Brexit

The UK and the EU have reached a new deal over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, which the Prime Minister says will deliver the ’smooth flow of trade’.

NFU president Minette Batters issued a strongly worded message to policymakers warning them that the ‘clock is ticking’ for Government to get behind British farmers and growers.

Defra Secretary Thérèse Coffey is calling for closer ties between the UK and the US in order to forge a more secure and sustainable future for agriculture.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigned today, saying she no longer wants to lead in what has become a ‘brutal’ political landscape.

Farmers and agronomists will face reduced crop protection product choices and increased costs due to the withdrawal of parallel import licenses following the UK’s departure from the European Economic Area (EEA), according to Clayton Crop Protection.

The Government is being urged to consider introducing a relaxed visa system that would see migrants placed in rural communities for a minimum of five years to combat depopulation and the growing skills shortage.

The three Environmental Land Management schemes are to remain in place incorporating an enhanced Countryside Stewardship scheme that will be more closely linked to Local Nature Recovery, the Secretary of State for Defra Therese Coffey, has revealed.

The NFU is calling for urgent clarity on the future of the Seasonal Workers Scheme, amid claims the industry’s future rests ‘on a knife edge’.

Industry groups have welcomed the news that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has postponed its ‘reinterpretation’ of the rules surrounding animal health export certificates for 12 months.

Fears are growing that the agriculture budget could be slashed amid the ‘frenzy of spending cuts’ which Rishi Sunak’s new Government is expected to carry out.