Former NFU head to lead profitability review

FORMER National Farmers’ Union president Baroness Minette Batters is to head up a review into farm profitability, the Government has announced.

- EMILY BEAMENT Reporter

Baroness Batters, who was elected the first female president of the NFU in 2018 and headed the organisation for six years, will make recommendations on tackling the deep-rooted problems in agriculture and supporting farmers’ long-term profits, ministers said.

As the appointment was announced, Baroness Batters, who will be speaking to farmers and growers across all land areas and sectors, and working with government departments that have an impact on agriculture, said “we should be under no illusions how difficult” it would be.

Her appointment is an effort by the Government to back farming in the wake of deteriorating relations with the sector.