First election shots fired as parties set out farm policies

Defra secretary Hilary Benn used his keynote speech to unveil the first Government food strategy in more than 60 years, announcing that he wanted British farmers to grow more food as well as pledging to improve the accuracy of food labelling and to reduce the regulatory constraints on farmers.

Meanwhile Nick Herbert, the Tory's shadow Defra minister, used his speech to announce that the Conservatives would appoint an ombudsman to police the groceries industry.

Mr Herbert said that an ombudsman was vital to secure a fair deal for farmers and consumers and said that he wanted to prevent retailers abusing their power at both of their expense.

The Tory support for the ombudsman will massively increase the pressure on business secretary Lord Mandelson who has been due to make a decision on the matter for several weeks.

Defra's Food 2030 document outlined how Britain could produce healthier and greener food while increasing production.

The study received broad yet cautious praise from Britain's farming industries, who said they welcomed the proposals but wanted to see them backed up with acton.

Touching on the contentious issue of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming, Mr Benn told delegates at the conference that livestock needed to be better managed to make the industry greener and said he wanted to increase education about food and promote traditional and regional food.

Jonathan Knight, chief executive of Yorkshire's Regional Food Group, backed the Defra secretary's call for more local producers to be used by public bodies for their food needs and said: "Small producers are often seen as insignificant in the grand scale of things but as the growth of some of our local producers has demonstrated, they can be real exemplars of how to innovate and grow effectively."

William Worsley, a Yorkshire landowner and president of the Country Land and Business Association, praised Defra for not joining the growing calls for meat consumption to be reduced.

"This paper provides a very fair assessment of the pros and cons of different kinds of meat consumption from the health and environmental point of view, as well as a balanced analysis of the need for new farming technology.

"It does not tell people to stop or even reduce their red meat consumption, but aims at healthier eating by informing consumer choice with more and better information. It spells out the massively important place of the food industry in the British economy and agriculture in the food industry."

And the president of the National Farmers' Union, Peter Kendall, said that the Government had "grasped the complex issues" that affect food policy.

"Farmers and growers are already demonstrating that they can produce more food while impacting less," he said.

"What we now need are policies that underpin and enhance a productive agriculture sector."

Elsewhere, the thorny issue of a retirement age for farmers was discussed, with conference delegates narrowly voting in favour of a resolution to set a suggested retirement age of 60 for farmers.