trade

Farm groups have hit out at the Government’s readiness to abandon a zero tariff trade deal with the EU.

With the first round of negotiations for a UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) underway, farm groups have warned Government must uphold its commitment to ensuring food standards are not undermined.

Farmers are more confident of business survival than any other small business sectors, according to a survey by Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

What we hope for, and what we actually get, are often two different things. And coronavirus is proving to be a situation which can make the gap between hope and reality seem larger than ever.

After four weeks in his new role as chairman of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Nicholas Saphir spoke to Hannah Binns about his vision for the levy board, which will see a strong focus on export market development and more effective communication.

A surge in home-baking has left shoppers unable to stock up on flour.

The Livestock Auctioneers’ Association has agreed with Defra and the Welsh Government some sales of breeding stock can be carried out within newly established protocols which demonstrate social distancing measures. 

The last three weeks have seen a marked shift in how and where we buy our food. It is a pattern that will remain while we are in lockdown and I suspect there will be a few habits or behaviours that persist for the longer term. 

The spring of 2020 was expected to be a busy time for the pig sector, with so many anticipated changes coming in the form of new legislation, and welfare and environmental issues going up the wider agenda, says Edward Barker, senior policy advisor at the National Pig Association (NPA).

When the Government announced its unprecedented lockdown measures, restricting people’s movement and closing businesses, many farm diversifications were forced to shut their doors.