Politics

The Government has rejected a call from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Select Committee to create a Food Security Minister post.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Environment Agency (EA) are to be given powers to authorise criminal conduct under a new piece of legislation passing through Parliament.

If the Conservatives are not prepared to stand up for farmers now and protect them from low-standard imports, they should not expect rural votes when they come knocking for support at the next election, says Labour Shadow Defra Secretary Luke Pollard.

For too long, the CAP rewarded farmers for inefficiency, but new post-Brexit schemes should help farmers to improve profitability and embrace innovation, says John Henning, County Armagh beef farmer.

Though politicians are still talking about no deal as a serious prospect, behind the scenes, negotiators may be closer than ever to clinching a deal, says Jonathan Roberts, director of external affairs at the CLA.

Lord Donald Curry has said Ministers would be ‘wise’ to accept his revised amendment to the Agriculture Bill, which would increase parliamentary scrutiny of future trade deals.

Jane King will leave her role no later than September 2021

A top Welsh Government official has admitted that some ‘stresses and strains’ of farmers can be caused by Government actions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK is now preparing to leave the EU without a deal, as he accused his European counterparts of ‘abandoning the idea of a free trade agreement’.

Farmers already do so much to preserve our countryside, and there is more they can do, but they must be given the tools they need by Government, says High Peak Conservative MP Robert Largan.