Legislation

The union is the cornerstone of the UK’s prosperity and influence, and keeping it together will be vital for the future prosperity of our farmers, says Robert Largan, MP for High Peak.

An attempt in the House of Lords to ban live exports as part of the Agriculture Bill has been stymied by complications over Northern Ireland.

The eagerly anticipated National Food Strategy (NFS) for England has set out a number of formal recommendations for protecting food production standards in trade deals.

Leaving the Brexit transition period without an EU trade deal would be ‘a cakewalk’ for the food industry in comparison to the pandemic, National Food Strategy (NFS) chief Henry Dimbleby has said.

Farm groups have welcomed Government plans to scrap EU greening requirements for direct payments from 2021.

The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has said his Government will be ‘sensitive’ to coronavirus issues faced by farmers when setting a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) phaseout timetable.

The Food and Drink Sector Council (FDSC) has called on Government to delay ‘business as usual’ legislation and consultations while the sector focuses on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

Rows between the SNP and Tories over where power lies post-Brexit will not benefit Scottish farmers or the economy, which relies on intra-UK trade, says North East Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles.

Without some serious changes, the Trade and Agriculture Commission could end up becoming little more than a fig leaf for the Government’s failure to protect production standards in law, says Labour Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner.

Strange claims about trade deals with other countries increasing UK farmers’ use of insecticides must be taken with a pinch of salt, says Adam Speed, head of communications at the Crop Protection Association (CPA).