Around 82% of Herefordshire’s landscape is farmland, generating over £349 million for the economy and directly employing 10% of the county’s workforce.
That does not include those in allied businesses and the wider food and drink sector.
I think we can agree how deeply rooted farming is to Herefordshire and our way of life through our countryside and famous Hereford beef to top-quality potatoes, hops, cider and soft fruit production, alongside other food.
When we celebrated Back British Farming Day we championed the effort it takes to put food on the tables of the UK’s 29 million households, three times daily.
Plus, those growing flowers and plants commercially.
We focused on what is needed to unlock farming’s economic potential and were glad to support this by inviting county councillors on farm.
Councillor Jonathan Lester, Herefordshire Council Leader, came to a mixed livestock farm that now feeds into the family catering business, including supplying food for a local primary school.
It was fantastic to hear the responses of the children to their new and nutritious lunches, with food waste considerably down and enjoyment up!
We also discussed the challenges of the licensing system, and what the council can do to simplify the process.
Councillor Ed O’Driscoll joined us on an arable farm that has diversified into tourism and equestrian facilities.
We showed Ed the challenges Herefordshire farmers face, from the impact of this summer’s drought to the physical damage and fear caused by poaching and hare coursing.
He could see the importance of supporting farmers in adapting and diversifying, to ensure their businesses are resilient enough to overcome these challenges.
While Councillor Rebecca Tully visited a free-range poultry farm, to look at a wetland installed to help remove phosphate and excess nutrients from the range.
We also discussed the farmer’s work to grow 80% of the feed needed for both the chickens and cattle from the farm.
She heard about the range of sustainable initiatives the family are working on to both support the landscape and put food on people’s tables.
We also took Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, Cabinet Member for the Environment, to a soft fruit and potato farm to see a newly built reservoir and discuss water resilience.
She saw the scale of the project and the size of farm it could actually support.
These visits demonstrated why we need to make the planning system so much easier for farmers when we are looking at infrastructure projects that will better support business and county food production.
After a summer of drought and challenge, farmers want to be able to respond and future proof but are hindered by a creaking planning system which often takes years to approve projects.
When food imports have grown by 70% since 1997 and our self-sufficiency has fallen across 10 of our 11 commodities in the past 30 years, we must challenge ourselves to decide who we want to be paying to produce our food, and what we want our landscape to look like.
Last week, I met the Herefordshire Food Alliance and attended the first meeting of the county’s Food Strategy Working Group.
I am encouraged to be having these important conversations about food availability and security, and what we can do to help Herefordshire people have access to the delicious food we produce.
As I write, Defra announced the window for agri-environment applications has closed, this saw the budget oversubscribed with many missing out.
The SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive) closed less than six hours after opening and it has left farmers who missed out across Herefordshire feeling frustrated, angry and disappointed.
The scale of demand from farmers to deliver for the environment and to invest in farm resilience came as no surprise but many have missed out and that will have a marked impact.
The NFU is calling for clarity and urgency from Defra after the rapid closure and following our repeated warnings of a lack of sufficient budget.
