NFU Cumbria reacts to Australia trade deals

Earlier this year, the former Foreign Secretary and current Prime Minister Liz Truss struck a free-trade agreement with Australia. The agreement is going through its second reading and the committee stage in the Australian parliament and may kick in as early as January 2023. 

Once implemented, Australia's beef and lamb producers would be able to sell unlimited quantities to the UK once a quota has been met under a similar arrangement to what Australia has with the EU.

However, the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron has said that Australia operates under lower animal welfare standards than the UK, and therefore the deal would undercut the British market 'unfairly.' 

Mr Farron said: "The British Government has given an advantage to Australian farms. Liz Truss did not consult anyone. We are proud of our farming standards. We are not against trade deals we are not against it, only an unfair market.

Mr Farron's comments were put to Richard Pedley, who is an NFU Ambassador and a hill sheep and beef farmer from Barbon. He manages a farm in the Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire border and had just come home from selling tups before he was interviewed. 

Mr Pedley said: "For the majority, I am in agreement with that. It is not a level playing field. If we are competing against imports it is a race to the bottom. It is not just about animal welfare, it's the environmental standards as well. Everything we have to account for, the level of paperwork throughout it is quite time-consuming. But we think it is what makes Britain different, we are proud to do that."

He asked the Government to 'keep supporting British farms,' in what has been 'a difficult year' for farmers due to the cost of living crisis and inflation making cattle and sheep farms less and less profitable. 

He also pointed out that British farms contribute to local economies by using the services of garages to repair vehicles and vets for the animals.