Allister: ‘It’s time to liberate hill farmers from EU constraints’

Citing EU restraints on stocking levels, stock types and winter grazing, Mr Allister said it was time to restore control to those who know best – the farmers themselves.

Mr Allister said: “No one in the House will get argument from me that our hill farmers do not make a valuable contribution to our agricultural production.

“However, it is imperative that we take an overview of all our agriculture because, at the end of the day, we are a food-producing region.

“We need to optimise that and do it in a way that respects that there is a limited pot of government money to aid that process.

“Therefore, it is appropriate that, from time to time, we stand back and examine whether the distribution and spend are balanced correctly or whether they need adjustment.

“Therefore, it was right to review the ANC payments. It is quite a preposterous proposition for the mover of the motion to say that he wants to see not only a flat rate but the advantage of an ANC for hill farmers.

“There is not an endless money tree. There is a need to balance where we are best helping production.”

Mr Allister continued: “I am surprised – well, maybe I am not – that, in the debate, there has been no reference to one of the reasons why ANC was introduced in the first place.

“It was introduced in part to offset the curtailment that had been placed on hill farming by the EU.

“It is by addressing and removing some of those curtailments, such as stocking rates, that we could help hill farmers.

“Why should farmers not be able to set their own stocking rate on their own land? Why should they not be able to out-winter cattle on their own upland areas?

“Why must we have these prescriptive rates, dates and times of stocking?

“If we remove them, we help to restore autonomy and the possibility of success to those areas.

“Why do we have restrictions on the type of livestock in hill areas?

“Why are we not giving our farmers the freedom to farm?

“They control their own farms. They know what is best for their business.

“Take heather burning, which we banned. The ability to burn heather at the right time of the year, under the right burning conditions, would help hill farmers.

“It is, in part, because we took away all those rights that ANCs were imposed. By removing those EU-inspired, nonsensical, inhibiting provisions, we could, in fact, liberate our hill farmers. That would be a most useful step to take, but we did not hear a word of that today.”