Paused organics legislation work
Since leaving the European Union, the organic sector has been following EU standards and, after attending an organic update with Defra, the department has confirmed any work on either updating or changing the organic legislation has been paused.
The Precision Breeding Act
This year has so far seen the regulations necessary to implement the Precision Breeding Act laid in Parliament.
These implementing rules will come into force six months later. The application process for PBO (precision bred organisms) authorisations will open in early autumn 2025 and technical guidance will be available for applicants.
Defra has confirmed no changes will be made to the organic legislation 鈥� this means that, within organic production, PBOs will be classed as GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and therefore cannot be used.
This offers challenges for the organic sector, with current discussions focusing on a potential non-legislative code of practice. The code of practice will look to manage co-existence on farm and throughout the鈥痵upply chain, with Defra also looking at mapping potential scenarios which could impact on organic producers.
I have been a part of the stakeholder meetings with Defra looking into the impacts of The Precision Breeding act on organic producers and, on behalf of the NFU, I have fed into a consultation on a plant varieties and seeds framework for precision bred varieties.
Views were being sought on what information businesses would find useful and in what form, including the potential for mandatory inclusion of precision bred status on existing labels for seeds and other plant reproductive material, in addition to other lists and registers. 鈥�
鈥�Although the organic sector has faced challenges over recent years, I am optimistic about the outlook for the sector.鈥�
NFU Combinable Crops Board member Haydn Evans
SFI
The sudden closure of SFI is having an impact on organic members, as a key measure of SFI was organic conversion. I feel it's very important we have clarification as there has been a consistent demand to convert to organics, but without funding it makes the future very unclear.
皇家华人has highlighted organics as a case study to ministers.
Smaller abattoirs
Working with the livestock team, we have also highlighted the importance of small abattoirs for organic producers.
The FSA is increasing the inspection charges, which could see many small abattoirs close. Rural communities rely on these small abattoirs, and this could increase costs for producers if they must travel further, as the infrastructure and roads limit rural producers.鈥�
Challenges and opportunities
Although the organic sector has faced challenges over recent years, I am optimistic about the outlook for the sector.鈥疌urrently there is high demand for organic pulses and grains in the UK, offering an opportunity to benefit from premium pricing. Demand for organic products has slowly grown each year and is predicted to continue.聽
I play an active role in the NFU, alongside policy lead Cara Rhodes, feeding directly into any policy development, alongside my role on the NFU Combinable Crops Board.
