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After meeting with our MPs from Cornwall at the various County and Local Shows, we have continued to book meetings with them on farm. 

Members in West Cornwall met with Andrew George (Lib Dem) at the end of July, and we recently met with Ben Maguire (Lib Dem) in East Cornwall too.

Group secretaries are also arranging several on farm meetings over the coming weeks with our Labour MPs across Cornwall, so that members continue to have the opportunity to share their thoughts on how changes to IHT and other policies will impact them, their farm and rural communities. 

There are other ways to get in touch with your MP too.

Many MPs hold regular sessions called surgeries where they meet with constituents to talk about issues of concern. Your MP’s website, or your local library, may have more information about when and where surgeries are taking place. You can also contact your MP's office to enquire about surgeries.

Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) are shared visions developed for to shape the development and growth of their local area. They can be important documents to support the development of infrastructure, businesses and homes in line with the community's strategic needs and priorities.

Callington and Kelly Bray NDP is open for public consultation until 25 September 2025, you can make a comment and find the Callington and Kelly Bray NDP .

»Ê¼Ò»ªÈËwould like to see the area with a sustainable rural community that is underpinned by an innovative rural economy, and thriving farming and food industry, which is profitable and supports viable livelihoods, underpins sustainable and healthier communities and enhances the environmental assets that are vital to the counties prosperity.

»Ê¼Ò»ªÈËwould like to see some of the key priorities of farms to include:

1. The ability for the next generation to take on management of farms and to support this through the provision of affordable housing to allow succession.
2. Develop farming enterprises that can meet the challenges of food security through modernising and becoming more efficient.
3. Diversifying farming enterprises to meet new opportunities such as, inter alia, business units or tourism.
4. Developing renewable energy which meets the needs of the farm and are appropriate to the location and renewable resources available.
5. Access to highspeed broadband.
    

We have engaged with newly elected and re-elected Cornwall councillors in recent months, and continue to meet with teams and employees from Cornwall Council whose departments and remits have the potential to impact farming in the county.

The County Farms estate continues to be a core topic of discussion amongst other industry-related challenges and opportunities. 

I have been working with your County Chair, Ashley Jones and Tenants Rep, Rob Halliday to raise issues and concerns and inform the new and returning councillors of the value and broader benefit of County Farms, with support from media and technical colleagues where input to any review or other assessment may be required, and where discussions at council committee meetings may reach the headlines.

Another hot topic at the moment is beavers. There is already anecdotal evidence of beavers existing across a number of catchments in Cornwall, and Cornwall Wildlife Trust has hosted several consultation events regarding their expression of interest regarding a wild release application for beavers on the Fowey and Par catchments in Cornwall, which has since been submitted.

NFU Online has more information and guidance about managing Eurasian beavers.

If you have any questions or need further support regarding beavers and your farm, please let us know.

A recent Natural England event held in West Penwith included a tour of an area of mire restoration, followed by discussions regarding the feasibility of, and funding for, mire restoration, alongside other elements such as bracken control, which can be challenging to undertake with only mechanical means. 

The local Landscape Recovery Scheme, which is managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, was also a topic of conversation, offering a potential avenue for support for those whose farming businesses are impacted by the SSSI designation. 

There is often uncertainty about whether members can access the scheme once it is up and running, particularly if they are not already signed up to participate in it. 

I have discussed this matter with colleagues from other farming organisations and if members farming in and around the West Penwith Landscape Recovery Project area are unsure about this and would like further support, please get in touch.

Over recent months, we have continued to meet with our MPs from across the county at Royal Cornwall Show, local shows and on farm with members, with more planned over the coming months to continue the engagement with them and to allow members to explain how the proposed changes to Inheritance Tax will affect them and their families. 

We have four Labour and two Liberal Democrat MPs in Cornwall. To date, all have been receptive to conversations and evidence provided by members regarding the impact of the proposed IHT changes.

We need to continue providing examples of how this policy will affect families, farming businesses, and the wider rural community across Cornwall. Please continue to write to and engage with your MP, and encourage others from your constituency to do the same, so that our MPs can encourage their own party and the government to reconsider this policy.

Over the coming months, events are being planned to engage MPs further on this issue, and we are working locally to organise on-farm meetings with our MPs in their local constituencies.

In Cornwall, we have two National Landscape designations, the and the . 

Both organisations administer a FiPL (Farming in Protected Landscapes) programme, which has been and will fund on-farm projects that support nature recovery, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, and protect or improve the quality and character of the landscape or place. 

Applications for over £10,000 are judged by a local assessment panel. 

Further details and guidance on how to apply to the FiPL programme:

There is also more information and guidance about the FiPL programme on »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË.