TFA - Time to choose who will fight for farming
14/04/05

The Tenant Farmers Association has set out the key issues it believes need to be addressed by the next Government and is asking its members to test local Parliamentary candidates on where they stand on them before giving them a vote.

TFA National Chairman Reg Haydon said, "A key theme from Sir Don Curry's Policy Commission report of 2002 is that farmers need to 'reconnect' with consumers. The TFA wholeheartedly agrees, but three years on there are still too many state influenced barriers which are getting in the way. EU "State Aid" rules prevent Government from helping farmers to market products to domestic consumers. More worryingly the marketing budgets of the major levy bodies (MLC, HGCA and MDC) into which farmers pay are also tied up in these rules. This is exacerbated by the use of supermarket own brands and unclear or missing country of origin labelling. The next Government must tackle the issues of restrictive state aid rules, unclear labelling and the power of supermarkets including the use of own brands".

"The TFA has been working hard over the last two years to build a consensus for changes that should be introduced to improve agricultural tenancy legislation. It is important that the next Government takes that forward. However there are areas where, for the sake of consensus, the TFA has accepted alternatives to legislation whilst landlords are encouraged to follow best practice. These areas include the provision of consents for tenants to diversify, the inclusion of non-farm income in assessing the livelihood of potential successors to tenancies and the provision of fair compensation to tenants who are required to pass Single Payment Scheme entitlements to landlords at the end of tenancies. Alongside the guidance, the Government has given a commitment to return to legislative solutions if landlords do not adhere to the guidance. The next Government must reiterate the commitment to consider legislation if landlords do not stick to the guidance", said Mr Haydon.

Bovine Tuberculosis has been allowed to rampage virtually unhindered by the current Government for too long. It has done untold damage to farm businesses, farm families and rural communities. "It is time for DEFRA to stop pussy footing around and to do something practical. Thousands of hours of discussions have gone on over many years and the scientific evidence from a host of sources (including most recently from Ireland) points the finger of blame at infected badgers. The health and welfare of our livestock and of the people involved in their care are suffering; not to mention the slow deaths of TB infected badgers. The next Government must introduce a controlled cull of infected badgers in existing and potential TB hot spot areas." said Mr Haydon

Every day the burden of paperwork and inspections on farmers seems to increase despite the warm words of politicians who seek to assure us that they are doing all they can to reduce the burden. "At a time when the availability of labour on farms is at its lowest historical level it is little wonder that stress levels on farms are at there highest. The next Government must back words with actions. We need to cut quangos, cut inspection visits and regulate last - rather than first" said Mr Haydon.