Brexit

In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, the Tories are preparing to sacrifice farmers on the Brexit altar by trying to prevent the Scottish Government from maintaining EU standards, says John Finnie, Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands.

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.

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

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.

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 UK Government has so far shown it does not care about protecting our standards, but Ministers can fix their betrayal of farmers by banning low-standard imports in the Trade Bill, says Deidre Brock, SNP food and rural affairs spokesperson.