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Know How / Brexit

See the latest news on Brexit government policy affecting the farming and agricultural sectors. Keep up-to-date with the developments on the future of farm subsidies and payments and how Brexit will affect UK imports and exports of food and the availability of the farm labour workforce. Get advice on how to future proof your farm in preparation for the UK leaving the European Community and find out how other farmers are planning for the future.

Latest Brexit news

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BREXIT

Farm leaders fear loss of leverage as SPS talks stall

Uncertainty has been cast over the UK’s proposed sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU after next month’s UK-EU summit was postponed following prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation.…

BREXIT

New date set for alignment with EU regulations

A bilateral summit between the UK and EU is due to take place on 22 July, according to statements from EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime…

NEWS

Minister misled on gene editing labelling rules

A High Court judge has ruled that ministers were wrongly advised about their powers to introduce labelling and traceability requirements for gene-edited products when developing England’s precision breeding regulations. In…

Brexit impact calculator

This tool from the AHDB can be used to investigate the potential impact that Brexit will have on your farming business.
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Practical advice

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STAFF MANAGEMENT

Options for farmers to secure migrant labour from 2021

The government’s proposed points-based immigration system (PBS) looks like it could do little to help the agricultural and horticultural sectors, according to the most recent details. Due to take effect…

FINANCE

10 tips to build a Brexit cash reserve for dairy farmers

Dairy producers should consider trimming capital expenditure and fixing costs to build up a cash reserve ahead of potential shocks from a no-deal Brexit, a dairy farm consultant has said.…

TENANCIES AND RENTS

Expert advice on tendering for a farm tenancy ahead of Brexit

Scrutinising tenancy agreements, checking break clauses and taking on critical business planning are all key to submitting a tender amid the Brexit turmoil. Despite the uncertainties, there has been a…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Using arable profits to prepare for Brexit

Whether you have a legal, tax, insurance, management or land issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Mark Chatterton of accountant Duncan & Toplis advises on the tax…

BUSINESS

What are the prospects for the UK meat industry post-Brexit?

Brexit offers opportunities to exploit the potential of British red meat production. But overcoming trade barriers, investing in processing capacity and meeting market requirements will take time and a change…

Case studies

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ARABLE

Budget for Brexit in a brave new world of lower subsidies

In the second part of our series on planning for Brexit, we examine one of the biggest farming operations in the UK and how it is preparing for life outside…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How an award-winning arable farm is preparing for Brexit

Arable growers are likely to have a six-year breathing space to prepare for the ending of EU-style area-based subsidies, and for the brave new world of a UK farming support package…

BUSINESS

Farming without subsidy - New Zealand's experience

UK farmers must seize the opportunity of Brexit to ramp up productivity and become more competitive, industry leaders have been told. Former New Zealand agriculture minister Sir Lockwood Smith suggested…

ARABLE

Future of subsidies: Collaborate to cope with lower support

In the second of our series on coping with lower subsidies, David Jones talks to one arable farmer, who is also chairman of his local grain co-operative, about his long-term plans…

Insights

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BREXIT

Analysis: Brexit decade brings mixed fortunes for farmers

The UK’s 2016 decision to leave the EU after more than 40 years of membership was as surprising as it was consequential. Few, including those advocating for Brexit in the…

BUSINESS

The pros and cons for farming of closer EU alignment

Progress towards establishing a common sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU – part of the government’s “reset” initiative – is gathering momentum. Negotiations started in earnest in January, and…

FARM POLICY

Post-Brexit farm support - how is Defra spending the money?

One of the reasons many farmers voted for Brexit in 2016 was because they were so fed up with Brussels red tape. Our survey at the time, run in the…

FARM POLICY

Q&A: New CLA president sets out her ambitions for farming

The new president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Victoria Vyvyan, has vowed to champion the next generation, celebrate the regions and take its Rural Powerhouse campaign to…

BREXIT

Analysis: 7 years after Brexit, farmers count the cost

Increased red tape, a worsening economic situation, damaging free-trade deals, a trail of broken promises – it seems that farmers and those working in the ancillary industries are far from…

ELM

Farmers support environmental measures but wary of SFI

Farmers are enthusiastic about protecting the environment and boosting biodiversity, but remain wary of signing up to the government’s post-Brexit farming schemes, a survey has revealed. Carried out online by…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

UK horticulture careers towards seasonal labour crisis

With robotic pickers and packers many years away for most commercial horticulture businesses and labour availability falling dramatically, the industry is on the verge of a crisis. Industry leaders want…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

LFA and 'coupled' supports at risk in Scottish policy plans

Money paid to Scottish farmers in the form of less favoured area (LFA) support and as “coupled” aid to suckler beef and upland sheep producers must be retained as direct…

FARM POLICY

New Welsh farm support scheme majors on tree planting

Farmers in Wales will need to have at least 10% of their land planted with trees if they want a baseline payment from the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). Details…

FARM POLICY

Britain braced for food crisis as rising costs hammer farmers

Feed, fertiliser, fuel and labour costs have all risen dramatically in the past 12 months, squeezing margins from profit into loss. With some sectors forced to rein in inputs this…

FARM POLICY

NI farmers show approval as new support policy takes shape

Plans for a new post-Brexit support scheme for Northern Ireland, based on a gradual transition from direct aids and headage payments towards a new “farming for nature” package, have won…

SHEEP

Does the UK have too many sheep breeds?

Over the centuries a spectrum of breeds has evolved in Britain, from fast-growing, prolific lowland types to hardier, single-bearing ewes for the uplands. According to the National Sheep Association (NSA),…