PETER KENDALL, president of the NFU of England and Wales, has had his thinking cap on, writes Ewan Pate, the farming editor.

Food security is traditionally a key argument for retaining British farming but he has decided there should be a more subtle approach.

Speaking at the Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, yesterday, Mr Kendall said, “Food security is not the same as self-sufficiency.

“Also, there is no place for government to be setting targets. That is old-fashioned economic thinking.

“Even if government wanted to, it no longer has the levers to pull, and even if they did many farmers would not be happy with the interference.

“I would not wish to be told to reduce my cereal output in order to grow vegetables or keep livestock.”

Mr Kendall, who is a large-scale cereal farmer in Bedfordshire, continued, “We need something more sophisticated.”

His idea is to create an early-warning system that would sound an alarm if Britain’s share of EU production started to slip in different sectors.

He compared it to the system whereby the governor of the Bank of England has to write an explanatory letter to the Chancellor if the inflation target is missed by more than 1%.

In the case of the farming industry an early warning system would trigger off immediate investigations by a joint industry and government panel.

“If the conclusion is that the farming sector, or the wider food chain, had simply become less efficient and competitive, that would be an issue for the industry to resolve,” he said.

“If the problem is producer prices that are lower than our competitors that is a problem for the supply chain.

“However, if the problem was distortion in the EU market or over-regulation these would be issues for government to tackle.”

As an example of the sort of issue he would expect government to tackle he quoted the recent UK decision to curtail tax allowances on new agricultural buildings.

“The decision was unfair and puts us at a disadvantage and increases costs,” he said.

“In Ireland, new buildings have property relief at 15% per year for six years and the final 10% in year seven.

“In Denmark it is even more advantageous.

“NVZ regulations are another example of an unlevel playing field.”

However, despite it all, the NFU leader was in upbeat form, describing the changes over the last year as “phenomenal.”

Skimmed milk prices have increased proportionately more than even cereals.

However, maize plantings in the US were up by 19% this year.

Market volatility would be a feature and he was concerned for casualties.

Mr Kendall said, “I am concerned about the red meat sector and about losing producers, especially in the hills where the loss of skills and hefted sheep stocks would be hard to replace.

“The poultry sector also needs to see price rises to allow for the increases in feed prices.”

Of more immediate concern, Mr Kendall had been visiting the flood-stricken areas of Yorkshire.

There were patches of blight in potatoes and he believed that Bird’s Eye had lost 30% to 40% of the contracted pea acreage.

“Hopefully, that is a temporary blip but one thing does worry me.

“Farmers up around Doncaster were furious to hear intensive agriculture being blamed for causing the floods.

“There are other issues such as the policy of building houses on low-lying ground or maintaining waterways as butterfly sanctuaries rather than as drainage channels,” he said.

* For a while yesterday the Royal Show recaptured some of its old buzz.

After overnight rain the sun shone, crowds filled the avenues and ice cream sellers started to do business.

Then, in the early afternoon, someone looked skywards and rashly predicted that there would be no more rain for the rest of the day.

Within a couple of minutes it was pouring and a short time after that it was a monsoon.

It was bad luck, especially for those in the middle of stock judging or showjumping.

Some of the dairy stock had already been judged indoors to save the judging rings from further punishment.

* National Beef Association director Robert Forster confirmed at the show that when he retires at the end of this month he will be replaced by Kim-Marie Heywood.

She is policy adviser with the organisation.

In May it was announced that Stuart Roberts, a DEFRA official with responsibility for animal health, would be replacing Mr Forster.

However, he withdrew at short notice and instead is to be the next chief executive of the British Meat Processors’ Association.

At the time it was unclear whether the NBA would re-advertise or reassess applications.

Mr Forster said “We decided to promote from within our staff.

“Kim-Marie has huge experience and talents not yet drawn on which will serve her well in the job.

“I am retiring on July 31, confident that the NBA will be in good hands.”