Huw Merriman, MP for the Bexhill and Battle constituency, joined local farmers for an on-site farm meeting organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU) last Friday.

Local farmer, Gillian van der Meer, hosted Huw and NFU farming colleagues at her diary farm in Ashburnam last Friday to discuss issues impacting farmers including the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (which will replace the Basic Payment Scheme post Brexit), rural crime and small abattoirs.

George Ashby, Secretary of the Tenterden NFU Group, and local farmer chaired the meeting at which Huw heard about their concerns relating to the roll-out of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the replacement farm subsidy scheme following Brexit. The MP is hosting a meeting for farmers with the Rural Payments Agency which delivers the new farm payments schemes on Friday 27 October.

Following the meeting Huw said:

“The rural economy is vital to the Bexhill and Battle constituency, providing employment, skills, income, food sustainability and guardianship of the beautiful countryside and AONB. I am very grateful to Gillian van der Meer for hosting the NFU farmers meeting at her dairy farm in Ashburnam. Gillian is passionate about farming, the countryside and has such extensive knowledge from working in the industry over the last 40 years. We are lucky so have so many experienced farmers in the constituency and a proactive NFU team. It’s always incredibly helpful to hear first-hand from local farmers and the NFU about issues which impact them and to understand how I can help.

“The Sustainable Farming Incentive is a new payment scheme for farmers and we discussed how it is working so far. There are clearly challenges in rolling out this new scheme. I am therefore hosting a further roundtable meeting with the Rural Payments Agency for local farmers on Friday 27 October. I would encourage anyone interested in joining the roundtable to contact my office so they can register to attend.”

George Ashby, who is secretary of the Tenterden NFU Group, and a local farmer, chaired the meeting. He said:

“It was good to welcome Mr Merriman to a member’s farm and to give local NFU members the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. Getting MPs and government ministers out on farms is one of the best ways we can lobby, demonstrating the impact that government decisions can have on the ground. Delays in the rollout of SFI payments continues to be major concern for many farmers in this area, so it is pleasing to hear that Mr Merriman is hosting a meeting for farmers with the Rural Payments Agency later this month. We thank Mr Merriman for taking an interest in this important issue and we will be watching closely for further progress on this.”