The impending EU Reset and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU could leave farmers growing crops this autumn that will be illegal to sell when it comes to harvest 2027.
The agreement would mean that EU rules, as they are now and then change, will apply to all food produced in the UK, not just food destined for export, explains Jeremy Moody, secretary and adviser to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV). “We should understand that this is not simply a trade or a veterinary agreement. Our Government is trying to outsource much of the regulation of farming and the food chain to Brussels where we could have no voice, and to do so overnight next summer. Produce grown here for eating here would be under EU rules.
“But we are in near ignorance of what that agreement might say, making this challenging when planning to put crops in the ground. We know it could run from animal transport to food labelling, but we might not even learn the shape of deal until an October Summit, and then all the legislation with its details is to follow.”
Accepting EU rules will mean a return to the EU’s restrictive approach to the precautionary principle and its resulting impact on gene editing and technology, among other things. “The EU knows its red tape stifles innovation – and we need to innovate,” says Mr Moody.
“Our Government is trying hard to interest a busy EU in this, making for a weak negotiating position while preoccupying Defra, which has much else to do in delivering the new Farming Roadmap. It would make some trade easier but would open us to all EU produce; a sensitive point on welfare standards, while the Government argues it will lower food prices.”
Issues will range from glyphosate to bovine TB vaccination, and definitions from ‘organic’ to ‘sausage’. Developing EU animal transport rules could also put some animals beyond economic reach of an abattoir. “When farmers will be planting crops for which we don’t know the standards required come next harvest, crop protection products are central,” says Mr Moody.
“The Andersons Centre has said an overnight switch to EU rules just for crop protection products could cost £500m-£800m in lost yields and husbandry changes. Our focus should be on getting our farming and our economy growing again, rather than simply accepting regulations from others with the added uncertainty as it then changes beyond our control.”