The picture painted in the story (UK has nearly 800 livestock mega farms, investigation reveals, The Guardian, July 18), would be completely unrecognisable to most British farmers. While the farming sector is evolving to meet a growing demand for food, it is also the case that the number of farms has decreased in the past few years.
What hasn’t changed is the high quality, safe, traceable and affordable food being produced by British farmers to exacting welfare and environmental standards. The key thing for any livestock farmer is the health and welfare of their animals. And as veterinarians and the farmers themselves can testify, farm size is not a measure for the welfare of an animal. What does impact on animal welfare is the quality of management and stockmanship that farms operate to.
UK farmers are leaders in good husbandry and high animal welfare and environmental standards which are grounded in robust science and innovative technology – all of which plays a major role in balancing the need to produce more British food in a way that is sustainable environmentally, economically and socially.
NFU Deputy President Minette Batters