‘CAP reform must aid large-scale not small farms’

Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy should seek to support large-scale farming rather than “antiquated” family farms, Dairy UK has claimed.

Outlining its recommendations for how the CAP should look post-2013, Dairy UK said the view that support should focus on small farms was at odds with the way UK agriculture was headed.

Launching a booklet of policy recommendations on the CAP at the Dairy UK conference in Birmingham on Monday (6 September), the organisation’s policy director, Peter Dawson, said the European Union should seek to promote efficient agriculture to support Britain’s move towards commercial farming.

“The European Commission held a conference in July on the future of the CAP and from a UK perspective the message coming forward was concerning,” he said.

“The view was that the CAP should focus on small, mixed family farms. That model is at odds with the development of UK agriculture which is turning towards commerical farming.

“The EU shouldn’t be seeking to defend antiquated farming structures like small family farms,” he added.

The policy catalogue, which also sets out recommendations for the High Level Expert Group on Milk – an EU forum looking into the medium and long-term future of the Europe’s dairy sector – says reform of the CAP needs to be considered in the context of a “modern, efficient and dynamic” UK dairy industry.

It says British dairying is better-placed to tackle future challenges than many other European countries.

The guidelines say CAP reform should focus on economic, environmental and social sustainability.

Within that Dairy UK said the EU should seek to promote efficiency in agricultural production.

It also said the dairy industry should be helped to adapt to increased price volatility and it should be provided with public support for the environmental benefits farms bring.

Jim Begg, Dairy UK director general, said the debate around the CAP had “gone off the agenda” and it was important discussions about its future began again considering the differences between UK and European dairying.

“The CAP post-2013 could be very different and could direct farm production in the UK in a way that’s different to what we have now,” he said.

“We are going down a large-scale route and the rest of Europe is going small.”

With European agriculture commisioner Dacion Ciolos due to make proposals for the future of the CAP in November, Mr Begg said the dairy indusry “needs to be prepared”.

“Analysis of the issues and clear thinking on policy are needed for the best deal to be achieved on behalf of the UK,” he added.

“That is what this document delivers.

“We hope that industry stakeholders will study this publication and share their thoughts with us to enable a full and open debate of the issues.”