New UK Agriculture Bill not enough to compete in volatile post-Brexit market, claim farmers

17 Sep 2018 --- The UK Government’s plan on what farming will look like following Brexit, the Agriculture Bill, has finally been introduced before Parliament and it sets out a major policy to invest in the environment and “take back control for farmers after almost 50 years under EU rule.”

Although Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, says this is a “landmark” bill which delivers a green Brexit, reaction to the proposals have been mixed, with some criticism from the dairy sector. 

The Agriculture Bill sets out how farmers and land managers will in future be paid for “public goods,” such as better air and water quality, improved soil health, higher animal welfare standards, public access to the countryside and measures to reduce flooding.

This will replace the current subsidy system of Direct Payments, which the UK government describes as “ineffective” and pays farmers based on the total amount of land farmed. These payments are skewed towards the largest landowners and are not linked to any specific public benefits. 

The top 10 percent of recipients currently receive almost 50 percent of total payments, while the bottom 20 percent receive just 2 percent.

In its place, a new Environmental Land Management system will start next year. The government will work together with farmers to design, develop and trial the new approach. Under the new system, farmers and land managers who provide the most significant environmental benefits will secure the largest rewards, laying the foundations for a Green Brexit, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). 

Paul Vernon Chair of Dairy UK says that although it does give Defra new and wide-ranging powers to reshape the support given to agriculture and develop new support schemes for farmers, there does, however, appear to be a lack of emphasis within the Bill on the financial support given to farmers for productivity measures, which is a concern.

“The profitability and innovation of dairy farms must go hand-in-hand with providing public goods so that we can remain competitive post-Brexit,” he says. 

“One element of this Bill allows the Secretary of State to regulate contracts in agriculture. This has the potential of providing greater flexibility than is currently allowed under the CMO. That being the case, it is difficult to understand why Defra has signaled that they will be bringing forward proposals for the regulation of raw milk contracts under the CMO.”

“Our analysis of the requirements of the CMO is that they are fundamentally incompatible with the need of the dairy sector to compete in the volatile marketplace we can expect post-Brexit. So our first ask is that Defra delay the regulation of contracts in the dairy sector until the powers of the Agriculture Bill are in place so that we can tailor regulation to the needs of the British dairy sector and there is full and wide-ranging consultation with all players in the dairy supply chain.”

Calling for the need for closer dialogue, Arthur Fearnall, Chair of Dairy UK’s Farmers’ Forum adds: “We look forward to receiving greater detail on the measures announced within the Bill in due course, and the Dairy UK Farmers Forum will take a constructive role in the dialogue with Defra through this process.”

“We want to ensure that dairy farmers’ views and needs are fully reflected to secure a positive future for dairy farming post-Brexit.”

The National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales is also calling for the Government to put the business of food and farming at the heart of the new Agriculture Bill and says it is disappointed with some parts of the Bill. 

“The NFU alongside, the whole food supply chain, has been absolutely clear about the essential ingredients for a progressive, profitable, and sustainable food and farming sector post-Brexit,” says NFU President Minette Batters. "These include comprehensive measures to improve the environment and productivity and tackle volatility alongside free and frictionless trade and access to a competent and reliable workforce. The Bill, as described in the announcement falls short of our aspirations in these regards.

“It is vital that in the future British farmers can continue to meet the food needs of a growing population. A future agricultural policy that ignores food production will be damaging for farmers and the public alike. The public demand and deserve safe, high-quality, traceable affordable food, whatever their income. And moreover, they want British farms to supply that food.”

“Farmers across the UK will be very concerned that the Bill provides only a short-term commitment to improving their competitiveness; we cannot future-proof farming businesses based on the ‘time-limited’ initiatives outlined in this announcement.”

Batters adds that once the UK leaves the European Union, British farmers will need to compete with farmers all over the world, nearly all of whom are supported financially to produce food. She says this means British farmers need the right financial and policy framework to do so in a competitive and volatile global marketplace.

“We will look closely at the Government’s proposals for a seven-year transition period, during which direct payments will be phased out, to ensure we’re satisfied that this will be sufficient. In particular, the Bill must provide Government with the powers to pause the process if it is proving unmanageable for farmers, and if our domestic food supply and food security are under threat,” she adds. 

By Gaynor Selby