September 7th, 2009
Dairy produce is made from the extraction and processing of milk. The milk is typically from cows, yet can often be made from goats, sheep, horses and buffalo.
A dairy farm usually rears cows specifically to produce milk to enter the human or animal food chain. Dairy farms are common in across world civilisation, although the degree of mechanisation differs. Large dairy farms will use machines to milk cows that produce a high yield of milk, simply milking by hand is now relegated to smaller farms or small holdings that may have a few cows. Managing the production of sufficient milk is tricky for the large dairy farms, as they must ensure cows are milked at least once a day.
Posted in Dairy Produce | Comments Off
May 4th, 2010
The Peak District National Park was founded in 1951 as a place for people to relax, walk and enjoy the countryside within Derbyshire. The towns of Ashbourne and Leek mark the southern boundary of the Park and the park extends up to the Sheffield in the North.
Many paths, trails and cycle lanes criss-cross the park and are accessible to people of all abilities. Popular walking trails include the Pennine Way and this allows walkers and cyclists to access the entire of the Pennine range. Although the Pennine way cuts though protected landscape it is open for use by the public and a dedicated bridleway now runs alongside this for use by horse riders and mountain bikers alike.
The Peak District National Park is extremely popular over the summer months from the first Bank Holiday onwards. The gateway towns of Ashbourne, Bakewell and Buxton attract a large amount of visitors and traffic can be quite bad. However, using these towns as a base for walks is a popular UK holiday and many Peak District walks are accessible within a short distance of these areas. Official figures put the number of visitors to the area in the millions per year and a good deal of people also live and work within the Peak National Park. Access to large cities such as Sheffield, Derby and Manchester also mean that regular train services are available should you wish to leave the car behind and avoid the traffic.
Posted in Peak District Walks | Comments Off
March 3rd, 2010
Introduction
The talk may still be of the recession continuing for much of 2010, but Bristol accountants, C & M Services says it’s still a good time for contractors.
Many large organisations are continuing to put a hold on permanent recruitment, preferring to use contractors which bring with them high levels of skills and experience and the resource flexibility large firms want.
For individuals, whether contracting is a short term or long term career choice, this route can offer the opportunity to develop certain skills, try new industry sectors and take home more pay.
Here, we look at some of the trading options open to contractors.
Trading Options for Contractors
Once you have decided to contract/freelance, the next step is to decide which is the best route in terms of trading structure.
There are a number of issues to consider and this article highlights some of these.
Options
Essentially, there are three routes to choose from:
- PAYE – here the contractor is an employee of the agency and so all earnings will be subject to PAYE and NI in the usual way. This route offers no tax advantages but does mean that there is no requirement to complete a self assessment return provided you have no other income.
However, clients and agencies will typically require contractors to provide their services either through a limited or umbrella company. One of the key reasons for this is that both options provide their own legal identity and so offer some protection to the clients and agencies from employment rights and tax liability transfers.
- Limited Company – this can often be a tax efficient method of trading for individuals provided that they fall outside the IR35 legislation, as earnings can be taken in the form of a salary and dividends. For individuals who offer services and are essentially “disguised employees”, earnings will be subject to a calculation called the “deemed payment” as set out by HMRC. This effectively means that 95% of income will be subject to PAYE and NI. This does often beg the question about the advantages and disadvantages of this route. We look at some of those here:
-
- As already mentioned, this structure can be a tax efficient one as no NI is payable on dividends paid out. This will be the preferred route if you are genuinely operating outside of IR35.
- As you are trading in your own right, you can register for the flat rate VAT scheme which effectively means that you can add VAT onto your invoices at the prevailing rate of 17.5% but pay over a lower amount to HMRC.
- In addition to travel costs, you will be able to claim use of home as office, computer equipment costs, mobile and internet costs. Company set up costs and accountancy fees will also be tax deductible.
- You can grow the business by allotting more shares or selling some of your existing shares to bring like minded directors in to work alongside you.
- A company is a separate legal entity which protects you and your personal assets from any litigious activity
DISADVANTAGES
-
- The cost of set up and compliance in terms of filing statutory accounts to Companies House and Corporation Tax returns to HMRC can be in the region of £1,200 per year.
