soil protection

A first substantive glimpse behind the curtain of post brexit thinking. There are some interesting issues to consider here. As always however there is no hint of any joining up with social policy and people issues. The focus is just on farming. 

CAP has a requirement linking farming and social interventions as part of its policy approach, even if in the UK we wilfully dumbed down the social side of things in the last programme by turning LEADER for example into a defacto small grant fund for farmers. 

I think its time for policy makers to wise up and realise that agriculture is about more than soil, science and farming. That’s just a personal and not an official RSN view by the way!!!

This story tells us:

Ministers have accepted that farmers need incentives to farm in a way that leaves a healthy soil for future generations.

Soil protection has become a core issue of the Agriculture Bill that is returning to Parliament.

In its bill the government will promise to reward British farmers who protect the soil.

It is part of a radical shift in the grant system – previously announced – to move subsidies away from EU Common Agricultural Policy which basically pays farmers for owning land.

Instead in post-Brexit Britain they will be rewarded for providing services for society like clean air, clean and plentiful water, flood protection and thriving wildlife.

The grant changes will be phased in over seven years. 

Already there is disquiet from farmers and environmentalists alike that the government has not set in law its promise that UK food standards will not be lowered in any post-Brexit deal with the US.

Minette Batters from the NFU said: “This bill is one of the most significant pieces of legislation for farmers in England for over 70 years.

“However, farmers across the country will still want to see legislation underpinning government assurances that they won’t allow imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal here. 

CPRE, the countryside charity, welcomed what it called a generational opportunity to change the way England farms for the better.

It said: “This bill represents a radical rethink of farming practice and, most importantly, finally starts to recognise the need to regenerate soil – the fundamental building block of our entire agricultural system.”

Although the bill has been applauded, the policies are still in embryonic stage, and as details emerge conflicts are sure to arise.