Former NFU President and farmer, Baroness Minette Batters has been appointed to lead a review of farm profitability.
The appointment by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed will see Baroness Batters providing recommendations on farm profitability both to him and the Farming Minister.
Listening to farmers and growers will be at the heart of Baroness Batters’ work, covering all land areas and sectors of the industry, as well as engaging with other government departments whose work impacts farmers.
She will provide short, medium and long term recommendations and propose actions for government and industry that will support farming profitability as part of this government’s New Deal for Farmers.
This work will be supported by the newly formed Profitability Unit within Defra.
Baroness Batters’ review will also help the development of the food strategy, farming roadmap and the Land Use Framework, and build on other work such as the review of Defra’s regulatory landscape led by Dan Corry.
The aim is to help ensure our farming sector is more viable, self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term.
Baroness Minette Batters said, “I will leave no stone unturned in trying to find solutions to boost farm profitability. But we should be under no illusions how difficult this work will be. There will not be one ‘silver bullet’ to fire but I’m hopeful this review can make a difference to a sector that produces the nation’s food, underpins the rural economy and delivers so much for the environment.
“I’m pleased to be appointed to lead this review and look forward to working with farmers and growers to provide recommendations to government, food retailers, processors and manufacturers.”
The appointment is one of a number of actions that the government is taking to improve the profitability of farmers, including through fair competition in the supply chain, ensuring planning reforms make it quicker for farmers to build the buildings they need on their farms, and helping farmers to diversify income streams and make additional money from selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by accelerating connections to the grid.