Anglia Farmer


EDITORIAL


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Anglia Farmer is a controlled circulation magazine published monthly for farmers and growers in the eastern counties. To be included on the circulation list, a farmer must have a minimum of 70 acres of land, or 50 dairy/beef stock, or 50 breeding sows/250 growing stock, or 15,000 laying hens/broiler chickens. Intensive horticulture units are required to have a minimum of two hectares. Subscription is £18 a year (including postage). No responsibility can be accepted by the publishers for the opinions expressed by contributors. If you no longer wish to receive this magazine, please email your name, address and postcode as it appears on the wrapper to info@ countrywidepublications.co.uk


© Countrywide Publications 2018 Published by Countrywide Publications, Fountain Way, Reydon Business Park, Reydon Suffolk IP18 6DH T: 01502 725800 Printed by Micropress Ltd, Suffolk. T: 01502 725800


Has the penny finally dropped for Michael Gove?


I


f all goes to schedule, Defra secretary Michael Gove will unveil his long-awaited Agriculture Bill before the end of this month. It won’t be before time. More than two years


have passed since the UK referendum result to leave the European Union – but growers and livestock producers are still little wiser when it comes to knowing what future policy will look like for agriculture. For sure, we know the government wants to


phase out direct payments to farmers. We also know that Mr Gove is now minded that any phased withdrawal should be across all farm sizes, with perhaps the exception of the very smallest. That represents a something of a u-turn


for his previously held belief that larger farms should bear the brunt of any cutbacks – at least initially. He appears persuaded by the NFU argument that cuts should be equitable across the board, regardless of farm size. It’s also certain that future support


will be based largely on a new system that rewards farmers and other land managers for undertaking additional environmental measures – what Mr Gove refers to as the “public


Contents


money for public goods” model. But beyond that, it is hard to say what policy


will look like, especially when it comes to the primary role of agriculture: food production. Mr Gove has only recently started to publicly acknowledge this most vital of roles, preferring instead to see farmers as environmental custodians. As we know, food production is fundamental.


And farmers need a policy framework that recognises as much – including support for initiatives that improve effi ciency, encourage farm investment and boost agricultural productivity. That may now be forthcoming. The timing of the Agriculture Bill itself is interesting. Have Defra civil servants really had time to properly consider all 44,000 responses to the government’s Health and Harmony consultation on the future of farming since it closed in May? Or is it rushing out the Agriculture Bill,


pressing ahead with a predetermined agenda to put the environment fi rst at the expense of food production? Time will tell – and if Mr Gove is right, we don’t have too long to fi nd out. Johann Tasker, Editor


OPINION Johann Tasker


Vol 38 • No 7 • JULY 2018


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News | Business ............................................. 4 Arable ............................................................... 8 In the field ....................................................... 12 Oilseed Rape Review .................................. 24 Profile: Lord and Hunt ................................ 41 Livestock.......................................................... 46


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