Devon's farmers are custodians of our beautiful countryside. They create new habitats, protect wildlife, produce the raw ingredients that feed our nation, and export food around the globe.

It has been a challenging time for our farmers. Input costs such as diesel, fertiliser, and feed have risen sharply.

These are familiar concerns in my regular meetings with East Devon’s farmers and the NFU, including my recent small roundtable in Fenny Bridges to discuss new agricultural schemes and workforce shortages.

In Parliament, the Secretary of State announced the Sustainable Farming Incentive roll-out will be sped up. Through this scheme, farmers can receive payment for actions on hedgerows, grassland, arable and horticultural land, pest management, nutrient management, soil health, and moorlands. 

There are also exciting plans to restore 400 miles of river through the first round of Landscape Recovery projects, establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands along England’s rivers, and a multi-million pound Species Survival Fund to protect our rarest species – from hedgehogs to red squirrels.

Leaving the EU allows the UK to leave behind a bureaucratic and inefficient farming policy. The UK government rightly wants to use our new-found powers to reward farmers for doing more to help improve the environment while also producing high-quality food.

I’m working with our farmers to feedback to government about the variety of new support schemes. I know our farmers want to farm, not fill out forms. We all want the food on our tables to be as local as possible – and our farmers want to produce it.

A few days after my local roundtable, I had the chance in Parliament to ask one of our farmer's questions directly to the Home Office about the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme.

When certain roles cannot be filled by advertising domestically first, local farmers need access to short-term skilled labour from abroad – with 45,000 visas available for seasonal horticultural workers and 2,000 visas available for seasonal poultry workers in 2023.

I held a debate in Parliament last year on farming and I will continue to do what I can to help our fantastic farmers.