Farming is one of the backbones of the
community here in Northumberland, and I welcome the recent speech at the Oxford
Farming Conference by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, Michael Gove, in which he gave much-needed clarification about farming
after Brexit.
Farmers will receive payments for
public goods, such as opening up access to the countryside, enhancing the
environment and planting meadows, as part of plans to replace EU subsidies. Subsidies
at the current EU level will be guaranteed until the 2022 election, after which
there will be a transitional period in England. Farmers are currently unable to
claim subsidies specifically for improving public access under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, so this
new policy will ensure a fairer and more efficient system to encourage farmers
to open up access.
The Government’s agriculture plans will be published
in the spring, but I am pleased that farmers have been given some much-needed
information about life after Brexit. The news that farmers will be paid for how
they use their land, rather than how much of it they own, is a sensible and
welcome announcement, signalling the Government’s plan for a green Brexit.
