Isle of Wight farmer Susie Sheldon is part of a Country Land and Business Association (CLA) delegation visiting the European Parliament today (Wednesday) for meetings with MEPs, EU officials and trade bodies.
The CLA represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses and the delegation includes members from across England and Wales. The delegation’s message is that it is in the interests of the whole European food and farming industry that a successful free trade agreement is secured.
Susie Sheldon is Chairman of the CLA’s Isle of Wight branch and owns and manages a 650 acre arable and sheep farm at Freshwater with her husband, which has diversified into holiday lets and tourism.
Commenting ahead of the visit, Susie Sheldon said:
“We are potentially about to have the biggest change in 50 years in the way farming in the UK is financed and the way our agricultural trade is managed.
“The opportunity to understand, discuss and influence the way negotiations might proceed in a forum in the European Parliament with some of our European partners is a hugely valuable opportunity to any farmer or landowner endeavouring to prepare for the changes to come.”
CLA Deputy President Tim Breitmeyer, says the event is bringing European farmers and landowners together to show our common commitment to agreeing a positive future trading relationship between the UK and EU:
“There is a bright future for EU agriculture and the wider food sector, but we have to work together to ensure that the politicians deliver the right deal for our industry with its hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of consumers.
Article continues below this advertisement “This event is a unique opportunity for UK business leaders to discuss the details of a deal and establish a common ground. The devil is in the detail, extending beyond tariff arrangements into a wide raft of regulatory agreement. A priority for us is securing wide support from across the industry for the importance of delivering a smooth transition that allows businesses to carry on running their operations and making plans for the future, whatever the timeframes of the political negotiations turn out to be.”
The CLA has published ‘How to establish a UK/EU Free Trade Agreement that works for the food and farming industry’ setting out the red lines which must not be crossed to secure the best possible trade deal post-Brexit. Read the policy briefing in full here.
