North Northamptonshire NFU members meet farming minister in Desborough to share their concerns

Farmers from across north Northamptonshire met with the Government’s farming minister to share their concerns about their industry.

Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) met Mark Spencer MP in Desborough at the invitation of MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone.

After Mr Hollobone had praised county farmers in the House of Commons, a meeting was arranged for NFU members to highlight issues.

More than 35 members met at West Lodge Rural Centre with the minister promising to tackle challenges raised by farmers.

Mr Spencer said: "We’re listening to their concerns, their challenges, and making sure that we can cater policy to help and support our great British farmers to produce great British food.”

NFU members told the minister delays to the introduction of Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) grants – a post-Brexit replacement for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments – were causing a great deal of frustration.

SFI allows farmers to farm more sustainably including incentives for hedgerows and soil management.

Clipston farmer Rachel Fyfe, who has a mixed arable and livestock farm, was pleased that the minister visited in person to hear the concerns but was less convinced by the new payments.

She said: "The SFI scheme is delayed, complex and muddled and it’s been badly managed. I feel the minister has got an understanding of the issues but I’m not sure the SFI situation has improved.”

SFI payments are due to be sent out starting on September 18 with farmers depending on up to a third of their income from the money.

Ms Fyfe said: “As with most things, it’s the smaller farms that will be hit the most.”

Matthew Robinson farms in Drayton in the Welland Valley on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border and has diversified into holiday lets, renting out a log cabin to tourists.

He said: “One log cabin as a holiday let makes more profit than 75 cows. I’ve got to either intensify or diversify – more farmers are being faced with that.”

NFU members asked the minister to help with labour shortages in the farming industry as well as SFI.

Answering the concerns Mr Spencer said: “Challenges around labour supply – we’re working to try and help solve those challenges. (There are) some frustrations with the support mechanism – we are changing the way we are supporting farmers and we are listening to those concerns. We want the next generation to come into food production and farming. Food production is a very important part of the nation’s economy and here in Northamptonshire and the East Midlands we have some of the best food producers anywhere in the world.”

Mr Robinson added: “He’s a politician and whoever trusts a politician God alone knows, but to be fair to him, it is good from our point of view that he does seem to be on our side and understand the industry. As he said, it's all about producing food for people at the right price. But if we can’t produce it to stay in business in this country it affects everybody.”