Egg and horticulture farming sectors next in line for government intervention announces Environment minister during Great Yorkshire Show visit

Therese Coffey had visited three dairy cattle sheds yesterday morning after it had been announced on day one of the show, by farming minister Mark Spencer, that the government would intervene and set regulations for the sector.

She was keen that members of the environment department visited agricultural shows around the country to communicate changes within the agricultural industry that she said was in a period of “transition”.

For several months farmers have voiced concern about the unfair prices they are getting paid for milk, compared to retail prices in supermarkets, and this has prompted the government to set regulations to promote fairness, transparency and accountability across the dairy supply chain.

At last year’s show, a review of the pig sector was announced by the then farming minister Victoria Prentis and Ms Coffey said eggs and horticulture were next.

It comes as supermarkets have had empty shelves in recent months with supply issues over eggs and cucumbers and tomatoes in particular.

She said: “It (the show) has been great, there is such variety. But shows like Yorkshire, because it is such a huge part of the county, one of the things I have made sure this year is that we are getting ministers to lots of shows over the country.

"We want to hear from farmers and listen and reflect and make some changes. We want to make sure what we are doing works and we would like to think that some of the things we have done is having an impact and shows that Defra is listening.

"We are in the middle of the pig sector review and the next stage will be looking at horticulture and eggs.”

The politician was asked if she would back British farming and she said that the concept featured in the National Food Strategy, but it was subject to a legal challenge made against it and in turn, the government was seeking its own legal advice.

However, she said there was more that could be done to support British farming and fishing.

Ms Coffey said: “We are here to support British farming and there is stuff we can do on venison and I am keen to get people eating fish. I won’t tell people what to eat but we can do a lot to support British farmers and fishermen.”

The announcements around regulations and further possible interventions, as well as changes to the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) criteria, which the government says pays less attention to how much a land a farmer owns but more to the type of actions they want to take in relation to food production and environmental work, outline a desire to get more young people into the industry.

Ms Coffey added: “In the long term, it has to be profitable for farmers to stay in the industry. That is why we are putting regulations in. We want to be an agile department, helping farmers who can do their job of putting food on the plate.”