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Farming
04 March 2024
Lead MP
Fay Jones
Debate Type
General Debate
Tags
NHSAgriculture & Rural AffairsMental Health
Other Contributors: 42
At a Glance
Fay Jones raised concerns about farming in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
The Government understands that farming drives rural Britain, generating jobs and growth. The debate aims to support British farming by investing in farmers through a £2.4 billion annual budget, shifting away from the common agricultural policy to focus on long-term food security. The Prime Minister announced a £427 million grant package for farming schemes. Additionally, measures include cutting penalties for minor issues, ending harsh EU cross-compliance systems, and launching reviews of sectors like dairy, poultry, and pig to address fair pricing for farmers' products. Mental health support for farmers is also highlighted with a new fund worth up to £500,000. Food security is prioritised by maintaining domestic food production at current levels (around 60%) and introducing annual food security indexes.
Eddie Hughes
Con
Walsall North
Asked if the Government would support farmers like Andrew Gilman, who wants to mechanise his milking process with robots.
Questioned the Minister about whether future trade deals will prioritise the interests of farmers after accusations that current deals have neglected their needs.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Asked for a commitment to work with regional Administrations, including Northern Ireland, to support farming within the UK.
Confirmed that this Government will always back farmers as food producers and not just wildflower growers.
Bridgwater and West Somerset
Discussed the need for flexibility in national parks to allow development such as farm shops, addressing concerns about restrictions preventing farmers from diversifying their businesses.
Asked about targets for self-sufficiency in food and whether more funding should be redirected towards proper food production schemes rather than environmental initiatives.
Geoffrey Cox
Con
Torridge and Tavistock
Expressed concern that the sustainable farming incentive activities might discourage farmers from producing food, encouraging a shift towards more productive agricultural practices.
Asked for assurances regarding future measures concerning badger culls and their impact on TB management in livestock.
North Cotswolds
Sought assurance that restrictions will not be introduced until a realistic vaccine programme is available for controlling bovine TB.
Steve Reed
Lab Co-op
Streatham
Discusses the challenges faced by farmers, including labour shortages, increasing suicide rates among farmers, flooding issues, and the impact of high energy bills. Proposes Labour's plans to introduce a flood resilience taskforce, reform planning laws for clean energy projects, secure lower energy costs through GB Energy, improve environmental land management schemes, renegotiate veterinary agreements with the EU, prioritise locally grown food in public procurement, and devolve decision-making powers.
Highlights difficulties with the Environment Agency and Natural England's approach to flood defence projects. Urges for a break in the logjam to expedite necessary infrastructure works.
Suggests scrapping existing agencies and returning responsibility directly to Ministers, arguing that current agencies often act against Government policy and farmers' interests.
Bill Wiggin
Con
North Herefordshire
Emphasised the importance of farmers in North Herefordshire and discussed the success of bovine tuberculosis culling, arguing against transitioning to a badger vaccination programme before the DIVA test is ready. He also highlighted the economic challenges faced by farmers due to administrative burdens, low margins, and competition from imports. Additionally, he called for better food labelling practices and more support for local abattoirs.
Alistair Carmichael
Lib Dem
Orkney and Shetland
Discussed the consolidation of abattoirs due to market forces, highlighting lower unit costs for throughput. Emphasised the role of supermarkets in driving down farm-gate prices and suggested that the Groceries Code Adjudicator could play a significant role if it had sufficient powers.
Steven Bonnar
SNP
Glasgow North East
Bonnar discusses the importance of farming in Scotland's economy, noting a £3.3 billion annual production output and its role as a backbone for rural communities. He expresses concern over Brexit-related challenges such as red tape, staffing shortages, and trade deals that disadvantage Scottish farmers. Bonnar also highlights the need for fairer contracts for dairy farmers and better animal welfare standards.
