Brexit Opportunities Minister calls for farming to be deregulated

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire

Brexit Opportunities Minister calls for farming to be deregulated​

News26 Apr 2022Abi Kay
The Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has called for the farming industry to be deregulated.
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Abi   Kay
Abi Kay
Abi took up the post of chief reporter at Farmers Guardian after a stint working for the NFU as part of its government affairs team.
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Brexit Opportunities Minister calls for farming to be deregulated

Speaking to the European Scrutiny Committee last week, Mr Rees-Mogg also suggested it was time to move away from talking about ‘divergence’ from EU rules, claiming he ‘did not care’ how the bloc was regulating now the UK had left.

“We want high standards, we want good food; of course we do,” he said.

“But other countries around the world have very good food and very high standards too, but do not make farmers’ jobs completely impossible by loading them with regulation.

“I think that is an area we need to look at.”

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TFA chief executive George Dunn told Farmers Guardian the Minister was right to say Government needed to move away from the EU playbook, though he noted the Environment Agency had recently taken this approach with the Farming Rules for Water and said the Welsh Government was continuing to do so with its own water pollution regulations.

“We must indeed move quickly to ensure we have the ability to follow a more appropriate regulatory approach,” he said.

“However, equally, where we have decided UK farmers should be following a certain standard or regulatory framework, we should not allow the free trade dogma which engrains Government to cause farmers to be forced to compete unfairly with imported product produced to lower standards.”

Protections

NFU director of trade and business strategy Nick von Westenholz echoed these remarks, saying domestic protections must apply to imported food as well as that produced in the UK.

He added: “The NFU accepts the importance of regulation in underpinning high standards, but it needs to be part of an overall system which includes voluntary approaches where appropriate, and that is designed to strike a balance between necessary protections, for instance of the environment or consumers, and the cost on businesses.”

“There is clearly now an opportunity to look at how the UK’s regulatory environment best achieves this balance.”

 

topground

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Somerset.
I have already written to JRM suggesting FAnGR as his first target. Since he has had experience of their intransigence, lack of a can do attitude and their ability to obstruct lawful commercial farming activities. Taken together with their being accountable to no body and not contributing to the agricultural economy they must be an easy target.
I hope as they receive their P45s that they reflect how foolish it was to cross Somerset Cattle breeders!
 
I have already written to JRM suggesting FAnGR as his first target. Since he has had experience of their intransigence, lack of a can do attitude and their ability to obstruct lawful commercial farming activities. Taken together with their being accountable to no body and not contributing to the agricultural economy they must be an easy target.
I hope as they receive their P45s that they reflect how foolish it was to cross Somerset Cattle breeders!
Who/what is FAnGR
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
It would be a start if the NFU stopped gold plating regulations through their very own RT.
Annual sprayer MOTs are just one example of NFU gold plating. They are only required every three years by law. The NFU could end annual testing through RT tomorrow if it really wanted to.
But I really don’t think there is any genuine interest within the NFU in reducing regulatory burdens. Their own cronies jobs in NRoSO, NSTS, VI and other empires depend on excessive regulation, though I’d welcome proof to the contrary.
We shall see if it’s yet more hot air or if there is concrete proof they really mean it.
 

topground

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Somerset.

Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee​

The Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee (FAnGR) provides advice to Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on all issues relating to farm animal genetic resources particularly its conservation and sustainable use.


This is the collection of desk jockeys that have undermined the efforts to preserve original populations of Angus and Herefords, doesn’t like the Riggit Galloway and certainly wanted to prevent the creation of a modern version of the Sheeted Somerset
@JP1 @egbert @Tarw Coch
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
It would be a start if the NFU stopped gold plating regulations through their very own RT.
Annual sprayer MOTs are just one example of NFU gold plating. They are only required every three years by law. The NFU could end annual testing through RT tomorrow if it really wanted to.
But I really don’t think there is any genuine interest within the NFU in reducing regulatory burdens. Their own cronies jobs in NRoSO, NSTS, VI and other empires depend on excessive regulation, though I’d welcome proof to the contrary.
We shall see if it’s yet more hot air or if there is concrete proof they really mean it.

This is what scared me about the interpretation of the quoted comment by NFU:

"The NFU accepts the importance of regulation in underpinning high standards, but it needs to be part of an overall system which includes voluntary approaches where appropriate, and that is designed to strike a balance between necessary protections, for instance of the environment or consumers, and the cost on businesses"

It could be considered to read:

"The NFU thinks regulation is important in maintaining high standards, but we also need to add our own voluntary measures on top via Red Tractor to keep our guys in on the gravy train, and we are doing this under the guise of looking after the environment and consumers but most importantly our corporate sponsors interests because this pays us better than farmers".



I very much hope I'm wrong....but based on past history I've become rather cynical and tend to read between the lines.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer

Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee​

The Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee (FAnGR) provides advice to Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on all issues relating to farm animal genetic resources particularly its conservation and sustainable use.


This is the collection of desk jockeys that have undermined the efforts to preserve original populations of Angus and Herefords, doesn’t like the Riggit Galloway and certainly wanted to prevent the creation of a modern version of the Sheeted Somerset
@JP1 @egbert @Tarw Coch
a right bank of wunchers, actively hurting rare breeds by inventing rules...and jobs for themselves.
 

Jimdog1

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Devon
What the minister wants is cheap food to fill supermarket shelves and he doesn't particularly care where it comes from. He doesn't want to wait for trade deals and his government doesn't want to be held to ransom by the nations farmers now that things are getting a bit tricky and a few pigeons are coming home to roost. He knows full well that this is just kicking the can down the road but as long as his government don't have to kick it again until after the next election he is not bothered.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,291
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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