If ever there is a time to make your voice heard on how you want your industry to be regulated, it is now. In fact, this is an opportunity we haven’t seen in more than a generation and that is why the NFU is urging all of its members to have their say – either by contacting your local NFU representatives, your national board members or by attending one of the many regional meetings being run by the NFU over the next few weeks. You can also respond to the consultation directly, and help demonstrate a united voice across the industry.
Of course, the NFU is already well placed to respond to the consultation and has worked tirelessly for the last 18 months discussing with members, developing policies and engaging with key stakeholders across the entire food chain to ensure that, when the time comes, our position is absolutely clear. But now that the government’s paper has been published and we can see even more clearly their direction of travel, it is vitally important that our members continue to make their voice heard and that the NFU is able to capture as many of their issues and concerns as possible.
For the horticulture sector, we need to ensure that we are appropriately rewarded for the ‘public goods’ we deliver, such as managing and enhancing the environment, supplying the healthiest food on the plate, and investing in our businesses to improve productivity. We need to provide ideas and solutions for the type of environmental and productivity measures that will work for our sector. Please think about what you want for your business and let us know - be specific. The more we are able to demonstrate this, the more opportunities we will have to access the funds as they are redistributed away from area based payments towards payments that are linked to delivering those public goods.
Once the consultation closes, there will be other opportunities for NFU members to continue to spread the message, particularly by lobbying local MPs to harness their support. The NFU will be helping pull together some guidance to give our members the tools to do this.
This has already felt like a very long and drawn out process, but in truth the time we’ve had to analyse all the many possible outcomes from Brexit has been incredibly short. It is no surprise therefore that on such a vital consultation for our sector we have just 10 weeks to respond. But I am confident the NFU will continue to provide excellent and robust representation for its members and I hope we can continue to rely on your support.