New Defra minister visits NFU president’s farm

New food security and rural affairs minister Stephen Morgan has visited the NFU president Tom Bradshaw in his first on-farm visit since taking up the post.

Morgan has moved into Defra to replace Dame Angela Eagle, who is now minister for security in the Home Office, in the third new appointment to Defra in two years.

The MP for Portsmouth South has held several shadow minister posts in the past, including for transport, education, defence and local government. This is his first ministerial position within the current Labour government. 

NFU president Tom Bradshaw hosted Morgan on his farm in Essex, as the minister’s first on-farm visit, where the pair discussed a range of challenges British farmers and growers, particularly from rising costs exacerbated by the Middle East conflict. 

They also discussed the increasing challenges of climate change and extreme weather, ahead of this week’s expected record temperatures and extreme heat.

“Although we spoke earlier in the week, it was great to have Stephen Morgan out on my farm during his first week in the job to discuss how it is getting increasingly harder for us to produce the country’s food and deliver for the environment,” said Bradshaw.

“I explained how British agriculture is under immense economic strain, driven by the conflict in the Middle East, with margins being completely eroded by rising costs and a lack of transparency over the pricing of fuel and fertiliser,” he said. 

Bradshaw said he also outlined the urgent need to prioritise food production and unlock growth by giving farmers confidence to invest in their businesses, something that was high on the agenda at FPJ’s Festival of Fresh event on 10 June. 

“A first step would be planning and regulatory reforms that support farmers and growers such as permitted development rights for reservoirs and flexible abstraction licences,” added Bradshaw.