I HAD a Scottish grandmother who was never reluctant to give advice, whether sought or not. One of her sayings was that 'you should do something – do good if you can, but do something'.

A year on from the Brexit referendum, which many view as a wasted year under the former Defra Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, we finally have someone in that job with a vision for the future of farming. Michael Gove is clearly prepared to do something. While there is a long way to go, it seems at this stage he is prepared to try to do something good for farming and the countryside.

One lesson of politics is that it is ultimately those with robust opinions that are best equipped to make deals. This is because they have nothing to prove. As a long time Brexit advocate, Mr Gove does not have to prove he is committed to Brexit and delighted to be leading agriculture away from the CAP.

He can be more radical than others might be, and he certainly has a vision of a policy not only very different to the CAP in the EU-27, but one that will deliver and fit with farming. In comments he has already recognised that unlike the CAP, his ideas are not a 'one size fits all' approach, but one where the devolved administrations will be able to structure policies to reflect national circumstances.

It was unfortunate that the first reports of the Gove plan came from a green conference. This led to his ideas being presented as a 'green Brexit' plan for the countryside, raising concerns that food production and trade would be swept away in favour of turning farmers into park-keepers.

However the Gove plan is better thought out than that, as farm lobby organisations that have met him confirm. He has taken on board the message that simply paying farmers on the basis of the land area they farm is neither economically or socially acceptable. This is his response to criticism that some of the most wealthy in the UK are CAP subsidy millionaires.

That this is not sustainable is as well understood in Brussels as in Westminster. However with the opportunity to forge a new policy, Gove can move away from that baggage of the past. This will cause pain for some, but it will make farming subsidies easier to sell to taxpayers and the Treasury. In an era of public spending constraint, every pound going elsewhere will be seen as a money diverted from popular causes like health and education. On that basis farming needs a support policy that delivers the same amount, but which can be sold to the taxpayer as a better deal than the funds the UK sent to Brussels as a net contributor to the CAP. That should be possible with the right spin on the new policy.

The challenge now for the farming lobby is to play up the need to underpin farming and food production, while delivering benefits for the environment. They need to be cautious about any attempts to restrict aid to the hills and other areas traditionally deemed difficult for farming.

All farming systems can deliver the wildlife benefits Gove wants from his green Brexit. Lowland farms are no better equipped than others to go from years of subsidy to none, while remaining competitive. The farming lobby needs to work with the pragmatic conservation organisations that recognise farmers' role in protecting the countryside they own and manage. It is also important this green drive is matched by an equal enthusiasm for science. This combination could put clear blue water between the UK and the CAP we are leaving.

Although a hard line Brexiteer, Gove has acknowledged the importance of tariff free trading with the EU 27. This makes more sense than the hard Brexit some in his party want. There are of course problems. Teachers would say that when Gove was education minister he single-handedly challenged teachers and educationalists on grounds that he knew better.

He cannot be allowed to do this again in farming. Another problem is that he is still a political big beast, meaning his national profile is probably more important to him that the Defra role. However if he makes a success of Brexit for the countryside and agriculture it will be a stepping stone to bigger and better. Farmers have finally seen the end of a wasted year and now have in place someone with vision.