Wendy Chamberlain
Lib Dem
North East Fife
Chamberlain intervenes to emphasise the importance of skills training for farming, referencing the SRUC Elmwood campus in Cupar that is facing cuts and potential closures due to funding issues. She advocates for increased support from the Scottish Government to preserve vital educational resources for farming communities.
George Eustice
Con
Camborne and Redruth
Acknowledged the difficulties farmers face due to weather conditions but highlighted that overall farm incomes have risen sharply since 2016. Emphasised the positive impact of exchange rate changes post-Brexit referendum on dairy farm profits, while also noting challenges in specific sectors like pig farming and apple exports. Discussed policy principles: ending land subsidies, ensuring profit margins for farmers, addressing root causes of poor profitability, simplifying schemes, and maintaining a gradual transition to new policies. Mentioned ongoing issues with the Home Office's visa scheme and trade negotiations. Also noted the need for flexibility in payment rates and optimism about increasing agricultural output while preserving space for nature.
Ben Lake
PC
Ceredigion Preseli
Emphasises the importance of food security, citing statistics from the UK Government’s Food Security Report. Highlights the decline in domestic production-to-supply ratio since 1984 and discusses various risks to food security including climate change, geopolitical instability, and changing dietary preferences. He also outlines the financial struggles faced by farmers in Wales due to direct support policy changes and calls for a pause on the sustainable farming scheme. Additionally, he criticises the grocery supply chain's impact on farmers' profitability and advocates for improved enforcement of fair trading practices.
Therese Coffey
Con
Suffolk Coastal
Emphasises the importance of farming for national security and food production, highlighting challenges such as water management, environmental protection, biosecurity, skills and visa requirements, and welfare standards. Advocates for a flexible approach to agricultural policies to ensure they meet local needs while maintaining high welfare standards in trade negotiations.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
The offer for 2024 includes some welcome components, including an expanded set of actions, increased payment frequency, a commitment to double the amount of agreements offered for environmental land management. However, there is no publicly available data on how these payment rates have been calculated, which is crucial in building transparency and evaluating progress. DEFRA needs to publish scheme payment methodologies as well as a clear payment strategy that forecasts expenditure on different schemes and expected outcomes. We need both a degree of flexibility to account for individual circumstances and to maintain a minimum level of ambitious environmental delivery.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
For farmers to truly be supported to increase sustainable practices, we urgently need to address the green skills shortage for farming. Many farmers need support to deliver the right actions for their farm and the environment. Access to expert advice will be critical to delivering higher quality environmental outcomes, business benefits and farmer buy-in.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
We need a national nature service for young people to introduce them to green skills and job opportunities in managing natural capital. Hedgerows are essential carbon sinks, and expanding the hedgerow network could create more than 25,000 new jobs over the next three decades with every £1 spent on hedgerows returning as much as £3.92 from associated ecosystem services.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
Richard Bramley’s farm near Tadcaster highlights the need for skilled workforce to get more hedgerows, and other areas of green skills need to be tackled if we are to see an expansion of our hedgerow network. The lack of a skilled workforce is a barrier to getting more hedgerows.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
The UK’s biodiversity intactness index score is 53%, placing the UK in the bottom 10% of all countries. The target on species abundance, which was set by the Government in the Environment Act 2021, promised only to “halt the decline” in species by 2030, but just halting the decline or getting a net zero for nature is not good enough.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central
We need to focus on improving our rewilding, reforesting and biodiversity, and all natural landscapes should be part of that. We need to fully support our farmers to be part of this transition.
North Cotswolds
Farm input cost inflation in 2023 stood at 42%, with wholesale energy prices 1.5 times higher compared with 2019. UK egg production fell to its lowest in nine years, and is down 12% in one year alone. The cost of feed for those producers has increased by 28%, and the price of a pullet by 22%. Embracing technological advancements such as precision farming can help boost domestic food production. The Government must prioritise sustainable agriculture to improve self-sufficiency, support small-scale farmers, and provide investment in research and development. We need an annual UK-wide food security index and measures to tackle food waste.
