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markets
The uplift in cattle prices of recent weeks slowed in week ended 11th May read more
With more new season lambs entering the market, the dynamics of the trade have started to change read more
Provisional data for April milk deliveries of approximately 1,111m litres are 93m litres (7.7%) down on the previous year read more
In April, the DAPP averaged 160.9p/kg, almost 4p up on the month. At the same time, the average retail price came down by a small amount read more
The GB weekly average price fell by £7.68/t to £295.35/t and the free-buy average fell by £22.02/t to £368.39/t. read more
The first USDA estimates for world production in 2013-14 forecast record maize and wheat production, citing larger planted areas and a rebound in yields from the US (maize) and the Former Soviet Union (wheat) read more
The USDA has released its first soyabean supply and demand estimates for the new season read more
UK malting barley export prices are at €245/t FOB (spring, South Coast) w/e 11th April. read more
The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on the activity of UK hatcheries and poultry slaughterhouses. read more
USDA’s latest quarterly stocks report, released on 28th September, estimated US maize stocks (at 1st September) at 25.1m t, down 12% on the same point in 2011 and the lowest since 2004. read more

 
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DELIVERING A FAIR DEAL FOR BRITAIN’S FARMERS
Nick Herbert

Shadow DEFRA spokesman Nick Herbert tells Farm Business editor Andrew Watts
how he sees farmers as being at the centre of tomorrow’s policies on food and energy
production, as well as processors of waste 

Before I sit down, Nick inserts a caveat into
our discussion. He makes it clear that he is
not yet fully acquainted with the policy
details that accompany the role of shadow
DEFRA secretary and as such any detailed
questions should be put to his colleague in
the shadow DEFRA team, Jim Paice. “He’s
the real expert,” he says.
Although having been in the role for just a
few weeks – Nick Herbert entered the shadow
cabinet in the re-shuffle that brought Ken
Clarke back to front-line opposition – to
assume he is ignorant of the issues facing
farmers and the countryside is to underestimate
his achievements and ignore his
upbringing.
As a former director at the British Field
Sports Society he was part of the team that
foresaw the impending battle over country
sports. Having “recognised the need to
broaden the agenda,” he helped to establish
the Countryside Movement, the forerunner to
the Countryside Alliance.
HUNT SUPPORTER
As one would expect from a keen proponent
of country sports – “I used to hunt. A lot,” he
says, not wanting the significance to be lost on
me – he is committed to seeing the ban on
hunting with dogs repealed and stands by the
Conservatives’ pledge to offer a free vote on
the issue should their party win the next election.
From his past role as shadow justice secretary
Mr Herbert has real experience of
evaluating how changes to government
policy impact those living in rural areas and
of how rural services are marginalised as a
result of government initiatives to tackle the
latest issue dominating the headlines.
During the interview he demonstrates his
grasp of judicial issues, speaking with energy
and conviction about how rural communities
have been short changed by changes in government
priorities for regional policing as		 well as cuts to the National Health Service. While he is evasive about the future provision of rural services that could be expected from a Tory administration by pointing out that rural policing, bus services and post offices all fall under the briefs of others, he enthuses about the potential of the countryside as a place to do business. Stepping up the roll-out of broadband internet to rural areas as a means of enhancing its business appeal is one commitment he is willing make. But when it comes to core agricultural policy he loses some of the confidence he found so easily when discussing the provision of rural services. Subjects such as country of origin labelling of meat products are key Tory policies and he is committed to taking the need for clear labelling laws to Brussels and presenting a bill before MPs in the House of Commons to legislate for mandatory country of origin labelling. FREE MARKETS “I’m a believer in free markets – I ran a free market think tank – but I don’t think the market can be considered properly free if you don’t have the information that enables consumers to make informed choices,” he says. “Accurate labelling is not an impediment to the operation of the market, it’s essential for the fair operation of the market.” He’s quick to point out that the Government has been talking about labelling legislation for a decade and it was first mooted by then Minister for Agriculture Nick Brown, who announced a voluntary scheme to a “great fanfare that consumers would be protected. Well, what’s happened?” Mr Herbert is undeterred by the argument that such plans will fall foul of EU law governing the provision of goods and services, arguing that it is the job “of the secretary of state to fight the corner and show a bit of spine, and stand up to the supermarkets if they’re not willing to introduce a voluntary scheme because they’ve found 101 reasons against it.” When it comes to reviewing DEFRA’s targets under its Public Service Agreements, which currently focus almost entirely on the environment and biodiversity, he is reluctant to give the commitment that productivity will feature more prominently on the agenda. INCREASED PRODUCTION “It’s about finding the balance,” he says, stating that he has no desire to turn the clock back to the production-focussed era of the 1980s, which he believes was bad for both the environment and the long-term sustainability of agriculture. Plotting agriculture’s path in the new era will be about ensuring “that we aren’t missing the opportunities for greater production, but while not turning the clock back,” he says. “This suggestion that it doesn’t matter where we get our food from is as fallacious as is the argument that it doesn’t matter where we get our energy from.” Just how a Conservative government would achieve this balance is undecided, but it is unlikely to follow the current system of centrally- imposed targets. Nor will it seek to raise productivity at the basic level, but instead seek to promote the consumption of food stuffs produced domestically. “What matters are fewer arbitrary targets, which may or may not be hit, and can be distorting, but the creation of a framework that encourages people to follow the right course. Imposing bureaucracy and diktats is likely to be as counter-productive as it has been in health care, education and policing,” he says. This is consistent, says Mr Herbert, with wider Conservative policy, which is about providing the necessary incentive to deliver the desired outcome, but without dismissing the role of legislation if the voluntary approach fails.

 

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