Editorial
Comment: Defra must up its game on new ag policies
A break from the inflexible CAP was touted as one of the major Brexit benefits for UK agriculture, and yet the government seems to be losing control of this narrative. In early 2018 Michael Gove, when Defra secretary, set out a new...
Comment: Short term measures needed to solve food chain staffing crisis
The cereals and oilseeds harvest is a stressful enough time for farmers, especially with the unsettled weather we ‘enjoyed’ this August. So, they could have done without the added pressure from a shortage of HGV drivers to move harvested crops or even to deliver fuel...
Comment: Back UK farming as world food prices rise
Food prices are rising globally, with the latest Food and Agriculture Organisation (part of the United Nations) Food Price Index for May 2021 up by 4.8% on the prior month and by 39.7% year-on-year. The latest monthly increase, the largest since October 2010, is due...
Post Covid consumers more concerned over food provenance
Research by agricultural data specialist Proagrica shows that the trend for UK consumers to seek more ethical and sustainable food stuffs has increased over the last year since the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions. The company surveyed more than 1,000 UK adults,...
Comment: Higher welfare standards will clash with new trade policies
The government’s policy agenda for the next session of Parliament, set out in this week’s Queen’s Speech, sets out a raft of measures aiming to strengthen animal welfare standards in the UK and abroad. Defra minister George Eustice’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare...
Comment: Where now for the AHDB levies?
The vote against statutory levies by the AHDB’s Horticulture and now Potato sectors are a blow for the organisation. The AHDB was created in 2008 by restructuring six independent levy-raising bodies into a new model with independent boards served by a central...