IN THE wake of last week's General Election, which produced a hung parliament at Westminster – and a diminished mandate for Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to the Brexit negotiations – NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick's immediate reaction was that Scottish farmers had been left in an "uncertain place".

One fact that has since been confirmed, however, is that Scots-born pro-Brexit Tory Michael Gove is now the man in charge at Defra, ousting Andrea 'leave the hills to the butterflies' Leadsom, and sparking heated debate over whether or not the former education minister's famous intellect – and political ambition – can crack the problem of farm support outwith the CAP.

Mr Gove hasn't had a lot to say about farming in the past, but the few occasions where he has gone on the record are now being pored over for signs of his likely preferences as he takes the reins at Defra.

Back when he was competing against Theresa May and Boris Johnson for the leadership of the Tory Party, Mr Gove was outspoken about the protection he would offer farmers post-Brexit: “There would be no reduction in what people get from the CAP, but what we do want to look at is the bureaucracy which leads to delays in payments. So we would want to keep the money and not the bureaucracy.”

So far so good. But looking further back, before the EU referendum, Mr Gove promised that leaving the European Union would provide British consumers with cheap food via new trade deals with emerging nations: “An independent Britain could choose to strike free trade agreements with emerging economies and lower tariffs, extending new opportunities to developing nations and in the process allowing prices in Britain to become cheaper,” he said.

The National Sheep Association called on Mr Gove to demonstrate an early understanding of the issues facing agriculture, and assure farmers that he is in the 'high standards' rather than the 'cheap imports' camp.

“There may well be more to Michael Gove’s empathy with farming than meets the eye, but NSA immediately received an alarming number of concerned contact from members on the day following his appointment," said NSA chief executive Phil Stocker. "We share this concern and are asking Mr Gove to urgently give the sheep industry some confidence that he understands the value of our sector.

“There are two distinctly differing views within senior members of Government – those who advocate raising production standards and quality and those who see Brexit as a chance to import increasingly cheaper food into the UK. Just over a year ago Michael Gove showed he was clearly in the cheap import camp. Any Secretary of State with a responsibility for Britain’s farming and food agenda cannot move forward with that vision for the future. We need some clear statements of intent urgently."

At the NFUS, Mr McCornick said: “We congratulate Michael Gove on his appointment as Secretary of State and we hope to meet with him shortly. We believe the Highland Show, which commences on June 22, would be an ideal opportunity for Mr Gove to engage with a wide range of stakeholders from the Scottish Industry."