Legislation

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.

NFU vice president Stuart Roberts has warned farmers risk having their carbon credits ‘stolen’ by processors and retailers as the country moves towards its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

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.

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

A major processor has ‘broken ranks’ on the need to use a fixed cut-off date to age lambs, stalling progress on the rule change Defra was planning to introduce.

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.

The recognition of soil’s importance in the Ag Bill is a statement of ambition few other countries can match, but there is more work to do if we’re to meet the Government’s target of having sustainably managed soils by 2030, says Sustainable Soils Alliance director Matthew Orman.

Politicians have made a lot of promises to farmers about UK agriculture having a bright future, and now we must hold them to account, says Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association.

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.