trade

A packed ringside saw Aberdeen-Angus bulls sell to a high of 25,000gns, matching last year’s top call.

Beef Shorthorn bulls sold to a high of 20,000gns twice, with averages up 104 on the year for 53 bulls sold at 4,780, and a clearance rate of 61 per cent.

For years, the arguments around Brexit have been focused on ‘in or out’. Now, with our departure just days away, it’s time to think about how we can make the most of leaving, says Matt Legge, a sheep, beef and pig farmer from the Isle of Wight.

The show and sale of in-lamb females and gimmer hoggs at J36 included the Rough Diamond sale on behalf of the Rough Fell Sheep Breeders Association where a new record of 1,450gns was set for the reserve champion.

Hundreds of farmers across the country will join forces with the NFU in a rallying call to Government, urging them to take firm action on post-Brexit food standards.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has called on Ministers to introduce a ‘strong trade policy’ to block high carbon food imports.

The NFU and Friends of the Earth (FoE) have joined forces to push for environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards to be protected after Brexit.

The US and China have signed Phase One of an international trade-agreement worth $200 billion overall, with China now expected to purchase up to $50billion (£39 billion) worth of agricultural products on an annual-basis.

As we enter a new decade, farmers need details on how the UK’s post-Brexit trade and policy arrangements will affect them, says Conservative peer Anne McIntosh.

UK political discourse has become more tribal in recent years, but the Government should be aware that society is united on one thing – the need to protect standards after Brexit, says Sue Pritchard, director of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC).