“However, farming, like all businesses, requires long-term planning. While this extension will provide some relief in the short-term, it remains the case that farmers and growers are still left with no certainty about the future which is hugely damaging to one of the UK’s largest manufacturing sectors, worth more than £100 billion to the national economy.
“This uncertainty is having real-world business impacts right now, with investment being put on hold and essential jobs remaining unfilled. We have crops and livestock in fields with farmers and growers still in the dark about what trading environment they will be operating in, whether they will have access to a sufficient workforce to carry out essential roles this season, or what the UK’s future domestic agricultural policy will look like.
“Government and Parliament must ensure that our departure from the EU is an orderly one, which enables British farmers to continue supplying the nation with safe, traceable and affordable food produced to world-leading animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards.
“It is crucial that this extension is used constructively and avoids the UK being in the same position in October.”