"Leaving the EU can be an opportunity for businesses across the countryside"

Agriculture looks worryingly neglected in North Somerset MP Liam Fox’s department created to win crucial trade deals following Brexit.

His new Department for International Trade has now announced all his ministers but none of their portfolios include a direct reference to agriculture.

The Country Land and Business Association has raised the alarm, pointing out that failure to secure strong trade opportunities for agricultural products will put UK food security and the environment at risk.

The worry is that agriculture will be treated as a low priority or may even be excluded from international trade negotiations.

In response the CLA has published a briefing which explores the opportunities for agriculture and forestry trade outside the EU and sets out the risks if trade declines substantially following Brexit.

CLA director general Helen Woolley said: "Leaving the EU can be an opportunity for businesses across the countryside. We have great entrepreneurs and great products. If the conditions are right we will thrive. But those conditions will not come about without careful planning and tough negotiations.

"Nowhere is that more the case than in agriculture. It is notoriously difficult to establish open trade deals for farming products. It is seriously alarming that no government minister has been given specific responsibility to deliver it.

“We now seek urgent reassurance that the government will deliver for our farmers and rural producers. We expect the Department for International Trade to start working together with us straight away and this is a terrible start.

“There are serious consequences if we don’t get this right. We could see food prices rising and the nation’s food security may be compromised. The environment could start to suffer and many farms and manufacturers could go out of business.

“Farmers and other food producers want to provide the country with a safe, secure supply of food. Land managers want to carry on their good work improving nature and wildlife, helping to tackle climate change and managing the UK’s distinctive landscapes.

“This is why it is so important that ministers assure us all that securing the best deal for food and farming will be a high priority and not an afterthought in their trade negotiations.”

The CLA briefing sets out the five objectives for a trade policy that will allow UK farmers and rural businesses to compete on an international platform.  These include:

•    Opening new markets
•    Growing existing markets at home and abroad
•    Delivering the best deals for UK consumers
•    Equipping businesses to compete
•    Improving farmer resilience

However, I doubt many of these goals will be achieved if there is no high level representation fighting for British agriculture in the international trade negotiations.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Milk price optimism as production shrinks

In the last two years we have seen milk prices slump to unsustainably low levels for many farmers because world markets became oversupplied.  However, it appears supply and demand are now coming back into balance as dairy farmers cut production.

Here in the UK dairy farmers have probably reacted to this problem more actively than in many other parts of the world.  This is exemplified by the latest Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board dairy milk production figures which show milk production in the first two weeks of July was down 10.2 per cent on last year.

In the same period the number of producers in England and Wales has fallen by 239 but that only represents a drop of 2.4 per cent.  Therefore, assuming these producers were representative of the average dairy farmer, this indicates that the cut in production has been across the whole industry, including many farmers who intend remaining in production. 

I suspect the reason is that many farmers have cut back on feeding expensive concentrates in favour of maximising production from fodder, a cheaper form of production which generally gives lower yields.

As a consequence supply has tightened and in the UK in particular this has also been exacerbated by the fall in value of sterling following Brexit which is making imports more expensive.  Accordingly milk prices appear to be on the rise as demonstrated by recent announcements from dairy companies such as Dairy Crest and First Milk.

This is most welcome news for dairy farmers, although even after the latest milk price rises many will still be struggling to make a living - especially because the fall of sterling is a double edged sword which is likely to force up many input costs such as fuel and fertiliser.

However, I am hopeful that the tide has now turned in the milk production cycle, which will mean dairy farmers can expect to see a period of growth in commodity prices. 

Of course that will probably also mean food price inflation in the shops which is something the government will not want to see just at a time of interest rate cuts and more quantitative easing. 

But the long term consequences of our exit from the EU is quite another story of potential opportunity and risk which has yet to unfold.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk

Wear sunscreen

The NHS “Cover Up, Mate” message particularly applies to farmers here in the West Country.
It is a rough, tough industry but workers who spend long periods of time outdoors are urged to protect themselves against the sun this summer because of the dramatic increase in skin cancer across the south of England.

Farmers, builders, sportsmen and gardeners are all being targeted by NHS England South’s Cover Up, Mate campaign because of their prolonged exposure to the sun – and men are a particular focus because research indicates that they are much less likely than women to slap on the sunscreen.

Latest statistics from Cancer Research UK show that since the late 1970s, skin cancer incidence rates have more than quadrupled in Britain. The increase is larger in the male population where rates have increased by 544 per cent, compared to 263 per cent in women.

Public Health England say that in the South West there was a 31.9 per cent rise in incidence of malignant melanoma between 2009 and 2014, from 1,444 cases to 1,906 cases. There was also a 14.5 per cent rise in mortality from malignant melanoma, from 248 deaths in 2009 to 284 deaths in 2014.

NHS England South West medical director Caroline Gamlin said: “Being outdoors is clearly crucial for farmers, builders, gardeners, Post Office workers and others, but there are simple steps can be taken to lower the risk of skin cancer and be sun safe.

“Men in particular need to take much more care. They need to use at least factor 15 sunscreen and apply it generously on all exposed skin – not forgetting their necks, ears and bald patches.”

National Farmers Union South West Regional Board chairman, James Small, who farms on Mendip, said: “Working in the rough, tough world of farming, we often want to brush things off and just get on with the job, but there are times when that kind of resilience can come back and bite you and this is one of those.

“We owe it to ourselves and our families to take the risk of skin cancer seriously and above all if we are bothered by something to not dismiss it, but get it checked out.”

Top sun safe tips include:
•    Use at least factor 15 sunscreen in the sun and plenty of it

•    Apply sunscreen to all exposed skin – don’t forget your neck and ears and your head if you have thinning or no hair

•    Wear sunglasses and a hat

•    Take particular care if have fair skin, moles or freckles, red or fair hair, or light-coloured eyes.

So as harvest is just getting under way and hopefully the sun will be shining throughout the rest of the summer, farmers here in the South West need to take heed of this health hazard and I for one will be dusting off my hat to cover my head where the skin appears to be relentlessly healing over my hair.

James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk