We all know that Cumbria and The Lake District is one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. for generations our hard-working farmers and food producers have shaped and maintained our unique landscape and produced meats and dairy products of the very highest standards.

In the UK, this has been guided by a 1947 Act, which focussed on food security following WW2. Some 71 years later, as we leave the European Union and come out of the Common Agriculture Policy, it is necessary to develop a new policy for British agriculture.

I was pleased to be asked to form part of the Agriculture Bill Committee, where we receive evidence from witnesses about the current draft Bill’s suitability.

It is of personal importance to me that we get this right, and of course, critically important for the UK. Cumbrian lowland and upland farmers must be financially supported to continue to produce high quality meats and dairy whilst setting the global animal welfare standards to encourage developing countries to improve theirs.

The current prices that farmers are receiving at markets are only half of what is required to sustain their businesses, and unless we want to pay twice as much for meat and dairy, it is unlikely to change the requirement for farmers to receive support, to ensure we have British, high quality food on our tables. Such is the reality of the need to continue to support farming.

Speaking in the second reading of the Agriculture Bill this month, I advocated that it is farmers who know their land best. there can be no other industry where generations of knowledge and experience are passed on.

I am well aware of our county’s dependency on agriculture for food, but also for environmental purposes, tourism and generally supporting a vital but vulnerable rural economy.

After decades being bound by EU rules and regulations, this Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to form our own bespoke agricultural policy.

Setting out the future direction of agriculture in the UK, I am pleased that the Bill recognises this fact and will end the Common Agricultural Policy, opting instead for a British model which works for our farming community.

As Brexit looms it’s time to make this significant investment in agriculture, it’s time to back British farming.