- Paperwork involved – raising invoices and debt collection are the key ones to consider here.
- Any profit after your “deemed” wages will be subject to corporation tax of 21% (small companies rate)
- Will require careful consideration and tax planning before closing down
-
- Umbrella Company – this will provide you with the flexibility of joining and leaving normally without any charge and with no/minimum notice periods.
-
- There are no set up costs as the company already exists – this has the added advantage that you can start working as soon as you have completed the joining paperwork.
- A Bristol umbrella company will normally provide you with insurance cover. Make sure you understand exactly what insurance they have and what is covered. This means you do not have the hassle and expense of arranging this for yourself and again, this can facilitate a speedy start to your new assignment.
- If you are new to contracting, you may want to consider this option initially. If you decide that contracting is for you in the longer term, it may be worthwhile incorporating into a limited company.
- As with the limited company, your personal assets are protected from any litigious activity which will be directed at the company and not you personally.
-
- You have no control over the running of the company as you are not a director or a shareholder.
- You will pay a monthly charge for the services provided by the umbrella.
- You are reliant on the umbrella company to complete the invoicing and payroll in a timely manner to ensure that you get paid.
Which One is For Me?
Here are some considerations before you make this decision:
-
- IR35 status – if your contracts are such that you will be operating outside of IR35, then the limited company will offer you the most tax effective route.
- Control – if you want to retain complete control and be seen as the company director, then you will choose the limited company option over the umbrella route.
- Paperwork – if this is not your thing or you don’t have the time, go for an umbrella company that will process everything for you and charge a weekly/monthly fee for doing so.
- Your intentions – a limited company may be more preferable if you intend to stay contracting in the longer term.
- Flexibility – an umbrella company is easy to join and leave. You can always start a limited company later. It is much more complicated and lengthy to shut a limited company down once it is up and running. It will also involve additional filing fees at Companies House and accountancy charges.
- If you are after the maximum tax efficiency and a long term high earner, then you should consider the limited company route.
There is no absolute right answer.
Please note that the choice of trading route does not influence your IR35 status which is determined by the conditions and practicalities of your contract. Your status in relation to IR35 should be reviewed with each new assignment.
Posted in accounting | Comments Off
February 7th, 2010
Butter is a dairy product that is derived from churning milk or cream. It’s most common uses in everyday life are as a spread or as a cooking aid, particularly for frying, baking and mixing sauces. Butter can be made from the milk of any animal although the most popular commercial butters are derived from cow’s milk.
Butter has a soft consistency when left at room temperature which makes it an ideal food stuff to be used as a spread. When kept refrigerated it will harden to a solid state. It will melt to a liquid after gentle heating which makes it a perfect ingredient to cook with. Butter consists of a mixture of water, butterfat and milk proteins.
The process of making butter starts with milk or cream. These substances both contain butterfats in microscopic pockets but these fats are prevented from joining together by tiny membranes that surround each one of them. To create the solid butter the milk or cream needs to be agitated to break down these membranes and allow the butterfats to come together.
Butter falls into two main categories; sweet cream butter and raw cream butter. The type of butter depends on whether the original dairy product was pasteurized (the process of killing bacteria and microbes) or not.
Butter made from pasteurized milk or cream is the sweet type and butter made from an unpasteurized source is the raw type. Sweet cream butter is traditionally more popular across the United States and United Kingdom and raw cream butter is preferred across continental Europe.
Other types of butter include salted butter, which as it’s name suggests has salt added during production, and clarified butter, which is made by removing most of the water and milk content from the butter through a process of heating and cooling, leaving almost pure butterfat.
Most butter contains about 50% saturated fats and a relatively high amount of cholesterol. The health concerns that this raises has seen the growth of a range of healthier alternative products for today’s consumer.
Posted in Dairy Produce | Comments Off
December 22nd, 2009
With the pressures of modern day teaching in schools and the wide array of curriculum requirements that are put in place should schools make more of the opportunities provided by external providers?
