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One of the key barriers in engaging with net-zero is confusion and lack of guidance around carbon calculators. To what extent will the government engage with regulating the carbon calculators and methodology used within agriculture?

The poultry sector is at a critical point where we face numerous challenges that are impacting our businesses. Without the support of government intervention we have farmers and growers ceasing production as the stakes are just too high. We thank the government for engaging with the sector on avian influenza, but I must emphasise that producer confidence is low. Defra have previously mentioned that they are going to underpin insurance to ensure poultry producers can continue to produce poultry meat and eggs. Can you share with us your plans and timeframes for this in order to prevent further contraction in the sector?

Farmers are price takers, seldom price makers, and in a world of large food business and retailers farmers frequently end up with poor deals. Some businesses have been exemplars in providing economically sustainable deals, but they are few. In a free market environment that government has created, what will you do to ensure a fairness in the supply chain?

As a trainee primary school teacher and an agricultural descendant, I would like to know what will you and the government do to get the British future, learners, throughout Britain to not only enjoy our produce and environment, but to gain a deeper rooted understanding, appreciation and involvement in learning where their food comes from, how they can be environmentally informed citizens and get involved in rural Britain. Protecting and improving the future of Britain from an early age covering all walks of life, further than just current farmers who are already focusing on these matters. Thank you.

As farmers we are constantly being told that biodiversity is in decline. This is not my experience- I have seen a huge increase in the abundance of wildlife in my farming career. Yet I cannot prove this statistically.. there is no nationwide agreed measure of biodiversity or accepted baseline… only ad hoc surveys organised by interest groups & charities with a point to prove. When will the UK implement a biodiversity measurement framework that records biodiversity properly and recognises that something as important as this cannot be left to anti-farming NGOs?

Last year the uplands alliance, include representation from ourselves worked with a group from Defra to support a piece of work called the Uplands Pathway to Success. This was an economic model which was supposed to highlight to Upland farmers what options they would have when faced with the reduction of BPS and highlight any gaps they may have to fill. This work was supposed to be published in August of last year and yet we are still waiting. We have been told that it needs ministerial sign off so please minister can I have a commitment from yourself to have this published as soon as possible to help Uplands farmers assess and business plan for what is ahead. Following a prolonged policy development drought the release of the ELM prospectus was welcome and green shoots of optimism started to emerge. Unfortunately the use of the ‘income foregone’ upland growth regulator seems to be being used to the detriment of environmental gain by actively discriminating against upland businesses. Without fair payments for upland options both the environment and the socio economic structure of the uplands will be damaged. Can the minister assure upland farmers that a fairer approach will be used to ensure the success of ELM in the uplands?

Last summer, the government launched a food strategy which rightly recognised the growth potential for UK horticulture. Will you today commit that the promised Horticulture Strategy for England will be a progressed as a matter of urgency?

When will this Government show British Farmers and Growers the support and most importantly passion that they deserve by visibly changing the narrative of with our customers, retailers and service sector that British Sustainable Food is the answer to #ecomomicsustainability #socialsustainability #environmentalsuatainability

Do you support the vital need for every county to have at least one modern, energy efficient abattoir to ensure farmers can produce and provide quality livestock which can be processed from field to fork locally and sustainably? If yes, would you actively encourage all conservative MPs to support where appropriate, abattoir planning applications within their county area.

Please may I appeal to you as a scientist? Please will you give clear direction to your officials and those in CRD as to the approach to be taken to deliver an efficient, predictable, and proportionate regulatory regime. That’s a regime which should be risk based, not hazard based.

Growers need seasonal workers who can learn the role, work the season and return for at least two further growing seasons. This delivers high productivity levels which keeps food process from inflating. Please can you confirm that the visa will be extended from 6 to 9 months and that workers will be allowed to return after 3 months rather than the current 6 months?

Is ‘public money for public goods’ truly paying for the additionally of the positive public goods created, vital of the UK’s net zero targets, if funding and payment rates are calculated on an income foregone basis?

As a mixed lowland farm the schemes of CS and SFI offer me very little in the way of opportunity or financial incentive. And certainly not enough to replace income lost from taking productive land out of rotation. However without BPS or equivalent my farm can’t survive. Yet mixed farms are vital to the journey for net zero. Why won’t the government accept that farmers need and deserve more reward than basic income forgone to continue to deliver environmental benefits?

How can you ensure land prices are not pushed any up further to a level which as a young person in the industry already feels out of reach and productive farmland remains in food production with more marginal areas used for planting?

Considering permitting dairy & intensive beef farms is concerning. Applications alone are estimated to cost £50million. Currently around 1300 pig & poultry farms are permitted & we know this is achieving the desired outcomes. Will the SoS commit today to working with the dairy sector to developing & launching an alternative to permitting that delivers for business & environment

Can you reassure the farmers and vets that the Animal Plant and Health Agency have the resources they need to tackle diseases such as AI whilst maintaining endemic disease control such as that for bovine TB, which is suffering due to AI. And are we investing in the resources need to ensure we identify emerging diseases especially that have zoonotic potential.

SOS, new entrant support during this parliament has been underwhelming. When planning your next manifesto will you consider investing more in the next generation of farmers to create confidence within many ambitious entrepreneurs throughout the industry?

NFU conference Minister. I thank you for coming to speak to us today. I farm high up on Exmoor and have done so with my wife for 42 years. But as from last Friday when I was 68 I had handed over the day to day running of our family farm to our son and daughter-in-law. When I read the NFU strap line. I thought it said “ feeding a challenging world”. Not a changing world. But really it’s the same difference. Minister. We have in the auditorium the best assets we could ever want. They are all like my son and daughter-in -law. The next generation of farmers. Very very keen. Enthusiastic. Full of energy. Vitality and determination to make it work. Like I was 42 year ago. To feed this changing and challenging world we live in. But for the last 6 years your government through successive ministers have let us down and our letting us down and your government if it’s not careful will deflate these young farmers ballon of tremendous energy and enthusiasm. But Looking through all these new Agri environment schemes for us farmers in the upland not one will help these youngsters long term. This needs to be addressed. ASAP. Thank you.

With an increase in flood and drought events, it is more critical than ever that growers have the ability to collect and store during wetter periods to use on farm during drier periods. Water resources management planning is essential for the sector to understand supply and demand and to secure future water resources. Will you commit to Defra financially supporting this process?

Many parts of the horticulture sector are highly energy intensive, whether that is for heating and lighting glasshouses, or for running cold storage. Yet the sector has not been recognised in the ETII scheme from April, meaning our government support is effectively coming to an end. Alongside labour costs, energy has been the biggest driver of inflation and is directly adding to food inflation. What will you do to ensure energy intensive horticultural businesses are added to the ETII scheme and do not face another year where we have to leave glasshouses empty.

Growers are facing unprecedented inflation in costs (23% for apple) and static or declining returns (0.8% for apple). Please can you convene a round table of supermarket retailers (with the GCA?) to press for fairness in the supply chain and to seek assurances that returns will reflect true inflationary costs?