Funding

The Government is pushing several pieces of agriculture legislation through Parliament now, and as chair of the Efra committee and an FG reader, I intend to hold their feet to the fire every step of the way, says Neil Parish MP.

The farming industry must pull together and present a ‘united front’ if farmers are to have any hope of maintaining some form of direct support post-Brexit, NFU combinable crops board chair Tom Bradshaw has warned.

NFU horticulture board chair Ali Capper has called on the UK Government to provide support for farmers to measure and monitor their carbon footprint.

The UK is set to lose at least one oilseed rape crusher if the planting area drops this autumn, according to NFU combinable crops board chair Tom Bradshaw.

A top agricultural lawyer has said the delinked payments promised in the Agriculture Bill ‘will not see the light of day’.

Upland farmers are set to lose 94 per cent of farm business income by 2024 due to uncertainty over agri-environment funding, according to Dr Julia Aglionby, chairman of the Uplands Alliance.

If the Scottish Government does not set out a clear plan and direction of travel for agriculture, the annual support budget of 500m could be under threat, says Mike Rumbles, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for the North East.

Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments worth 1.64 billion and 109 million in Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) has reached farmers’ bank accounts in record time.

The latest version of the Agriculture Bill was published by the Government last week. But what in it is new, and what are the next steps? Abi Kay has spoken to Defra to get the inside track.