There is no going back. The Gove agenda is here to stay and it’s up to farmers and their representative bodies to make the best of it.
That was the message from the Country Land and Business Association’s president Tim Breitmeyer in the latest edition of Farm Business.
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With Michael Gove staying at Defra and the Government’s 25-year Environment Plan following hot on the heels of the Defra Secretaries landmark Oxford speech, this edition takes an in-depth look at what the Gove agenda might look like for farming.
Richard Wright suggests there is an element of irony in the fact that some of the farming Brexit vote will have been driven by a desire to escape from the restrictions of CAP greening policies.
Farm Business editor Alistair Driver outlines why, for many connected to agriculture, farm support and how it is distributed pales into insignificance against some of the pressing trade issues, notably the threat posed by lower standard imports.
Mr Breitmeyer points out that his organisation has been leading on the public good agenda for a number of years. There is no going back, he points out, warning that Mr Gove’s big challenge will now be to keep everyone happy.
George Dunn, Tenant Farmers Association chief executive gives the tenants’ perspective, finding plenty of positives among some real areas of concern. Support to underpin food production must not be forgotten, he argues.
