I am lucky to be invited to visit many small businesses around the Moorlands and see how they contribute to making Staffordshire Moorlands the great place it is.
I always try to attend the local meetings of the NFU and I am always pleased to visit local farmers and see the great work they do first-hand.
On Friday, I spent a really enjoyable couple of hours at Red Earth Farm in Rudyard and New House Farm in Ipstones Edge to listen to local farmers’ concerns. Luckily the rain held off and I was able to have a look around and see some of the cows and new-born calves in the stalls and in the fields.
Food and farming is so important in Staffordshire Moorlands and is a bedrock of our economy and environment, generating £112 billion a year nationally and helping shape some of our finest habitats and landscapes.
I am pleased that the Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the Parliament, expected in 2022. Structural fund projects, including agri-environment schemes, signed before our departure will be honoured for their lifetime.
Leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) means we can do much more for our environment. In England the Government plans to move to a system of paying farmers public money for public goods: principally environmental enhancement. Bureaucracy will be minimised and application processes made easier; the system will also provide flexibility, putting more management decisions in the hands of farmers.
The Environment Secretary has published a Command Paper and will consult widely with farmers and others. I am convinced that we will harness this opportunity and ensure that our best days as a food and farming nation lie ahead of us.