Brexit Hub

Farmers and land managers will have greater freedom and more choice in the future thanks to the Government’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, says High Peak Conservative MP Robert Largan.

The UK Government’s decision to cut agricultural funding in the devolved nations will have far-reaching consequences for every farm in Wales, says Plaid Cymru MS Llyr Gruffydd.

I’m no fan of Dominic Cummings, but it seems he may well have been fighting some battles on behalf of farmers, says Hywel Davies, who is a partner at Cyfreithwyr Llys Cennen Solicitors and helps his parents run the Aman flock of pedigree Texel sheep, the 2018 Champion Flock of Wales.

We understand farmers are anxious about the changes outlined by Defra in its agricultural transition plan this week, but that change will offer real opportunities for the sector, says Farming Minister Victoria Prentis.

The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, which sets a target to reduce pesticide use by 50 per cent, would negatively affect the world’s most food-insecure populations. The UK should not follow suit, says Adam Speed, director of public affairs at the Crop Protection Association.

2020 has been a challenging year for farmers, but with the end of the transition period, changes to direct payments and new trade deals on the horizon, 2021 may bring further hardship, says Conservative peer Anne McIntosh.

Brexit will create winners and losers in farming, but the direction of travel makes me fear there will be more losers than winners, says Oliver Dowding, an apple grower in South East Somerset.

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening US rural communities’ limited healthcare.

If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that the safe, reliable supply of sustainable food is important to the public. Welsh Government would be wise to recognise food production as a public good, says NFU Cymru president John Davies.

Picture the scene. It is the end of 2021 and there has been a no-deal Brexit, while Basic Payments have also started to reduce in line with Government plans to move towards a more environmentally-based farming support structure.