Farming’s on the back foot

Farmer’s view Maimie Paterson

F ergus Ewing has certainly tempted fate by vowing to resign if he doesn’t get the CAP convergence money repatriated to Scotland.

Brave or stupid? Time will tell, but the convergence issue has long since slipped way down the list of farmers’ priorities.

Although a convergence cash injection would be most welcome, it would make little difference to the long-term, post-brexit future of Scottish farming.

Most farmers would prefer to see the cabinet secretary concentrate his efforts on working with Defra to secure the best Brexit outcome for Scotland’s farmers, rather than stirring the grievance pot, especially now that Westminster seems to have grudgingly acknowledged that the devolved governments must be included in Brexit deliberations.

The constant sniping and point-scoring between Westminster and Holyrood that has been the norm is bone-achingly wearisome and they certainly could give Nero a few tips on fiddling while Rome, or Brexit, burns.

Holyrood ministers claim that they cannot begin to map out the future for Scottish farming until they know the level of financial support that the Treasury will guarantee, but it’s not just about money.

It’s about what society will expect the farming sector to deliver, how farmers meet these expectations, how much government intervention is necessary and in what form.

These basic considerations are constant even if the Treasury was to shut up shop. However, the waters are muddied by the fact that although farming and the natural environment are inseparable, the organisations

“Meanwhile, the farming industry’s still on the starting blocks ...

representing each are in opposing camps, competing for public opinion, government patronage and taxpayers’ money.

The environmental pressure groups are already gearing up with experts, data and research papers, to back up their claim to a share of post-brexit cash. There’s an endless round of seminars and conferences on land use, re-wilding, land ownership, but mostly on how to get their hands on money that might otherwise be going to farmers.

Senior civil servants, MSPS and opinion-makers get invitations to these events but few of the organisers think it necessary to invite farming representatives to attend or to speak.

Even when a stray farmer manages to wangle a pass, they have to listen in silence as the industry is tried and invariably found guilty of crimes against wildlife, the environment and the health of the nation.

The environmentalist lobby is already pulling out all the stops to persuade policy-makers and the public that their vision is the right one, and its implementation is deserving of taxpayers’ money.

Meanwhile, the farming industry’s still on the starting blocks and would do well to remember that it’s the squeaky wheel that eventually gets the oil. The environmentalist lobby got a head-start with Michael Gove’s stated intention that post-brexit, the environment will take precedence over everything else.

If the Treasury loosens the purse strings, someone in the Scottish Government will have to make an exceptionally strong and persuasive case for farm support.

Will it be Mr Ewing, basking in the glow of convergence cash success, or not? Place your bets!