Farmers to be paid for higher welfare livestock production - Gove

Defra Secretary Michael Gove will outline plans today to use funding under a future domestic agricultural policy to incentivise higher welfare standards on farms.

This could include payments for farmers who keep livestock outdoors, for example. According to released extracts from his speech on the opening day of the NFU conference in Birmingham, Mr Gove will say: “I believe in investing in higher animal welfare standards.

“We have a high baseline for animal health standards, which we will continue to enforce.

“However, we could also support industry-led initiatives to improve these standards, especially in cases where animal welfare remains at the legislative minimum.”

In his final conference speech before stepping down as NFU president on Wednesday, Meurig Raymond will highlight farming’s story as a ‘responsible long-term steward of the countryside and as an acknowledged world leader in animal welfare’.

“Food is at the heart of the British countryside; it’s at the heart of the British economy. British farming produces a safe, affordable and high quality supply of food,” Mr Raymond will say.

For more on this story, see Pig World