Alistair Carmichael
Lib Dem
Orkney and Shetland
Scotland's agricultural sector, particularly in rural and island areas, is crucial with a £3.3 billion industry employing 67,000 workers and supporting an additional 150,000 through related activities. The uncertainty faced by younger farmers concerns the sustainability of agriculture. In Orkney and Shetland, farming is vital for local food security and public good, especially in winter when imports are limited. There needs to be a multi-annual ringfenced budget from both Scottish and UK Governments to support the divergent policies and ensure certainty about future funding's structure and quantum. Without this, agriculture may suffer due to lack of adequate support and resources.
Paul Howell
Con
Sedgefield
Described the numerous challenges facing farmers including access to European markets, high costs of inputs and machinery, cheaper imports, interest rates, weather conditions, loss of direct payments, environmental schemes, an ageing demographic, concerns about the Welsh Labour system, holiday lets regulations, red tape, foreign food labelling, land use for renewable energy, bulk payments from developers, disease outbreaks management, food security impact assessments, tenancy reforms, and rural crime. Emphasised the need to support farmers in maintaining resilience.
Keir Mather
Lab
Selby
Farmers are facing numerous challenges including insufficient flooding support, uncompetitive prices, botched trade deals, and labour supply issues. More than 6,000 agricultural businesses have collapsed since 2017 due to lack of adequate government support. Mather calls for practical assistance such as financial compensation for flood management efforts and longer-term support for those involved in flood storage.
Greg Smith
Con
Mid Buckinghamshire
Our farmers are the best in the world and produce high-quality food. In his constituency, 90% of land is agricultural. He welcomed the Prime Minister's speech at the National Farmers Union conference and praised recent funding initiatives such as the management payment for SFI and productivity grants. However, he stressed that basic support systems must also be improved to ensure farmers can access necessary resources. Public opinion strongly supports British farming (94% importance, 81% preference). He highlighted concerns about land being converted for non-agricultural purposes, like solar farms, which undermines food security and damages landscapes. Infrastructure projects such as HS2 cause significant issues for farmers, including soil loss and compensation inadequacies. He urged DEFRA to protect farmers from state-sponsored infrastructure impacts and stop further compulsory land acquisitions for mega-prisons. Additionally, he advocated for better collaboration between DEFRA, the Home Office, and police forces to address rural crime.
Tim Farron
Lib Dem
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Tim Farron criticised the UK Government's handling of the transition from the Common Agricultural Policy to new environmental land management schemes, highlighting underspending by £270 million over two years despite promising a ringfenced budget. He mentioned that only one in eight farmers has entered the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), while 100% of those still in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will have lost half their money by the end of this year, leading to increased livestock numbers and risk of farm ruin. Farron emphasised the moral imperative for Britain to feed itself, stressing that reducing food production could lead to reliance on imports from environmentally damaging sources like deforested South American pastureland. He also criticised the design of schemes which disproportionately benefit wealthy farmers over smaller ones and tenants who are being forced off their land through pressure from large landowners.
Richard Drax
Con
South Dorset
Pay tribute to Minette Batters and Tom Bradshaw, raise concerns about ongoing farming issues since 2010 with little improvement. Emphasise the importance of food security in light of global instability. Criticise excessive environmental regulations and lack of support for farmers who maintain the countryside's beauty. Discuss specific local issues such as nitrate leaching into Poole harbour, questioning the methods used by the Environment Agency without consultation. Highlight the vulnerability of tenant farmers due to increased rents and land reclamation. Raise concerns over illegal beaver reintroduction affecting small streams in Dorset. Criticise the lack of clarity around new stewardship schemes transitioning to sustainable farming incentives. Point out mental health issues within the farming community linked to regulatory pressures and global events impacting food production.
Hitchin
Strathern highlighted the challenges faced by farmers in his constituency, including difficulties accessing the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme due to bureaucracy and remapping issues. He also mentioned the financial strain on farms caused by high energy costs, rural crime, and tight margins. Strathern emphasised the need for a clear Government commitment to sustainable domestic food production that supports all land tenures and farm business models. He proposed policies such as public procurement reforms and simplifying environmental schemes to reduce red tape.