The benefits are numerous, ranging from an unknown person teaching a class. This in itself can really provide an insight into how students react and cope with someone who they know very little. Giving the opportunity for the teacher to observe such interactions.
A huge benefit is the range of specialties that can be taught. Nobody can expect teachers to know everything, yet by bringing in outside providers the different topics that can be covered are endless.
A great workshop idea is visits by authors and illustrators, who have published books, provides a great experience to see how books are created from the initial ideas to the finished product. The students can have either study the book previous to the authors visit or after the visit, both can have their merits.
If its not literacy that’s the focus then maybe numeracy. The range of maths workshops ranging from sessions using the number to others using more practical maths where the use of numbers is limited but such criteria as sequencing, pattern and problem solving are more the focus.
This is not to say that all the school workshop choices that are available are the more traditional subjects. There are animal workshops, circus skills, music, dance, and team building or world culture workshops. This is to name but a few. The subjects that are available are all there to really enhance our children’s exposure to different experiences, and really should not be missed.
Posted in School Workshops | Comments Off
November 25th, 2009
Dairy products are foodstuffs that are produced from milk. Usually these products will be derived from cow’s milk, although other types of milk, such as goat, sheep or buffalo are also used. The most common dairy products include milk, butter and cheese.
Milk will usually be processed in a dairy factory after being collected from dairy farms, although some dairy farms will do their own processing on-site.
Milk
Probably the most common dairy derivatives of milk is simply the milk itself. It can be pasteurized to help preserve the milk and extend its shelf life and graded to ensure the correct level of fat remains in the milk. It can then be sold as milk, or further processed to create products such as cream, milk powder or condensed milk.
Butter
Butter is produced by churning milk or cream which agitates the molecular structure of the milk and allows the fats within the milk to join and separate from the other parts of the milk. The liquid left by the churning process is called buttermilk and can be used as a dairy product itself.
Cheese
Cheese is formed when milk is coagulated, or curdled, by the addition of the enzyme rennet. This separates the milk into liquid called whey and a solid material called curds. The curds are removed and will be processed in a number of different ways to form cheese.
There are a number of varieties of cheese which take on individual flavours and textures according to how they are treated, which includes how they are aged, how much they are dried and the specific ways that they are flavoured.
Dairy products are a good source of calcium and protein and parents are encouraged to make sure their children get plenty of dairy in their diet to help promote healthy bone growth. People who are lactose intolerant however will not be able to enjoy dairy produce.
Posted in Dairy Produce | Comments Off
October 3rd, 2009
Dairy farming is a form of agriculture that is concerned with the production of milk. This milk will be processed and manufactured into a range of commercial products, including cheese, butter, yoghurt and of course milk itself.
Dairy farms will house their own herds of dairy cows that will provide the farms milk. The herds will be left out to pasture for much of the year (depending on the climate) and will have their food supplemented by food sources grown at the dairy farm. Many modern dairy farms will also process the milk they collect on-site rather than sending it out to a dairy factory.
The female cows, known as sows, are the only ones that will produce milk, so dairy farms will sell any male calves born on the farm to be used for veal or sometimes for breeding. The sows produce milk whilst they are lactating – a side effect of the cow having given birth. As such, the sows are on a constant cycle of insemination and pregnancy and rest, a cycle that takes between 12 and 16 months.
Dairy farming has been part of farming tradition for thousands of years and started with farmer’s hand-milking their cows directly into pails. In the beginning, dairy farming would be one small activity of a regular farm, although nowadays dairy farming is a large industry and many specialist dairy farms exist around the world.
More modern milking parlours have automatic milking cups that are attached to the cow’s udders via a gentle vacuum pump. In rotary milking parlours, cows will stand on a moving floor and circle the parlour whilst being milked. The milking process takes around 5 minutes per cow.
The largest producer of dairy products worldwide is India, followed by the United States, Germany, Pakistan and China. New Zealand is the largest exporter of dairy products whilst Japan is the largest importer. The top four dairy states in the United States are California, Wisconsin, New York and Idaho.
Posted in Dairy farming | Comments Off