"Landmark" Agriculture Bill becoming law is "just the beginning" for the agricultural industry says rural and farming organisations

The Agriculture Bill passing into law this week has been described as a “landmark moment” by farming and rural organisations, who also warned it was the beginning and not the end of the process for the farming industry.
Clarity on the new Environment Land Management scheme is the next step for farming to plan for the future.Clarity on the new Environment Land Management scheme is the next step for farming to plan for the future.
Clarity on the new Environment Land Management scheme is the next step for farming to plan for the future.

The Bill will mark the start of post-Brexit farming policy and since the first version was published in 2018, significant improvements have been made to ensure the importance of food production and food security are properly recognised.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Agriculture Bill would “transform” the way the Government supported farmers.

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“We will support farmers in reducing their costs and improving their profitability, to help those who want to retire or leave the industry to do so with dignity, and to create new opportunities and support for new entrants coming in to the industry.”

The final legislation also includes a requirement for a report to be presented to Parliament focusing on the impacts that future trade deals could have on the food and farming sector.

Further amendments to the Trade Bill are expected to assign this responsibility to the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

NFU President Minette Batters said: “As the first domestic legislation covering agriculture for over 70 years, this really is a landmark moment for our food and farming industry.

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“Simply put, the Agriculture Act will set how we farm in this country for generations to come.

“Getting to this point has not been easy.

“Two years ago when the Bill was first published, the clear absence of food production and food security troubled many. The NFU made the case at the highest levels of government that this piece of legislation needed to recognise the role of farmers as food producers and I am pleased it now does that much more robustly.”

However, Mrs Batters said, the introduction of the Bill does not mean the issue of domestic agricultural policy is solved forever.

And CLA President Mark Bridgeman said while the Bill passing into law was “welcome news” it only marked the start for farmers. “This is only the beginning, not the end of the process for the farming industry.

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“The Agriculture Act serves to remind us of the profound responsibilities we, in agriculture, have; to feed the nation, to help mitigate climate change and reverse biodiversity decline, and also to help support our local communities through job creation and economic development.”

The Agriculture Bill sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be rewarded in the future with public money for ‘public goods’ – such as better air and water quality, thriving wildlife, soil health, or measures to reduce flooding and tackle the effects of climate change, under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.

The transition from the former EU subsidy system will begin next year and be phased out by 2027. The Government said these incentives will help to achieve the goals set out in its 25-Year Environment Plan and its commitment to reach net zero emissions by the year 2050.

Both Mrs Batters and Mr Bridgeman said it was “crucial” the Government continued to work with representatives of the agricultural and rural community to ensure these new powers are shaped and work effectively.

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