Landmark Agriculture Bill becomes law

The landmark Agriculture Bill has now become law. We have been following the progress of this Bill through parliament since its introduction at the start of the year. The intention of the Bill is to replace the existing EU law, being the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a post BREXIT British law. Now the Bill has been passed we will see much greater detail but the fundamentals are designed to empower landowners, farmers and land managers. Rewarding them with public money for “public goods”.

One significant change from the CAP is that farming subsidies will now not be calculated on an area based system and will instead be distributed on the holdings ability to “provide public goods”. Examples of these public goods are improving air and water quality, animal welfare, allowing natural habitats for wildlife to thrive, improving access to the countryside, or implementing anti-flooding measures.

The New Year will see the start of a seven year transition away from the old Basic Payment Scheme up until the end of 2027. More details of how this will work are set to be released later this month.

Ultimately, the new system is intended to maximise the potential of the land to produce high quality food, sustainably, in line with the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

“We will support farmers in reducing their costs and improving their profitability, to help those who want to retire or leave the industry to do so with dignity, and to create new opportunities and support for new entrants coming in to the industry.

“The government will now be able to further champion food production by improving the transparency and fairness in the supply chain from farm to fork, as well as keeping our world-famous food producers competitive and innovative by investing in the latest technology and research.”

Read more here. At Forge we will continue to keep our clients informed of the issues going forward that will affect them most.