Former NFU President and farmer, Baroness has been appointed to lead
a review of farm profitability.
The new appointment by Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs will see providing recommendations
on farm profitability both to him and the Farming
Minister.
Listening to farmers and growers will be at the heart of Baroness
Batters' work, covering all land areas and sectors of the
industry, as well as engaging with other government departments
whose work impacts farmers.
She will provide short, medium and long term recommendations and
propose actions for government and industry that will support
farming profitability as part of this government's New Deal for
Farmers.
This work will be supported by the newly formed Profitability
Unit within Defra.
Baroness Batters' review will also help the development of the
food strategy, farming roadmap and the Land Use Framework, and
build on other work such as the review of Defra's regulatory
landscape led by Dan Corry.
Her aim is to help ensure our farming sector is more viable,
self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
, said:
Backing British farmers is the backbone of all work to support
rural economic growth and boost Britain's food
security.
We have taken strong action to protect the future of the sector
with the New Deal for Farmers. But we must go further and faster
as part of our Plan for Change to put money into the pockets of
farmers and drive growth.
That is why I am delighted to appoint , and her years of
experience as a leader during a time of great change in British
agriculture make her uniquely placed to provide recommendations
on tackling the deep-rooted problems holding the sector back and
support farmers' long-term profits.
Baroness said:
I will leave no stone unturned in trying to find solutions to
boost farm profitability. But we should be under no illusions how
difficult this work will be. There will not be one ‘silver
bullet' to fire but I'm hopeful this review can make a difference
to a sector that produces the nation's food, underpins the rural
economy and delivers so much for the environment.
I'm pleased to be appointed to lead this review and look forward
to working with farmers and growers to provide recommendations to
government, food retailers, processors and manufacturers.
The appointment is one of a number of actions that the government
is taking to improve the profitability of farmers,
including through fair competition in the supply chain,
ensuring planning reforms make it quicker for farmers to build
the buildings they need on their farms, and helping farmer
diversify income streams and make additional money from selling
surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by
accelerating connections to the grid.
As set out in the Plan for Change, the government is focused on
supporting our farmers, rural economic growth and boosting
Britain's food security and are going further to develop a
25-year farming roadmap to make the sector more profitable in the
decades to come.
Notes to editors
-
will begin her role on
7 April 2025.
- The appointment will be for a period of six months with
recommendations provided to the Secretary of State within that
timeline.
About Baroness
joined the NFU
when she started farming, and rose to be county chair and a
member of several NFU committees. As the first woman
president of NFU, Minette has been a positive force within the
agricultural industry. She served as President of the National
Farmers Union from 2018 to 2024, having previously served as
Deputy President from 2014 to 2018.
In her role as deputy president and then president, Batters has
represented the farming community at a time of great change,
during the agricultural transition. Batters has supported orderly
change and maintenance of high standards in UK agriculture.
She was appointed as a crossbench member of the House of Lords in
2024 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth in 2021.
She was brought up on a tenanted farm in Wiltshire and now runs
the tenanted family farm in Wiltshire, a mixed farming business
including a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as
sheep and arable. Diversification on the farm includes the
conversion of a 17th Century barn into a wedding and events
venue, and horse liveries.
