Food security and state of Defra front and centre at Oxford Farming Conference
Concerns were running particularly high this week at the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference where Defra minister Steve Reed promised "a cast iron commitment to food production" in his speech to delegates.
In our latest article we look at the implications for food production of the recent decision to reduce the Basic Payments Scheme subsidy from £30,000 down to around £7,000 earlier than anyone expected. We also cover a very forthright interview on Farming Today given by Professor Sir Dieter Helm, dubbed the architect of the public money for public goods policy. He doesn't pull any punches.