Brexit: Bitesize - The Implications for Agriculture
Where does the EU referendum result leave the agricultural community? Catherine Harris, partner and head of agriculture, looks at the potential implications in her Brexit: Bitesize article.
“For over 40 years, farmers have been able to claim Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies. They have been able to access European markets and, more recently, they have been able to benefit from migrant labour which is particularly important to the vegetable farmers concentrated in the South of the county.
“Lincolnshire is often described as the “bread basket of England” because of its highly productive land and strong agricultural economy, but what will happen now? Subsidy payments have made the difference between profit and loss for many farms for a number of years, but the burden of excessive bureaucracy and politically-based - as opposed to science-based regulations - have caused concern for years.
“The environment, animal health and welfare, and plant protection are amongst the many areas that have been subject to heavy European regulation for a number of years, but what now? The step into the unknown has been taken and it’s now up to us to make sure that, in times of increasing population, farmers are able to deliver the crops and the environmental benefits.”
