the dog out? wouldn't be worried about the hens getting out otherwise!). 
So my question (or the first batch anyway) is: is this a smallholding as we don't intend to keep other livestock? (The land was part of a 110 acre farm until the early 1990s). Should we register. What are the benefits, if any? What are the tax implications (I've read loads of forum about VAT but that doesn't seem to make it worthwhile having been in the VAT maze before).  Should we be seeking any grants (our local farmer told us if we register as it's 13 acres we might be able to get around £60 an acre a year in grants but not sure how or what he meant. Oh yeah, we also have a separate gorgeous converted barn that we are going to do holiday lets from and have already registed with an agency that comes highly recommended from neighbours. So all views and comments welcome please.
Really enjoy browsing the site. Thanks all.

[Fluffywelshsheep]

first of all welcome to the forum
 i can't help you on any of the question but am sure their are plenty on here that can
Linz aka fws from central scotland

[Hilarysmum]

13 acres, grandchildren, hens, veggies -  you call that retiring?

[Rosemary]

Hi and welcome.

We were registered for VAT and might again if some other things pan out; it was quite straightforward - we sold food which was zero rated and we claimed back the VAT on business expenses. Basically we got a cheque from C&E every quarter. It woudl be worth doing if you were setting up as the VAT is mainly on equipment rather than ongoing revenue costs like food.

I'm sure others will be able to offer more information.

[carole]

Hello and welcome, please post all your adventures.

Carole

[starcana]

Hello again, and thanks for all the welcomes. I am finding myself checking this site whenever I stop working (it's sewing curains and blinds at the moment!) as it is so interesting. My real question (yes, it was a bit longwinded!) was about the pros and cons of registering as a smallholding. Any views? Thanks.

[kaz]

If you want any kind of livestock in the future you would need to be registered.

Kaz

[Rosemary]

I assume that since the County Parish Holding number (CPH) comes from the Rural Payments Agency, you need one to make a claim. That may be what your farmer chum is referring to. I've seen a company advertised called New Land Owner, which offers advice to folk just in your position.