How Yorkshire councils can play a key role in helping farmers - Angela Kirkwood

The landscapes of Yorkshire have long held a place in my heart.

Not just because of the world- famous landscapes but because of the bountiful food it produces. Yorkshire is home to so much amazing food, and the powerhouse supplier of so many household names from Birdseye peas to McCain’s oven chips.

We produce tasty grass-fed beef and lamb, fields of veg, and we’re the home of the Yorkshire pudding and early season rhubarb. As someone who loves food, there’s nowhere better to be.

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My dad and I run a family farm on the east coast near Hull. The farm is fully integrated – we grow crops that feed our pigs, we sell meat from the pigs at our own butcher’s shop as well as at a local farmer’s market.

Farm businesses are under mounting pressure, says Angela KirkwoodFarm businesses are under mounting pressure, says Angela Kirkwood
Farm businesses are under mounting pressure, says Angela Kirkwood

Because we sell our pork direct to customers, I know first-hand how passionate people are here about local food. It’s amazing to know I have a customer base which wants to support local businesses and values high welfare, affordable and sustainably produced food as much as I do.

But many farm businesses, mine included, are under mounting pressure. We’re going through a huge shake-up in agriculture policy in England, with scarily little detail about how it will work. Meanwhile the Government is pursuing free trade deals which don’t seem to benefit the UK or its farmers, instead expecting small, family farms to go toe-to-toe with some of the world’s major agricultural exporters such as Australia and New Zealand while they enjoy free access to our markets.

And this is all in the context of an ongoing shortage of people to work in our businesses and soaring agricultural inflation at home, with gas, fertiliser and energy prices squeezing farm gate prices.

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Our feed costs have shot up by 65 per cent compared to last year, and this is after we’d reduced the number of pigs we keep because we simply couldn’t afford to keep producing at that scale.

And we’re not alone, there’s been serious contraction across the whole sector with figures from the National Pig Association suggesting that 15 per cent of the sow herd has been lost. But with the war in Ukraine causing major concerns around global food supplies for some of the poorest nations on earth, our produce is not only wanted, it’s very much needed.

So what are the solutions to protecting global food security and British food production to ensure the availability of affordable British food both at home and for overseas?

What is going to give farmers like me the confidence to continue producing quality pork when it costs more for me to produce than I’m getting for the product?

I believe it all starts with local government.

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Trade and agricultural policy will always sit with national government, but I believe in local solutions for local problems.

Local government plays a huge part in many of the key issues farmers face every day and we need to work from the ground up.

While I live in East Yorkshire, as NFU county chair I also represent farmers and growers across the North of the county, and after the recent local elections, North Yorkshire will be going through a big change as it transitions to a unitary authority.

This could be the reset moment we need to re-assess how we value

home-grown British food.

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For me, the number one priority is around sourcing local food.

We live and breathe sustainable food production in this county, so why not shout about it from the rooftops? Why not include it in all public procurement contracts? Why not serve more local British food in our hospitals, schools and armed forces?

It’s great to see a commitment to local sourcing in the Government’s new National Food Strategy.

Now we need to see those words turned into actions.

It would be a huge vote of support for British food at a time when farmers really need it.

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It would cut down food miles and mean local people can enjoy nutritious, climate-friendly food produced to world leading standards.

It would mean councils’ investment is put right back into the local economy rather than sourcing food that is very likely to be imported. And crucially, there is a huge demand for local food across the county. For me, it’s a no-brainer.

Another key issue that falls to local government is about caring for the countryside.

Farmers across my patch in North and East Yorkshire suffer from high levels of rural crime; fly tipping and hare coursing are real issues and sky lanterns are another menace threatening serious wild fires and harm to livestock that can eat the litter when it lands in fields.

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The good news is, last year Richmondshire County Council listened to the pleas of firefighters and farmers alike and implemented a ban on lanterns.

I hope North Yorkshire County Council will start life as a unitary authority with a positive move to protect our countryside, wildlife, and farmed landscapes by banning these floating fires too.

While a ban may not solve all our problems, it’s a simple action that would demonstrate that this new council is serious about supporting its rural communities. And by backing local food through public procurement, I would have far more confidence in the future of my business and the future of home-grown food in this country.

I take great pride in my Yorkshire roots and in representing farmers and growers across the North and East of the county.

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I know elected councillors are also proud to represent their local areas, so let’s see concerted action to champion the fantastic farming and rural businesses that make such an important contribution to Yorkshire.

Angela Kirkwood is York East County chair of the National Farmers’ Union, who farms near Hull.