Don't rush the pace of change

However, this time it is the big one - the strangely titled “Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit”

Everyone will recognise - but might not welcome - that leaving the EU provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform agriculture. This consultation outlines how Government plans to change the way we use the land, so as better to promote “health and harmony.”

The aims might be laudable, but anyone involved in agriculture must make sure they are aware of the proposals as they will directly impact upon your business.

As an organisation the CLA has serious concerns about many of the proposals. The other day I was in London with farming members expressing many of those concerns directly to Defra.

I am particularly worried about the severity and timing of proposed cuts to payments. Dramatic reductions in existing farm support would cause irreparable harm to thousands of businesses that would have no time to adjust. So you must realise the importance of familiarising yourself with the options as soon as possible.

The end to an acre-based basic payment system has been coming for a long time, and we have been advocating a new scheme that also rewards farmers and landowners for the public goods they provide.

However, the Government must rethink its current approach to transition to avoid forcing change that is too fast-paced and aggressive. No business, large or small, should face dramatic reductions and every business must be given sufficient time to absorb changes in their income profile.

Payment should be based on supporting what a business delivers, not the size of the business that receives the payment, however wealthy they might appear to be. Just because a business is larger than average does not mean it can afford to absorb sudden and significant financial losses without serious knock-on consequences such as job cuts and stopping necessary investment.

I am also concerned by the desire to reduce the total amount of money invested in farming and land management ‘as an end in itself.’

If we want to see farmers continuing to deliver a range of environmental benefits, the highest international standards of animal welfare and a range of other benefits, it will require significant investment now and for the long term. In short, the conversation should be about how we spend the money better, not how we reduce the amount spent.

This is a landmark consultation and it will affect you so please don’t ignore it. You can read the proposals and have your say by searching for “Health and harmony” on www.gov.uk or ask for details via your trade organisation or your usual Defra contact.

Caroline Bedell, Regional Director, CLA Midlands