World

PM taken to task

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has been urged to come clean about government plans for farming amid warnings that ongoing uncertainty is damaging confidence in the sector.

It follows mounting concern over the phase-out of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which is due to begin in England later this year.

Industry leaders say more detail is needed about how farmers will be able to make up the lost income.

The Government’s forthcoming Environmental Land Management scheme is due to be phased in from 2024.

But with direct payments making up 60% of some farm incomes, the NFU says it should not be seen as a full replacement for the old system.

Johnson was taken to task on the issue during a recent visit to Derbyshire livestock producers Stuart and Leanne Fairfax, who farm at Stoney Middleton, in the Peak District National Park.

The couple and their three teenage children recently took on the tenancy of Longstone Moor Farm – predominantly a sheep farm, with some cattle, and about 80ha of land entered into an agrienvironment scheme.

Despite having to take time out during an incredibly busy lambing season, Fairfax says it was important to show the prime minister how farming and food production works hand-in-hand with looking after the iconic Peak District landscape.

“It was also important to talk to him about the uncertainty many farmers are facing at the moment, particularly as we don’t know the full details of what will take over from the BPS payments that many farmers rely on,” Fairfax said.

NFU president Minette Batters joined the farm visit.

She says Johnson had seen just how integral farmers are to maintaining and enhancing the environment – whether it was maintaining dry stone walls or looking after hedgerows.

Like Fairfax, Batters says she too had raised concern of the lack of information about the Government’s agricultural transition plan.

Farming was a long-term business and farmers would be making decisions now for many years down the line, she warned.

“Ongoing uncertainty about how they will replace income under the Basic Payment Scheme is damaging business confidence, which remains negative,” Batters said.

“I urged the prime minister to provide more clarity on his future agricultural policy as soon as possible.”

Defra says it will offer financial assistance to help farmers prepare for the phase-out of direct payments, and invest in ways to improve their productivity and manage the environment sustainably.

Crop research opens new avenue

GRASS crops are able to borrow genes from their neighbours, which allows them to grow faster, bigger and stronger, new research shows.

A study, led by the University of Sheffield, is the first to identify that grasses can incorporate DNA from other species into their genomes through a process known as lateral gene transfer.

The findings could inform future work to create crops that are more resistant to the effects of climate change and help to tackle food security problems.

The Sheffield team found that the process is widespread across the crops studied, including wheat, maize, rice and barley.

“Grasses are taking an evolutionary shortcut by borrowing genes from their neighbours,” senior author of the research Dr Luke Dunning, from the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences said.

“By using genetic detective work to trace the origin of each gene, we found over 100 examples where the gene had a significantly different history to the species it was found in.

“The findings may make us, as a society, reconsider how we view GM technology, as grasses have naturally exploited a very similar process.

“If we can determine how this process is happening, it may allow us to naturally modify crops and make them more resistant to climate change.”

Dunning says the consequences are similar to hybridisation.

“Lateral gene transfer can move genetic information across wider evolutionary distances, which means it can potentially have even bigger impacts.

“While only a relatively small proportion of genes are transferred between species, this process potentially allows grasses to cherry-pick information from other species.” “We still don’t know how this is happening or what the full implications are. But we know it is widespread in grasses; a family of plants that provide a majority of the food we eat,” first author of the research and PhD researcher from the University of Sheffield Samuel Hibdige.

The team says the next steps will be to determine the biological mechanism behind this phenomenon, and to investigate whether this is an ongoing process in crops that contributes to the differences observed between crop varieties.

Agrievents

Tuesday 11/05/2021 – Wednesday 12/05/2021 The Boma NZ Agri Summit The must-attend agri event of the year, designed to transform the future of our food and fi bre sectors. Two days of future-focused international and national speakers, workshops, networking and more. Time: 9am to 5pm Venue: Christchurch Town Hall 86 Kilmore St, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch More: ChristchurchNZ.com

Wednesday 16/06/2021 – Saturday 19/06/2021 National Agricultural Fieldays 2021 Time: Gates open daily Wednesday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm. Tickets on sale now. For the latest information regarding COVID-19 and our event please see our venue site https:// mysterycreek.co.nz/covid-19/

AWDT Next Level 2021 Your community and sector needs change-makers – women ready to make a positive difference for the people and places they love. In 2021, is that you? Run by our friends at @AgriWomensDevelopmentTrust, Next Level is a six-month leadership and governance development programme empowering you to make a positive impact in your world. Registrations are now open – the fi rst step on your journey to understanding your ‘why’ and building the mindset and skills to make change happen. Learn more at https://www.awdt.org.nz/ programmes/next-level/

UK Farmers Weekly QUESTIONS ASKED: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NFU president Minette Batters on-farm in Derbyshire. Photo: NFU

UK Farmers Weekly

IMPACT: AHDB head of market specialists Chris Gooderham says that February’s market, like January’s, was hit by the increased time and costs associated with new export rules.

Post-Brexit dairy export slump

BRITISH dairy exports remained at drastically low levels in February in the wake of Brexit, according to figures published by the AHDB.

The figures, drawn from HMRC data, show trade with Europe down more than 90% for certain products compared with a year earlier.

AHDB analyst Charlie Reeve says that in February 2020 there were 76,500 tonnes of unprocessed milk shipped from the UK to Europe. But Brexit trade conditions meant this fell to just 131t in the same four weeks of 2021.

Bulk cream exports also slumped, from 901t in February 2020 to just 436t, a 55% decline.

Other product categories also saw dramatic year-on-year declines.

Cheese exports fell by 75%, whey 83% and milk powder 86%, while butter exports were down 89% on February 2020 levels.

Despite the extreme lows, Reeve says these figures were a marginal improvement on January 2021, immediately after the UK left the EU.

However, buttermilk and yoghurt, which saw the biggest year-on-year drop, slumped further during February to 91% below last year, or about 10,000t less product shipped.

AHDB head of market specialists Chris Gooderham says that February’s market, like January’s, was hit by the increased time and costs associated with new export rules.

With perishable products such as dairy, the time delays caused by extra checks and paperwork meant some buyers and sellers were reluctant to commit to the export market, further reducing trade.

Another major block was the EU Rules of Origin legislation. This sets a cap on how much of an EU product can be made up of ingredients imported from third countries such as the UK.

Again this deterred EU buyers from importing UK ingredients and demand slipped, Gooderham says.

Looking ahead, he says the only slightly better export levels in February compared with January, suggest things would not improve quickly.

He says while trade friction should lessen as new processes bedded down, the extra costs would not disappear.

It was also too early to predict how issues around rules of origin would be resolved in the longer-term.

UK Farmers Weekly