A POST-BREXIT trading agreement with Europe will not work for Scottish arable farmers if the EU continues to provide support for its growers, but the UK does not.

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick this week described such an outcome as 'unacceptable' and insisted that our farmers must not be disadvantaged because of the political machinations of Brexit.

The continuing need for support and a sense of long-term stability had, said Mr McCornick, been highlighted by the 'stop-start' progress of this year's harvest, which had demonstrated yet again that the vital business of food production was uniquely exposed to the vagaries of the weather.

"Regardless of how well the crop has been established, and how the growing season has gone, it is no good until it is in the barn and tradeable," said the union president. "By this time, all the growing costs have been incurred, all the compliance has been met, and all the risk is in the growers’ business, or more likely out of their bank account."

There were, he said, risks involved in Brexit that industry representatives had to be keenly aware of when pressing politicians to get proper trade deals. However good those deals might be, they cannot overlook the need for support in the domestic arable sector.

“It can be argued that our cereal growers are much closer to world market prices, suggesting that they are less exposed, and that trade with Europe and the rest of the world is very much a result of how well the home-grown harvest has gone," he noted.

“Therein lies another issue. A post-Brexit trading agreement with Europe, with ready access to buying and selling based on market needs, will not work if Europe provides support for its arable sector from the new CAP and we in the UK do not have an equivalent support package for our growers. That would be unacceptable. We must not be disadvantaged because of Brexit."

Should there be no trade agreement made, there was the potential of a default to WTO rules, which would mean having to pay tariffs of around €90 a tonne on cereals exported and charging around €90 on imports. That might boost Scottish farmers' prices if they were in a balanced season or short, but it would be inflationary on prices for consumers, and no government would accept that outcome, he predicted.

“Another point to consider is if there is a move away from cereal production, because of poorer returns, what would the land be used for?" asked Mr McCornick. "It may be 'down corn, up horn' and the whole balance is tipped to the disadvantage of all sectors, right up to the top of the hill. Fundamentally, we need our cereal farmers and the current position of our arable sector should be reviewed through the Brexit process."

However, the president was at pains not to sound negative about Brexit, and pointedly welcomed the opportunity to be freed to farm outwith a market and regulation system that was meant for 28 member states from the Mediterranean to the Arctic.

"This is the opportunity for us to drive change, to get something designed for our needs and climate that also delivers a profitable, sustainable future. In the short term though, can we have some sunshine and a fair wind please!"