Brexit

With more than one million people backing food standards by signing the NFU petition to protect them in law, we may yet force the Government’s hand on this issue, says Tim Farron, agriculture spokesman for the Liberal Democrats.

I have absolutely no objection to high animal welfare standards, but selling them as a magical business opportunity for UK farmers after Brexit is beyond laughable, says Norman Bagley, head of policy at the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS).

Waitrose has vowed never to sell any food which does not meet the UK’s high standards, branding any regression in future trade deals a ‘backwards step’.

Only a quarter of Scotland’s farmers are optimistic about their businesses in a post-Brexit landscape.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis has told the NFU she is ‘thinking long and hard’ about establishing a Trade and Standards Commission, just two weeks after publicly rejecting the idea at Cereals.

Exports Minister Graham Stuart and Farming Minister Victoria Prentis explain how they plan to boost overseas sales of UK food and drink.

The fight for a Commission to explore ways to protect food production standards in trade policy is continuing in the House of Lords, with a new Agriculture Bill amendment tabled to force the Government’s hand.

Defra and the Department for International Trade (DIT) have launched a ‘bounce back’ plan to help farmers hit by the coronavirus boost overseas sales.

Defra non-executive director Ben Goldsmith has called for ‘rewilding’ to be renamed ‘wilder farming’ in order to reassure farmers they are central to the movement.

The Government has announced the launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with two of the world’s largest sheepmeat exporters, sparking concern that the UK’s domestic sheep market could be severely undermined.