Minister pledges support for British sheep farmers
SHEEP farmers have praised the Farming Minister after a “very positive meeting” to discuss the current challenges faced by the sector.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) hosted the first of its brand new Breakfast Club webinars on Wednesday, January 20.
During the online networking event, the organisation welcomed North Oxfordshire MP, Victoria Prentis, as its guest speaker.
Joined by NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker and NSA chairman, Bryan Griffiths, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) engaged with a large online audience keen to put their questions direct to the Government.
Mr Stocker said: “We were very pleased to be joined by Victoria Prentis for the first of our Breakfast Club webinars and thanks must go to her for giving us her time.
“It was comforting to hear the Minister was well aware of administrative issues currently faced by those seeking to export sheep products and encouragingly it sounded as though her team at Defra is working hard to alleviate some of the problems.”
The virtual debate kicked off with an overview of the situation the sector finds itself in today, covering issues over export health certificates, lack of facilities at border control points for live animal movements, contentious challenges with the Northern Ireland Protocol and the overburdening of bureaucracy and paperwork associated with exports since January 1, 2021.
With discussion moving onto Ms Prentis’ vision for future farming and payments for public goods, with a focus on the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, Mr Griffiths, who farms in North Devon, emphazied the vital need for more detail on what schemes sheep farmers will actually be able to access.
Mr Stocker stressed the importance of recognition for early adopters of the new schemes. He continued: “With sheep farming already being intrinsically beneficial for the environment, biodiversity, soil health, carbon storage etc, many of the proposed schemes seem to benefit more intensive systems who are looking to switch towards being extensive. Many of our nation’s sheep farmers are already farming in a manner that meets many of the schemes’ requirements.
“Ms Prentis did show support in the webinar for the view that sheep farming is already working harmoniously with nature, producing highvalue quality product that needs to be rewarded accordingly so we hope this early recognition will be given.”
Important discussions during the meeting also included conversation on the Defra consultation into ending live animal exports for slaughter, with the Minister declaring that despite the consultation being currently open until February 25, any actions that will follow are not yet set in stone.
Mr Stocker concluded: “This was a very positive meeting with the Minister expressing a willingness to continue work with our industry to get it right.”