Britain’s beef herd has reduced in size by 5% in the last year and 13% in the ten years before that. Our recent Meat Industry Manifesto details what that might mean for British food security going forward.
To stem that declining trend, the CEO of the National Beef Association, Neil Shand has proposed, in a Farming Today interview, that England introduces a similar system to that in Scotland (and Wales, Northern Ireland and the EU) where each beef calf would attract a £100 ‘headage’ payment. This, he explains, would not be additional funding, which is in short supply at the moment, but would come from money that’s already been committed to agricultural support but not yet been spent.
Mr Shand warns of dropping to a point where “critical mass starts being a production challenge for processors and retailers” saying that “we don’t want them to start going looking elsewhere overseas.”
This erosion of our domestic food security and increased reliance on vulnerable international supply chains is something we have warned about in our Manifesto. We also explain what could happen if we reach that tipping point that Mr Shand references. You can listen to the whole interview via the link below. Also, keep listening to the segment after, which discusses reactions to the announcement of a review into Defra’s regulations and regulators.
Listen from 4:53 minutes
We are the UKs largest trade body for the meat industry and provide expert advice on trade issues, bespoke technical advice and access to government policy makers
We are proud to count businesses of all sizes and specialties as members. They range from small, family run abattoirs serving local customers to the largest meat processing companies responsible for supplying some of our best-loved brands to shops and supermarkets.
We are further strengthened by our associate Members who work in industries that support and supply our meat processing companies.
We are the voice of the British meat industry.
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