Direct Payments to Farmers (Crop Diversification Derogation) (England) Regulations 2020

Earl of Devon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Earl of Devon (CB)]

I declare my interest as an arable farmer, though thanks to Devon’s sandy red soil, we do not need this derogation just yet. As well as being a farmer, I was once a theologian and our current agricultural challenges are biblical: unprecedented floods, a disease pandemic and now an increasingly desperate drought. Even in a normal year, these would be assaults worthy of Moses, but this is not a normal year because, at the same time, we are undertaking our own exodus from Europe. We are midway through leaving the common agricultural policy in the midst of the Red Sea, with pro-Brexit prophets promising a land fed with pasture-fed milk and wildflower honey. In the coming months we will be debating the Agriculture Bill, from which we will derive the commandments by which we will reach that promised land. However, the details remain as inscrutable as Jehovah. We wait with bated breath to see what is written; we pray that we do not face 40 years wandering in wilderness.

While often criticised for its bluntness, the three-crop rule has been an invaluable tool, ensuring cross-compliance and minimising the environmental damage of an excessive arable monoculture. Will the three-crop rule exist under the new ELMS? How will the Government ensure that environmentally beneficial crop rotation is maintained and enforced? This limited derogation is largely supported by farmers, particularly in those areas devastated by winter floods. Will the Minister specify the evidence on which the derogation is based? Defra’s briefing merely cites pressure from stakeholders, but I assume that some analysis was undertaken. How many farmers require this derogation? Where are they located? Are there plans to monitor its impact? Finally, I also understand that pressure is being applied to extend the derogation into 2021. Will the Minister state whether there are any plans to do that and, if so, why?