Will The Ag Bill Be The Last Nail In The Coffin Of British Farming?

[Frank-the-Wool]

One has to question why there is this undue haste to see the Agriculture Bill passed into Law at this difficult time with almost no chance of proper scrutiny. While it now makes a mention of food which was a step forward from the first draft the main impetus is to help the government complete a UK/US trade deal asap yet at the same time attempt to satisfy the farming community with a very ill thought through ELMS scheme.

The ELMS scheme should be consigned to history as it will do little to help the environment, even if certain NGO's think they will gain greatly and even the CLA seem to think it will be a good thing (watch out tenants!). In reality it has the potential to deliver very little and when the reality of the costs of running it become apparent the money will disappear at the first government spending review.

C 19 has meant we are living in a different world where food security and supply chains need to be the focus for all governments in the World including our own. There has never been a more important time to write to your MP before the debate on Wednesday (very few MP's will get a chance to speak on this) where with such a large majority it will just be nodded through. Yet the changed world we live in is not addressed by the BILL!

This government is hell bent on keeping to the Brexit timetable and if the reply from my MP is anything to go by then a No deal is a dead cert as she revels in the fact that we will no longer be abiding by EU regulations for trade, which the EU will not accept.

Please make sure your MP understands that we have the climate and expertise in this country to grow food. Because of our climate we can increase production of food and at the same time reduce our Carbon footprint. Planting trees and turning vast areas over to a misguided ELMS scheme will do the country, the people and British Agriculture a disservice.

 

[Campani]

What exactly should be asking to be changed in the new ag bill?

 

[colhonk]

Yes.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

What exactly should be asking to be changed in the new ag bill?

Any Law put in place about Agriculture should have a first priority of food production to ensure your nation has a guaranteed supply of healthy and nutritious products that are produced to high environmental and welfare standards and in so doing you ensure your farmers are able to do this in a sustainable way.

The problem with the Ag Bill is that it has very little about sustainable food and a great deal about farmers delivering "public goods for public money" whatever that may mean. A great deal about how the ELMS scheme will replace BPS but nothing about how the latest crisis has impacted food supply chains.

Many Brexit MP's believe the Bill will help to remove us from EU regulations and as such this will help in setting up trade deals with the USA, Australia and NZ plus many others. Lip service will be made to our high welfare standards I am afraid.
If anyone thinks the EU will accept lower standards of food production for what we send to them needs their head examining, would we accept it the other way round!

 

[kfpben]

Frank is correct- write to your MP! It does help. We are pushing at an open door with the food security argument at the moment.

Lobbying is a drip, drip, process but we need the lobbying to become a flood!

 

[Bossfarmer]

will it do any good writing to mps up here or is this for english ag?

 

[kfpben]

will it do any good writing to mps up here or is this for english ag?

It’s a UK ag bill so Scottish MPs will be voting too.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

I would draw all of your attention to this important Bill, @delilah has also raised this from another point of view.

It is essential that as many people as possible contact their MP's to impress upon them the importance of food production against the government's wishes that we all park trees under environmental schemes and import all the food!!

 

[delilah]

I would draw all of your attention to this important Bill, @delilah has also raised this from another point of view.

It is essential that as many people as possible contact their MP's to impress upon them the importance of food production against the government's wishes that we all park trees under environmental schemes and import all the food!!

Thank you Frank, apologies I hadn't seen this thread.
As said, write to your MP.
And I would urge everyone to see the common ground in what has been said above in the LWA petition.

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/agriculture-bill-13-may.317349/

 

[Gedd]

Done

 

[An Gof]

Wise words @Frank-the-Wool I have written to my MP, lets hope a good number of fellow TFF members do the same

 

[delilah]

Two threads running urging you all to take 5 minutes to email your MP, as they prepare to have their final chance today to debate the most important piece of legislation affecting your business for years.

And you would rather debate whether or not a god exists for you to blame your woes on. Or whether instead you should blame a washed up pop star.

Tells you all you need to know, really.

 

[devonbeef]

emailed letter sent to our Mp

 

[Bertie]

Wrote to our MP yesterday (West Berks), who replied to say she wouldn't be backing the NC2 amendment and trusted that her colleagues were "absolutely committed to ensuring that the UK has resilient food supply-chains and high-quality and sustainably farmed food without undermining the profitability of British agriculture"

 

[midlandslad]

Wrote to our MP yesterday (West Berks), who replied to say she wouldn't be backing the NC2 amendment and trusted that her colleagues were "absolutely committed to ensuring that the UK has resilient food supply-chains and high-quality and sustainably farmed food without undermining the profitability of British agriculture"

At least you got a response.

the government won’t want their hands tied behind their backs in trade negotiations.

also, we aren’t self sufficient in food therefore reliant on imports.Is the unintended consequence empty shelves.

 

[Muck Spreader]

This is an interesting article identifying which Tory Mp's and ministers are backing UK farming and supporting amendments to the bill, protecting it from substandard US imports etc. And which ones are happy to sacrifice it for a better trade deal. No surprise about their conclusion on Gove.

The Government split over free trade | David Scullion | The Critic Magazine

The Government is committed to signing Free Trade deals. The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto said as much, and added: “Our trade deals will not only be free but fair”. The UK has just started…

thecritic.co.uk

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Not the last nail, just another one!

 

[Devil's advocate]

I saw a little of the debate.

Very strange to be nodding when labour & SNP MP's were speaking & agast at how conservative MP's are so keen to sell us down the river & yet claim 100% support from farmers.

 

[bobk]

Not the last nail, just another one!

They've been nailing for all my working life , we're still here.

 

[DRC]

This is an interesting article identifying which Tory Mp's and ministers are backing UK farming and supporting amendments to the bill, protecting it from substandard US imports etc. And which ones are happy to sacrifice it for a better trade deal. No surprise about their conclusion on Gove.

The Government split over free trade | David Scullion | The Critic Magazine

The Government is committed to signing Free Trade deals. The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto said as much, and added: “Our trade deals will not only be free but fair”. The UK has just started…

thecritic.co.uk

Don’t count on Owen Patterson then