A POTENTIAL trade deal lowering agricultural standards would be 'an economic disaster for our farmers and our rural communities, and an environmental disaster for our farmland wildlife'.

That is according to the Countryside Restoration Trust, which has warned against sealing a deal with America before the UK's own Agricultural Bill is passed.

The CRT aims to produce quality food alongside an abundance of wildlife, and is concerned that lower food standards could force UK farmers to try and compete through agricultural intensification, ultimately impacting on habitats for farmland wildlife.

Member farmer Tim Scott explained: “This is all about economies of scale. Smaller farmers will have to intensify to compete with the lower prices of imported foods but will be unable to make as much profit – meaning that many may struggle to survive.

“It’s the ‘smaller’ farmers that know the land, the soil, the wildlife and habitats across their property,” said Mr Scott. “Upscaling to intensified farming could destroy this intimate knowledge and force wildlife to look for habitats elsewhere.

“We want people to eat and buy food from farms that grow food in a wildlife friendly way and will make no attempt to intensify and farm industrially to compete with American farmers.”