Written by cpm
Download PDF The new Defra Secretary of State George Eustice was criticised for failing to live up to expectations and thwarting ambition when he addressed the NFU conference and took questions from hard-pressed farmers. CPM was there to gauge the mood. The responsibility that sits on his shoulders is huge. By Tom Allen-Stevens If a Defra Secretary of State has ever enjoyed a honeymoon period after being appointed, George Eustice’s glowing moment appeared to end abruptly at the NFU conference last month. Less than two weeks into the job he found himself facing jeers of discontent from around 1300 of the nation’s farmers for failing to offer a derogation on the crop diversification, or three-crop rule. The NFU had requested the derogation on behalf of the many farmers who have failed to drill enough of their planned 2020 crop and could lose entitlement to their Basic Payment as a result. “It’s a bonkers rule, I accept, and that’s why it won’t be staying for long,” he told the delegates during a question-and-answer session following his address to the conference in Birmingham. “We’ve brought over the CAP in its current form for this final year. We will make extensive changes to…
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