Written by John Swire
Responding to the publication of the Environment Bill, NFU President Minette Batters said: “The Environment Bill appears broad and ambitious and we will examine the details in the coming days to get a much clearer picture of how the proposed measures for protecting and enhancing our environment are joined up with policies that enhance farmers’ ability to produce food for the nation.
“The farming industry has already embarked on a long journey of protecting, maintaining and enhancing our iconic British countryside, carrying out huge amounts of work to enhance landscapes, benefit soils, water, and air quality, encourage wildlife, and reduce impact on the climate.
“Government, through this Environment Bill, needs to make certain that food production and land management policies go hand-in-hand; where measures for protecting and enhancing the environment are joined up with policies that support farming’s ability to improve productivity and to manage volatility to ensure we have profitable, productive and progressive farm businesses, both now and in the future.
“With a no-deal Brexit still an immediate threat to British farming, we also need assurances from government that the UK’s high welfare and environmental standards will not be undermined by any post-Brexit trade policy. We must not see food being imported into the UK that would be illegal to produce here.”
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