2016-07-25 |
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Time for Farming Industry Consensus on Brexit
The Tenant Farmers Association says it is time for all farming organisations to cooperate to produce a single post Brexit plan for British agriculture.
TFA
National Chairman, Stephen Wyrill said;
“The decisions we take
on farming policy today will have ramifications for decades to
come. No one organisation, regardless of size or resources, has
the monopoly on good ideas. All farming organisations have specific
expertise and skills which we must bring to the table. I also
believe that AHDB has a role to play to facilitate that discussion”.
Stephen Wyrill
“I am pleased that the TFA took time back in the spring to think through what a post Brexit policy could look like as we tried to speak into the vacuum left by others. Our suggested policy is open for discussion and challenge and to date we have had significant support for and agreement to the principles and mechanisms we set out but we need a much wider debate,” said Mr Wyrill.
“There are many looking to capitalise on whatever dividend Brexit will provide and our goal as an industry must be to ensure that we garner our arguments for why domestic Governments on these islands should use that dividend to invest in the farming industry. With the new UK Government now firmly in place work is already underway in putting together the roadmap to Brexit. We are already in touch with DEFRA which has asked for industry cooperation in developing its thinking and we must not miss that opportunity. The TFA will certainly be seeking to ensure that the voice of the tenanted sector is heard loud and clear,” said Mr Wyrill.
“I very much welcome the initiative of the Livestock Auctioneers Association which has decided to hold a meeting of all livestock representative organisations in Birmingham at the beginning of next month and I look forward to taking part in those discussions from the perspective of the tenanted sector of the livestock industry. However despite numerous attempts we have failed, thus far, to engage with the National Farmers Union which has said that it will not be in a position to talk to other organisations until the autumn when it has completed its round of consultation with members. We have passed a month since the referendum and we are now into the busy harvest period and I fear that time is not on our side,” said Mr Wyrill.
