Historic outbreaks of bovine TB near Penrith are a clear warning of the devastating potential of this disease. I have seen first-hand the extreme distress and destruction that endemic TB can wreak on a farm business. The value of British farms cannot simply be measured in terms of food security – as important as this is. Farms are valuable in and of themselves and form an integral part of the fabric of British culture, heritage and history. Much more still needs to be done to ensure a fair price for farmers’ work and produce and I continue to campaign actively on this issue.
Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and The Border, on Saturday held a ‘dairy surgery’ at Sewborwens Farm, Newton Rigg, attended by dozens of local dairy farmers. The first event of its kind in Penrith and The Border, the surgery was designed to allow farmers to speak about their experiences of the current dairy crisis and […]
Today Rory Stewart MP met with Secretary of State Liz Truss for intensive discussions about the problems facing Cumbria’s dairy farmers. During a 45-minute meeting in the House of Commons, Rory explained the crisis of collapsing milk prices, the reduction in the number of dairy farms, and in particular the problems facing First Milk. He […]
Local MP Rory Stewart is to hold a constituency ‘dairy surgery’ – the first of its kind – to address current concerns about the dairy industry, and to continue responding to constituency farmers who are affected by what is being described by many as a dairy crisis. The event, to which any constituent dairy farmer […]
Cumbrian MPs Tim Farron and Rory Stewart have welcomed the news that Defra will now give extra support to livestock farmers blighted by the recent bad weather. Defra has announced farmers will receive 90% of the cost of removing sheep killed in snow, up from the expected 75%. This comes after a high profile campaign […]
Rory has welcomed news that Defra Ministers are to find emergency funding to help support livestock farmers to meet the costs of disposal of dead animals, particularly those affected by the recent unprecedented snowfall in areas of Cumbria; the worst-hit farmers were largely concentrated in the constituencies of Rory Stewart, Tim Farron, and Jamie Reed, […]
Following the recent severe and unseasonal cold spell which has left many Cumbrian farmers dealing with the loss of large numbers of livestock, a group of Cumbrian MPs has written a joint letter to Defra Secretary of State Owen Paterson asking for Government support to help farmers meet the costs of fallen stock collections in […]
Rory met with local vets at Frame, Swift and Partners Veterinary Practice in Penrith to discuss issues affecting the industry both locally and nationally, and to better understand where reform is needed. Given the importance of agriculture to the local economy and to local communities, Rory Stewart used the occasion to again discuss the issues […]
Rory this week chaired the NFU’s ‘Farming Delivers: Farming’s role in the nation’s future’ fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, where Secretary of State Owen Patterson, and Defra Minister Richard Benyon shared a platform with NFU President Peter Kendall, Deputy President Meurig Raymond and Vice President Adam Quinney. The fringe event provided […]
Rory today hosted and chaired a high-profile dairy farming conference at Dolphenby Farm, Edenhall where he was joined by hundreds of Cumbrian farmers and the Minister for Agriculture Jim Paice to discuss the future of Cumbrian dairy farming. This was the Minister’s third visit to Rory’s constituency, which he used to highlight Cumbrian dairy farmers’ needs […]
Rory Stewart is to chair an afternoon dairy farming conference at Dolphenby Farm, Edenhall, Penrith on Tuesday 21st August, which will be attended by the Minister for Agriculture Jim Paice. The conference is the culmination of Rory’s efforts in support of Cumbrian dairy farmers, who have experienced a summer of crisis as liquid milk rice […]