All the UK farming Unions are backing politicians to sign the EU Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to get through Parliament.

In a joint statement the four presidents of the UK farming Unions said: “Farmers want clarity on what the future trading relationship with Europe will be. We have argued for free and frictionless trade with the EU to continue, with no tariffs or non-tariff barriers.

“The draft Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, while not perfect, will ensure that there are no hard barriers on the day we leave the European Union. “This opportunity needs to be taken.”

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick used his speech at AgriScot to call on political parties to get a deal done on the EU. He said: “There is something on the table. There is a way to get a free-trade deal with the EU with frictionless trade with no tariffs.”

He went on to plead that Scottish politicians found common ground to get a deal through before Brexit.

Whilst accepting that a no deal situation would be a “catastrophe”, Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing said there needed to be changes to the bill before the SNP would be able to sign up. Going on to say that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Brexit Minister Michael Russell MSP are down in London looking to get concessions on the bill from the Government.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) say they are “cautiously assessing” the proposed deal and Chief executive of the NSA Phil Stocker said it would “keep us from the cliff edge”.

He added: “I think it would be in the interest of our industry for MPs to get behind this agreement and then make the most of what can be achieved in the longer term.”

Direct from the farm

Brian Moss who manages a livestock farm in Orkney is concerned for the livestock sector and rural farming communities.

“My concern is definitely for the red meat sector which is vulnerable. We’re limited in Orkney and many are fixed to producing livestock, so we are pretty vulnerable,” said Brian.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the EU, particularly the outlying peripheries in Orkney and Shetland. I don’t have confidence that the UK Government are going to be focused on support for such areas.”

Meanwhile, arable and livestock farmer Stephen Withers who farms in the Scottish Borders believes farmers should expect more challenges from the weather, interest rates and the value of the pound.

“Often it’s more other things that will affect how we survive,” said Stephen.

“I wish we had a clean break and got on with it. It might affect trade for a day or two but it would settle down eventually. There’s a lot of uncertainty and it’s going to take 10 years I would say to see the benefits.”