George Freeman
Con
Mid Norfolk
Welcomes the Secretary of State and highlights cross-party support for farming. Emphasises the need for a long-term, secure policy framework to support farmers in protecting uplands, supporting small family holdings, diversification, and global competitiveness in food production. Highlights innovations like vertical farming and importance of research and technology in agriculture. Discusses environmental agriculture, labour shortages, production standards, agritech, gene editing, and the need for a balanced approach between agriculture and net zero goals.
Edward Leigh
Con
Gainsborough
Calls on the Department to avoid placing solar farms on good agricultural land in Lincolnshire and Norfolk.
Supports Edward Leigh's intervention, highlighting similar concerns for farmers in his constituency who are affected by issues of land use and water management.
Sarah Dyke
Lib Dem
Glastonbury and Somerton
Farmers are the lifeblood of rural communities, yet the Government has neglected them. Sarah Dyke highlights issues such as delays in environmental land management schemes, lack of incentives for sustainable farming, workforce shortages, and negative impacts from free trade agreements. She calls for a £1 billion boost to the farming budget, proper funding for mental health services, and renegotiation of trade deals that undermine farmers' welfare standards.
Steve Double
Con
St Austell and Newquay
Mr Double emphasised the importance of agriculture in Cornwall, highlighting successful dairy farms, graziers, and turkey producers. He argued that farmers are not enemies of environmental protection but rather understand its necessity for their livelihoods. He critiqued current policies which may prioritise environmental goals over food production, warning against unintended consequences such as land being taken out of agricultural use to maximise profits from non-food items. He also stressed the need for clear labelling and local food consumption initiatives. Concerning bovine tuberculosis, Mr Double urged the Government to continue an effective policy without ideological abandonment, and he mentioned farmers' requests regarding high-frequency bovine electronic IDs. Finally, he called for continued support for horticulture and flower pickers under the seasonal agricultural worker scheme.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Farming is crucial to the agrifood sector in Strangford. The constituency houses major employers like Lakeland Dairies, Mash Direct, and Willowbrook Foods, which together employ almost 1,500 people. Jim Shannon highlights concerns about ammonia proposals that could delay on-farm development and reduce farm income by up to 38%. He requests Ministerial assistance to address these issues and emphasises the importance of infrastructure investment for environmental improvements. Additionally, he calls for cooperation across devolved administrations to ensure farming targets do not harm food production.
Daniel Zeichner
Lab
Cambridge
The debate highlighted several issues facing UK agriculture, including the limitations of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), flooding issues, and rural crime. Mr. Zeichner emphasised the need for a balanced approach that supports both environmental sustainability and farmers' economic viability, criticising the current lack of clear outcomes from Government measures. He discussed the difficulties farmers face with regulatory frameworks, support mechanisms, and labour shortages, as well as supply chain inefficiencies leading to significant food waste. Mr. Zeichner concluded by outlining Labour's plans for a new deal for farmers, including improved veterinary agreements, public procurement support, price stability through GB Energy, and an emphasis on research and innovation. He stressed the importance of addressing environmental targets and climate change while protecting animal welfare standards.
Robbie Moore
Con
Keighley and Ilkley
The Government are committed to continuing to produce at least 60% of the food consumed in the UK domestically. They aim to enhance productivity, innovation, and efficiency by rolling out schemes like the sustainable farming incentive and countryside stewardship, and providing £427 million grants for farmers next year.
Asked about visa extensions for agricultural labourers who had registered through the EU settlement scheme but not returned to work in the UK. Inquired if the Government extended the number of visas by 10,000 beyond the original cap of 45,000.
Government Response
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Government also set a target to increase species abundance in the period after 2030. It is only through close analysis of the data that we realised that was probably the best that could be achieved, even if we acted immediately.
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