France unveils €200m fund for home-grown fruit and veg
Farmers Weekly France’s agriculture ministry has announced plans to invest €200m (£178m) in its fruit and veg sector, to strengthen its productive capacity. The French government says the sector is a “pillar of its food sovereignty” and the investment is part of its action to adapt to climate change and the agro-ecological transition. France says […]
Labour urged to reveal policy plans for tenanted sector
Farmers Weekly The Labour Party needs to be clear about it plans for agriculture and the tenanted sector to convince farmers it is ready for government, the Tenant Farmers Association has said. The association’s chief executive, George Dunn, said it was a “big win” to hear Labour leader Keir Starmer talk about the importance of […]
Editor’s view: More support for horticulture is common sense
Farmers Weekly When does a falling market become a failing market? This is a question I suspect farmers will have been mulling a lot since the NFU Conference last week, after Minette Batters had a lively exchange with Defra secretary Therese Coffey about whether the pork or poultry market had failed in the past year. […]
Former NFU vice-president honoured by Princess Royal
Farmers Weekly Gwyn Jones, the animal health advocate and former NFU vice-president, has received a prestigious award for supporting and driving positive change in the dairy sector. The Princess Royal Award is presented each year to an individual in recognition of an outstanding lifetime contribution to the dairy sector. The award was presented by Anne, […]
Drought fears return after driest February in 30 years
Farmers Weekly Provisional figures from the Met Office show England recorded its driest February in 30 years, prompting fears in agriculture of another year of drought. Following a wet January, which led to flooding in many parts of the country, rainfall was in short supply in February. England had its eighth driest February since 1836, […]
More empty shelves expected with food system ‘at breaking point’
Farmers Weekly Industry leaders are warning current food shortages on supermarket shelves are set to intensify, unless the government takes urgent action to reignite a new “dig for Britain” approach. Major retailers are limiting the amount of fruit and vegetables customers can buy, blaming poor harvests in Spain and northern Africa for dwindling supplies. The […]
TFA warns of delays to ELM scheme rollout this summer
Farmers Weekly The Tenant Farmers Association fears the UK government could be headed towards delays in the delivery of parts of its Environmental Land Management scheme for England this summer. Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) chief executive George Dunn says he is “seriously concerned” the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is not ready to deliver on the […]
More cash for farm trade watchdog to scrutinise Pacific deal
Farmers Weekly Fears that the farm trade watchdog set up by the government would not have the resources to scrutinise a new trans-Pacific deal have been dispelled, after ministers granted the body a “substantial” amount of extra cash. Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) chairman Prof Lorand Bartels warned last year that language barriers and legal […]