Brexit

Vets may be forced to choose between examining and treating livestock or certifying exports in a worst-case Brexit scenario, British Veterinary Association president James Russell has warned.

Farmers already do so much to preserve our countryside, and there is more they can do, but they must be given the tools they need by Government, says High Peak Conservative MP Robert Largan.

Farming is a resilient industry, but there is still much work to do on issues such as export certificates, trade deals and future policy to prepare us for Brexit, says Matt Legge, a sheep, beef and pig farmer from the Isle of Wight.

Defra’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme must stop the uplands from being destocked and wilded by stealth, says Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK is now preparing to leave the EU without a deal, as he accused his European counterparts of ‘abandoning the idea of a free trade agreement’.

The Tories have already broken their promise to protect British farmers from being undermined by low-standard imports – now they have one chance left to redeem themselves, says Labour Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner.

The industry has reacted with disappointment after an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would have banned low-standard food imports was rejected

A Government decision to reject an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would have banned low-standard food imports has highlighted growing divisions among the Conservative Party leadership and its backbenchers on the issu

Ahead of the Commons debate on Lords amendments to the Agriculture Bill this week, Ben Lake, Ceredigion MP and Plaid Cymru’s agriculture spokesman in Westminster, warns protecting food standards today is about building a better rural economy for tomorrow.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is set to block a key vote on beefing up the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) this evening.