NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe reports back after the first meeting of the new EU Sheep Reflection Group.
He writes:
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This past week the first meeting of the Sheep Reflection Group took place and I was honoured to be there to represent the NFU and the European farmers’ organisation Copa. Not before time too as sheep meat has been ignored for far too long.
Addressing the group, I spoke about the challenges facing the sheep sector – economic, environmental and social. Getting the economics right is crucial - if sheep farmers are able to operate properly and profitably then the wider rural and social economy will benefit. This is an approach we’ve been taking in the UK and I think could work really well at a European level.
The meeting heard that innovation and modern technology could play a role in developing the industry. Our younger farmers could be at the forefront of this particularly if we can help them out by offering incentives like access to cheaper finance or mentoring arrangements with older farmers.
Market transparency was also on the agenda and I called for sheep meat price reporting to be made compulsory. We need a sheep meat market observatory to gather data about the European supply chain. We have this for milk and possibly the beef market too. If we have a Common Agricultural Policy then we should make sure it really is common to the whole sector.
On the electronic tagging of sheep there was widespread support for greater tolerance at farm level. I know we can’t change the whole regulation but we could finesse it around the edges to make sure that farmers are not penalised through no fault of their own.
This was the first of a series of meetings before we make recommendations next year.