Hertfordshire farming leader urges local election candidates to champion county’s farmers

A Hertfordshire farming leader is urging all candidates to champion the county’s farming industry ahead of next week’s local elections.

Voters in England go to the polls on May 7 with more than 4,850 council seats across 134 local authorities up for grabs.

 The elections provide an ideal opportunity to shine a light on some of the huge challenges facing farmers in rural Britain such as rising crime rates, planning bureaucracy and a lack of broadband and mobile connectivity.

 Key areas identified where local government support is most impactful include:

•            Planning: Ensuring local planning officers are trained in agricultural operations and farm needs, ensuring consistent, informed decisions that support modern farming practices and diversified rural enterprises.

•            Rural crime: Providing accessible waste disposal sites to help reduce fly-tipping. Ensuring markets operating under the local authority are sufficiently regulated and licensed to prevent the sale of stolen goods.

•            Rural connectivity: Targeting persistent rural ‘not-spots’ and underserved rural communities and avoid clustering of investment in already well-served areas.

•            Food procurement: Procuring at least 50% of the food the council requires from local farmers and growers.

NFU Hertfordshire Chair Robert Law, who farms at Royston, said: “Having a sustainable farming industry is essential for the success of Hertfordshire and the wider region and we need support at all levels of government to enable this to happen.

“Confidence remains low in the industry, and this is being exacerbated by extreme pressures on fuel, fertiliser and feed prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

“This is in addition to ongoing worries about issues including the impact of extreme weather, access to water, rural crime, fairness in the supply chain, trade and plant and animal diseases among other things.

“Local councils have an important role to play and the NFU is engaging with candidates to highlight how we can work together to deliver national food security, drive the economy, create jobs, support the environment and protect the countryside.

“We look forward to working with newly elected county councillors to work towards a bright future for our farmers and Hertfordshire as a whole.”