EFRA chairman's farming pledge

Select Committees set their own agendas in a consensual manner, so before I can promise a particular agenda, I must wait for the election of the rest of the members of the Efra Committee. That said, I know what farmers want us to pay attention to – food prices, especially in dairy; the future of the CAP; the future of the uplands; flooding and drainage; imports from countries with lower welfare costs; the power of supermarkets...

Another issue, which my party has pledged to tackle, is bureaucracy. This week's Griffin Report on the risk of E Coli to children visiting farms is an invitation to legislate and when the issue is children's safety, what politician will want to resist? But farmers have put a lot of effort into a new relationship with schools and families – partly because they had to diversify to survive and partly because we, the politicians and the public, wanted them to open their doors to our children. It is essential that we have the courage not to over-react

I also served on the Efra Committee in the last parliament. One of our jobs was to investigate the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain. It gave me – and others who will be re-elected – an understanding of the milk business which I do not want to waste. Hopefully the Committee will share this sentiment and will prove keen to continue watching the agenda closely.

Like so many problems, the price of milk is very much an inter-departmental issue. Defra, the ministry our committee is appointed to watch, can only do so much. Business ministers must make sure the supermarkets use their power responsibly. The EC's handling of preparations for a new CAP is also crucial. Likewise, Energy & Climate Change has to get the equations right for farm energy production.

The challenge is similar for the uplands. The price of lamb is part of the solution, but so are planning permission, tourism, water stewardship and education for new entrants to hill farming. The Liaison Committee (the chairs of all the select committees) meets regularly and gets to question the PM twice a year. We must use our combined influence to make sure our ministers work together.

As vice chairman at the Association of Drainage Boards, I am well aware of the concerns about drainage and flooding and of all the relevant legislation and reviews. Of course money is tight but there is money – much of it contributed by the farmers themselves. The last government spent a lot on capital projects. I would like to see more spent on maintaining water-courses.

No doubt Yorkshire Post readers will have other suggestions. My email address is [email protected]