Earlier in the summer recess I organised an event alongside DEFRA and the Rural Payments Agency for farmers in the constituency to ask any questions they had about ELMS, farming in protected landscapes, food production etc
Over 40 farmers from this and the neighbouring constituency came to Chilbolton Village Hall for a couple of hours of discussion. There was a great deal of concern expressed by members of the Commoners Defence Association who graze animals on the New Forest about what future programmes to keep young people in farming would look like.
Lots of issues raised were definitely ones for DEFRA Ministers to respond to and I will be making sure they do when Parliament returns in the Autumn.
