Make your voice heard - contact your MEPs
The NFU have prepared some text for members to use, although please do customise this to make it as personal as possible and add some real-life examples of how these proposals will affect your business.
You can find your MEPs and their contact details here.
When you contact your MEP, please email b2xpdmVyLnJ1Ymluc3RlaW5AbmZ1Lm9yZy51aw== so that we are aware of which MEPs have been contacted.
Dear……
As a member of the NFU/ NFU Organic Forum (delete as appropriate) - which represents over 2,000 UK organic farmers - I am writing to express my concerns about the impact that some of the proposed changes to the European organic regulations would have on my business and on the wider UK organic sector in general.
Sales of organic produce in the UK grew by 4.9% last year (Soil Association Organic Market Report, 2016) - the third year of growth. However, the area of organic farmland in the UK has continued to fall – down 16% from its peak in 2010 (DEFRA, 2015) - and it is likely that this increase in demand for organic produce is being met by imports instead. For UK farmers who are currently facing unprecedented economic and environmental challenges, organic production represents a vital opportunity.
Examples of opportunities and challenges for your business. What are sales looking like and what are the key challenges for you?
Organic produce is one of the few areas of growth within the grocery sector -which saw over £1bn wiped off the value of fresh food sales during 2015 (The Grocer, 2016) - and is a vital part of the UK economy, worth £1.95bn in 2015 (Soil Association, 2016). There are around 6,000 organic farmers in the UK, with thousands more jobs linked to the organic sector – for example within processors, seed suppliers, advisory services and distribution companies.
However, several of the proposed amendments to existing EU organic regulations stand to significantly damage the UK organic sector. These proposals will also discourage much needed new entrants to the sector - the number of UK organic producers has fallen by 32% since 2008. Therefore in advance of the upcoming triologue meeting on 22nd March, I would like to urgently draw your attention to the impact that some of those proposals will have.
Two areas are of particular concern are proposed limits on feed sourcing as well as potential restrictions on seed types and breeding techniques.
Currently the production of organic feed in the UK, is nowhere near sufficient to meet the requirements of CA 26 ‘Draft compromise on feed from the farm itself (Annex II – Part II – point 2.1.2 - point d)’ which proposes that at least 60% of cow or sheep feed (CA 26, part 1) and 30% of pig or poultry feed (CA 26, part 3) is produced within 150km of the farm.
Especially in the case of pigs and poultry – where all their protein comes from manufactured feed - the climatic conditions in the UK, mean it is extremely challenging to grow organic crops with a high enough protein content for pig and poultry feed. Any restriction on feed sourcing would mean that organic pig and poultry producers are unlikely to be able to obtain the feed they require and their business would no longer be viable. This would also create similar challenges for organic beef and sheep farmers too.
Explain how this will affect your business. Delete the above section as required.
We agree with the proposals’ aims of trying to improve the self-sufficiency of organic systems, but as it stands, these proposals are not viable in the UK and have not taken into account current availability of organic feed. We would like to see measures implemented to support domestic production of feed and proper evidence gathering before sourcing restrictions are imposed as well as restrictions lessened to allow sourcing from across the EU.
We are also extremely concerned about proposals in the text which would restrict the use of hybrid varieties of seeds (CA 15 - Draft compromise on organic PRM and breeding (Annex II - part I - point 1.4.1) . Hybrid seeds are of fundamental importance to the agricultural sector, as they provide improved yields, more consistent cropping and greater disease resistance. All of these factors are crucial in ensuring that organic businesses remain commercially viable and are able to meet demand from consumers.
Although fruit & vegetable and arable farmers will be particularly affected, for livestock or dairy producers – who work carefully to create the optimum pasture for their animals – this also poses a threat by potentially limiting their access to the seeds they need. Therefore we would like to see organic farmers retain access to hybrid varieties of seeds as a matter of urgency.
With this in mind, I am asking for your support on the above issues and to help ensure that any changes to the regulations governing organic production in the EU are not detrimental to the UK organic sector as this important time for producers.
Please find attached, a briefing document from the NFU which provides more information on the concerns I have mentioned. Likewise, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you in greater detail.
Invite to visit your business & see first-hand how these changes will affect you.
Yours sincerely,
…………………….