17/10/24 - Review of Defra's rules, decline in the beef herd, wine harvest

Farming Today

The government has announced that Defra should be a 'key economic growth department' and has ordered a review into its regulations and regulators. That's been welcomed by some, like the Country Land and Business Association, which says ministers need 'a laser like focus on identifying and removing the barriers to economic growth in the countryside'. The National Farmers' Union told us it wants a 'proportionate and predictable' regulatory environment for farmers. But others are more wary: campaigners have described the move as 'dispiriting', fearing that it could mean less regulation to stimulate economic growth at the cost of environmental protections. The internal review will be led by an economist, Dan Corry, who was head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Gordon Brown.

The size of England's beef herd has continued its fall. It's come down by 5% in the last year and now stands at 595000. In the ten years before that, the number of cattle bred for meat fell by 13%. The National Beef Association is calling on the Government to introduce new payments to farmers to halt what it calls an alarming trend.

UK winemakers' harvest is underway. It too has fallen victim to the weather which has made the cereal harvest in England one of the worst since the 1980s. For grapes, the wet cold weather prevented or delayed pollination, with some yields are down 90%.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.