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Agriculture Working Group

Chair: Gareth Morgan, RSPB
Vice Chair: Ian Woodhurst, CPRE
Secretary: Kirsten Knap

The Agriculture Working Group works to support and deliver a sustainable, high quality, multi-functional rural environment though monitoring policy on rural development, agri-environment, bioenergy, and animal welfare standards. The group leads Link’s CAP Reform Campaign, which calls for a clear route map with measurable milestones for the CAP to evolve into a European Sustainable Land Management Policy by 2020.

QUARTERLY UPDATE: October to December 2009

This quarter saw the launch of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), the industry-led voluntary approach for the replacement of set-aside, which is being led by the Country Land & Business Association and the National Farmers Union. In October the Chair of Link’s Farming and Rural Development Group attended the CFE’s Evidence and Monitoring subgroup meeting, which Link was invited to sit on in September.

 

In November Link wrote to George Lyon, the Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, who has been appointed as rapporteur by the European Agriculture Committee to draft a report setting out the Committee's priorities for the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. Our letter served to introduce Mr Lyon to Link and to our vision for a European Sustainable Land Management Policy as set out in Beyond the Pillars.

 

During the quarter Link attended a number of external meetings, including two Agri-environment Stakeholder Group meetings in October and December, the Pesticides Forum meeting, and the Rural Development Programme for England’s (RDPE) Programme Monitoring Committee meeting in November. The Farming Group also held one internal meeting in October to discuss the future of the group and its workplan priorities for the next three years.

 

In line with Link’s new Operational Strategy, the Farming and Rural Development Working Group, has been renamed the Agriculture Working Group. We are pleased to announce that at Link’s AGM on 8 December Gareth Morgan (RSPB) and Ian Woodhurst (CPRE) were elected as Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the Agriculture Working Group for 2010.