Politics News

It’s fair to say that between Covid-19, Brexit and last year’s severe wet weather causing one of the worst harvests on record, agriculture has faced the most challenging years in decades. As we go into a second national lockdown, Farmers Guide take a look at the impacts of the last lockdown, and how farmers can mitigate the challenges ahead.

The government has launched a consultation on reducing ammonia emissions from solid urea fertilisers, to protect human health and the environment.

Government ministers have announced that the Trade and Agriculture Commission will now become a statutory body, following months of campaigning to protect British food and farming standards in future trade deals.

Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe has announced that she will leave Red Tractor next month at the end of her tenure as chair, following recent controversy over the Ag Bill debate.

Defra has announced new rules and logos to protect British food and drink, guaranteeing the authenticity of regional and traditional foods for shoppers and protecting British producers from imitation.

MPs have voted against an amendment to the Agriculture Bill, put forward by the House of Lords, to ensure food imported to the UK matches domestic standards.

Calls from the House of Lords to ensure food imports match domestic standards are unlikely to result in an amendment to the Agriculture Bill, Defra secretary George Eustice has said.

The government has rejected last-ditch attempts to get dairy workers included on the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) Shortage Occupation List (SOL), after a four-month consultation.

Chefs and celebrities are urging the public to write to their MP calling for a block on low-quality food imports, as politicians gear up to vote on the Agriculture Bill.

A debate on the Agriculture Bill in the House of Lords has seen peers slam the breaks on potential imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, by voting in favour of a clause that would require food imports to meet domestic standards.

Farming minister Victoria Prentis has announced that the outdoor use of metaldehyde will be banned in Great Britain from the end of March 2022.

Following a rise in reports of hare coursing, which typically spikes after harvest, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is stepping up its campaign to tackle hare coursing.