SHEEP FARMERS will not feel the impact of a 'no-deal' Brexit until next Autumn, by which point the UK Government would step in with financial support if needed.

That is according to Defra secretary of state, George Eustice, in evidence he gave to Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity committee on Wednesday, November 25, responding to a number of questions on the future of sheep farming post-Brexit.

The minister reaffirmed the UK Government’s position that outside of the EU, the UK could seek to improve rules for food production and agriculture and hinted that gene editing would be on the list of new avenues to explore.

Pressed by Colin Smyth MSP on whether equivalent EU funding would be made available to the Scottish Government for agriculture he replied: “Yes, we have a manifesto commitment that we will spend the same on agriculture in each of the devolved administrations in cash terms as we did at the point of leaving the EU. Scotland will be receiving £595 million per year as we move forward through this parliament.”

In his opening statement he told the committee that the UK Government were working hard to secure a deal with the EU but admitted that if they are unsuccessful, the sheep sector would be the industry worst affected: “Most UK agricultural sectors would see an improvement and a firming in the farm gate price in a no-deal scenario, but the sheep sector would be the exception,” he said.

“Levels of exports and indeed production between the months of January to March are quite low. Peak export months are typically September and October, but this is an issue which would probably not start to present itself till next June – which could become potentially quite difficult next Autumn," he warned. "This would give us time to monitor how things are going and if necessary to be ready to step in with some kind of support package.”

He went on to explain the measures Defra has designed, including a ewe special premium scheme, a ewe headage payment and a slaughter house premium. Mr Eustice said the exact make-up of the scheme would depend on what time of year impacts were felt.

Responding to criticism he faced after appearing on the Andrew Marr show, he was adamant that he never suggested that specialist sheep producers in upland areas could diversify in to beef in the event of turbulence from a no-deal Brexit: “If we placed tariffs in both directions, on UK lamb exports to the EU and Irish beef imports, you would likely see a position where mixed beef and sheep enterprises might indeed produce more beef and less lamb and why wouldn’t they do that, if price signals were telling them to do so?” he asked.

“We have around 7000 mixed sheep beef and sheep enterprises in the UK and in a scenario where tariffs were placed in both directions, it is indeed the case that if there was a shift in the balance of production then the market would come back into balance.”

Mr Eustice went on to emphasise that the UK Government position is to get tariff free trade on all goods: "If the EU are unwilling to do a tariff free agreement then we would as a country have to consider what our response to that is and we would redouble our efforts to open new markets for lamb in countries like the United States and in the Middle East. We would pursue a strategy of import substitution so we could support expansion of some sectors of agriculture in the UK and in the interim, there would be things like movement in exchange rates which would help to smooth passages from one system to the new.”

Peter Chapman MSP pushed the minister on whether rules for food production and agriculture need to remain aligned after the end of the transition period in order to allow trade to go smoothly.

Mr Eustice replied that it 'wouldn’t make sense', explaining that the UK wouldn’t be able to improve or change regulations if it was tied to EU law, giving an example of the work that is ongoing in improving the welfare of pigs at the point of slaughter. He continued: “If we can perfect that then we will change those regulations, we won’t continue to pursue outdated EU ones.

“Also the case in some areas around potentially things like cisgenesis and different approaches to gene editing, we want to reduce our reliance on chemical pesticides, we want to look at some of those issues and not just follow legacy EU law.”

Emma Harper MSP probed further into how the UK will support consumers to have access to the safest and best produce available, highlighting concerns around hormones and antibiotic resistance.

“In the context of food imports, the SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) chapter of our trade agreements will look at these matters,” Mr Eustice replied, “and will set down standards when it comes to maximum residue limits on all food which are imported. We have also been developing in our trade policy ideas around using a differential approach to application of tariffs on imports so that we can incentivise producers in overseas countries to match our standards on issues such as animal welfare.”