Now that Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, is in the departure lounge of exiting the EU, it is time to reflect on what can be done to make the best of the new circumstances. Scotland, like Northern Ireland, did not choose to leave, but as part of a UK-wide referendum, the numbers overall voted to leave and that is it.

So while Scotland finds itself in a position not of its choosing, it is now a case of making the best of the new circumstances that will exist after 30 March 2019. Even the strongest believers in the EU would accept that there are plenty of flaws in the organisation, the difference between ‘leavers’ and ‘remainers’ is that the latter believe the flaws in the EU can be fixed while the former believe it is beyond salvage and leaving is the only course of action. This is what the UK as a whole has chosen to do.

Surviving Brexit

While the downsides for agriculture and Scottish sheep producers in particular are well-documented, particularly for sheepmeat producers, the market prospects are not as drastic, at least in the short-term for the other sectors.

Dairy and pigmeat are produced almost entirely for the internal UK market, and while beef is exported, particularly offal, the UK is a net importer overall. In time of course trade deals with other non-EU countries could mean generous import quotas that undermine the overall value of the market but that will not happen immediately.

EU legacy

Many farmers and indeed wider society forever associate membership of the EU with red tape and bureaucracy.

That is also recognised in Brussels and it is no coincidence that the first CAP in half a century that the UK won’t be part of has the overall objective of achieving serious simplification on what we are currently in.

What’s more the Agriculture Commissioner has cleverly delegated the writing of the detail of CAP delivery in each country to the individual member state.

That is an acknowledgment that the EU recognises its deficiencies but at the same time passing responsibility for the next CAP back to individual member countries.

CAP alternative

The other point that Scottish policymakers and their Westminster counterparts should be mindful of is that the CAP after 2020 will not be as big a chunk of the EU budget as before.

Even though CAP funding cuts are limited at 5%, because of other budget priorities, the CAP will only account for 28% of the total EU budget after 2020 compared with 48% in the 2013-2020 period. Demands on environmental performance will be increased and while there is assistance promised for new entrants, the reality is that support for EU farmers will be less next time round.

Meanwhile Defra Secretary Michael Gove has indicated a total environmental focus in his plans, it will be up to the Scottish Government to ensure that productive farming is supported as well as environmental policies for the common good.

PGIs

Protected geographical indication, or PGIs as they are commonly known, are a unique EU feature that protects the intellectual property of special forms of agricultural production.

They are awarded where a product has a unique feature associated with the area it comes from and it is particularly popular in southern, less so in northern Europe though there has been wider use in Scotland and the rest of the UK in recent years.

The concept primarily is targeted at small localised food producers with Arbroath smokies being one of the first examples in Scotland. It was quite a coup to get Scotch beef and lamb (as well as salmon) because it was such a large area that was covered.

If there is a no-deal Brexit to the extent that planes cannot fly then we can be certain that the protection afforded to PGIs will also fall. This is an area that Scottish farmers and industry leaders would do well to preserve.

Scotch beef is a premium brand, even within the UK, and is consistently amongst the most valued in the world. The PGI is a public branding that reflects the product integrity of both Scotch beef and lamb which are underpinned by the quality assurance scheme.

Interestingly, PGIs are one of the most controversial and difficult issues to deal with in EU trade negotiations with other global blocks and along with hormones and use of lactic acid were one of the sticking points in the now parked TTIP negotiations between the EU and USA.

The PGI on Scotch beef and lamb is now well into its second decade and something that is worth preserving however that may be done in the aftermath of Scotland and the UK leaving the EU.