What's the beef?

摘要

I've been involved in the livestock industry since I left school and I'm still part of a family farm. We've been keeping livestock for a good twenty years. Throughout this time I have been a member of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and have recently been elected chair of the National Board for Livestock Matters. One of the most important issues affecting the UK livestock industry at the moment is the lifting of the beef embargo. The marketing of the UK's products in Europe is of paramount importance in terms of allowing new lines and income streams to come to the industry. So that's an immediate and ongoing issue all UK livestock producers need to be very supportive of. Another issue which has been of great concern to the whole industry, but significantly to livestock producers, has been over the single payment scheme and the delays of government (in particular the Rural Payments Agency) in getting to grips with the changes that the common agricultural policy brought about. This has starved the industry of very important cash flow over the last six or seven months, and has been a significant barrier to normal trading patterns.