1. Defra unveiled its upgraded ELMs offer
Steve Barclay revealed Defra's greatly anticipated expansion of the SFI offer, which includes 50 new actions, a streamlined application process and increased payment rates.
Speaking at the 2024 Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Barclay reiterated the government’s support for British farmers and outlined the updated offer for 2024 which has been designed using farmers’ feedback.
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2. OFC24 supply chain report says risk vs reward ratio is ‘out of kilter’
The report – ‘Is the UK food supply chain broken?’ – states that years of ‘permacrisis’ fuelled by Brexit, the war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and soaring inflation rates have left farming’s confidence and bank balances at an all-time, unsustainable low.
Key findings included:
- The risk versus reward imbalance is forcing farmers out of production; retailers need to share the risk.
- Retailer practices need to change – long term trade agreements, inexperienced buyers and burdensome audits are damaging suppliers’ profit and partnerships.
- Farmers’ accounting and negotiating skills need improvement.
3. Government to consult on food labelling measures
In his political address, Steve Barclay also announced measures to improve transparency in food labelling which will ‘make sure high-quality British food stands out from the crowd’.
Mr Barclay said that clear food labelling would help to “tackle the unfairness created by misleading labelling”, while also backing domestic food production.
4. Panellists debate diversified leadership in agriculture
Speaking as part of the Oxford Farming Conference’s panel, ‘Diversified leadership – could farming do better?’ NFU President Minette Batters Minette shared her experiences of leadership in the agricultural sector, alongside Group Finance Director at Frontier Agriculture Ltd Diana Overton, and Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College London David Hughes.
Minette recalled receiving a text on the day she was elected: “It said ‘just remember, being a woman you’ll have to work twice as hard and you’ll be judged twice as hard’. That message has stayed with me throughout these past ten years.”
Diana Overton said that “the leadership of our industry today is not representative of the diversity of its members” despite the fact that agriculture as an industry is already gender diverse.
She said “farm businesses are often dependant on women who will typically be juggling multiple back office roles...all crucial to the success of a modern farming business”.
Professor Hughes presented his research on farmers leading on issues relating to food production and climate change.
He said he found it to be “just common sense” for the farm sector to “lead on issues relating to the environmental impact of food production, albeit in collaboration with the other key sectors”.
5. Work continues to encourage shoppers to ‘buy British’
Following the decision by Morrisons to add a ‘buy British’ tab to its website, Mr Barclay shared plans on how Defra will work with major online retailers to make the origin of their food products clearer, including further roll out of ‘Buy British’ sections on supermarket websites.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently commented in Parliament that his government will “continue to encourage” British supermarkets to do all they can to showcase British produce.