Herd size may have upped together with development of a thriving direct sales brand, but an early established ethos at Riverford Organic Dairy remains at its heart. Rachel Lovell reports.
Turbulence caused by Brexit and the coronavirus is not going away, but there are some positive lessons which can be learned from both, says Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food and Farming Countryside Commission.
After listening carefully to the arguments on both sides, Conservative High Peak MP Robert Largan decided he couldn’t vote for or against the Agriculture Bill amendment to ban low standard imports. Here, he explains why.
The mask has fallen. UK farmers have been betrayed by this Government, which promised to protect our food production standards in trade deals, says Leicestershire arable and beef farmer Joe Stanley.
Ensuring the UK’s food supply is secure must be a key aim in all of our future trade talks, as well as post-Brexit farm policy, says Conservative peer Anne McIntosh.
The Government’s failure to protect our standards in the Agriculture Bill was very disappointing, but UK farmers shouldn’t be too demoralised because they have high quality products to sell, says Andrew Robinson, head of agriculture at Armstrong Watson.
New checks on food products entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK will present a ‘significant challenge’ for business, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has said.
Farm groups have cautiously welcomed the Government’s new tariff schedule, which maintains protections for key agricultural products such as lamb, beef, poultry, cheese and butter.
The Agriculture Bill returning to Parliament this week is an important step in the UK’s departure from the EU, setting out the route to a new, more tailored system of agricultural support, as well as providing the basis for UK farmers to embrace the latest technology.
There is much good in the Agriculture Bill, but its failure to protect farmers from low standard imports is very serious, says Daniel Zeichner, Labour’s Shadow Farming Minister.