Farming

We have an absolute moral obligation to steward the natural environment that we live in, and to ensure a good living for the people who look after the land.

In the 20th century farming pulled off a miracle of productivity, generating huge yields to feed our growing urban population. But it did so by means of techniques - especially fertilisers and pesticides - that harm the soil and the water. The revolution in food production and processing also saw additives go into our diet to make it last longer and taste more delicious - but at a real cost to our health. The result is an environment and a population that are unhealthy.

Brexit means the UK no longer has to pay landowners simply to own land - a bad and wasteful system that did nothing for the environment or human health. The challenge now is to bring in a system that supports farmers to do the costly business of environmental stewardship without causing them to sacrifice land needed for food production (especially vital in an age of global insecurity). The new system also needs to be as simple as possible, and to give farmers long-term visibility of the money they can expect to receive. And we need to incentive - and where necessary compel - food processors to make affordable, nutritious food.

I am glad that following campaigning by me and others, the Government has recognised food production as the primary objective of farming, and ruled that stewardship schemes can only be used for a portion of a farm's land. We still have a way to go to get the farming economy right, however. I am particularly troubled by the incentives in the system to turn agricultural land in our beautiful county over to vast solar farms, and I am campaigning vigorously to change the rules on this.

 

News

An update on the SFI Schemes - 13th May, 2025

There has been a brief reprieve for a small number of farmers who found their unfinished applications suddenly rejected when the Government announced the overnight closure of the SFI schemes earlier this year.After legal pressure from the NFU, who fairly argued that DEFRA acted unlawfully by shuttin

Talking about the closure of the SFI

Last week I met TJ Sherbrooke, a farmer in Tidcombe, who shared his concerns about the Government closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to new applicants. The Government has blamed this closure on budget exhaustion, despite the SFI being designed to support nature friendly farming.

A meeting with the Salisbury Plain shoots - 12 May, 2025

I met with members of various Salisbury Plain shoots on Friday to discuss the problems they are having trying to renew their licence to release birds on the Plain. Labour's attack on rural communities continues with a senseless ban on shooting on Salisbury Plain this summer.

An update on Firearm Licence Fee increases - 13 March, 2025

In January, the Government announced that it was increasing the licence fees for shotguns and firearms for the first time in ten years. In some cases, fees have risen by more than 245% - more than four times the rate of inflation for the same period.

Solar farms in Wiltshire and developing a strategy - 9 March, 2025

As the sun shines brightly over East Wiltshire this week, my thoughts turn to solar investment. I am concerned that a more strategic approach in Wiltshire is needed, so that these industrial investments go where they make sense and are strategically aligned with the needs of the grid.

My thoughts on the Firearm Licence Fee Increases - 3rd February, 2025

I have been contacted by a number of Constituents, who are very concerned that their Firearms Licence Fee increases this year are extortionate. In some cases, this could be by as much as 245%; more than four times the rate of inflation since the licence fees were last increased in 2015.