EU reset could put 2027 crops at risk, rural advisers warn

Farmers planting crops this autumn could face uncertainty over whether some produce meets new rules by harvest 2027 under the planned UK-EU food agreement, rural advisers have warned.

The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers said producers could make cropping and crop-protection decisions before the final regulatory requirements are known.

Its warning centres on the proposed Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement, which the UK and EU are still negotiating and intend to introduce from around mid-2027.

Precise implementation arrangements have yet to be finalised.

The agreement would align the UK with relevant EU rules across areas including animal and plant health, pesticides, food safety, organics, labelling, veterinary medicines and agricultural marketing standards.

Businesses covered by the agreement may need to follow the relevant rules even where they trade solely within the domestic market.

Jeremy Moody, secretary and adviser to the CAAV, said the implications extended far beyond goods exported to Europe.

“We should understand that this is not simply a trade or a veterinary agreement,” he said.

Moody argued that the arrangement could transfer substantial control over UK farming and food-chain regulation to Brussels.

The proposed framework envisages dynamic alignment with relevant EU rules, alongside a role for the UK in the decision-shaping process.

However, the detailed governance arrangements remain subject to negotiation.

The government argues that closer alignment will make agri-food trade with the EU easier, cheaper and more predictable.

It expects the deal to remove much routine certification and checking, cut compliance costs and make movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland smoother.

However, the CAAV warned that those trade benefits could come with significant regulatory uncertainty for domestic producers.

“But we are in near ignorance of what that agreement might say, making this challenging when planning to put crops in the ground,” Moody said.

The most immediate concern relates to plant-protection products used on crops being planted for the 2027 harvest.

Farmers could use treatments that are lawful in Britain when crops are established, only to face different requirements when the produce is marketed after the agreement takes effect, the CAAV warned.

The Andersons Centre has said UK and EU decisions covering active substances, product authorisations and maximum residue levels have diverged since Brexit.

It warned that adopting EU rules without a transitional period could create a regulatory “cliff-edge” for British agriculture.

“When farmers will be planting crops for which we don’t know the standards required come next harvest, crop protection products are central,” Moody said.

The CAAV cited an estimate from the Andersons Centre suggesting that an immediate switch to EU crop-protection rules could cost between £500 million and £800 million through lost yields and changes to husbandry.

However, the underlying report and assumptions behind that estimate were not included in the CAAV’s announcement.

The organisation also raised concerns about glyphosate, bovine tuberculosis vaccination, food labelling and the definitions applied to products including organic food and sausages.

Animal transport is another potential area of difficulty.

The CAAV warned that future EU transport requirements could increase the cost of moving some livestock and place certain animals beyond economically viable reach of an abattoir.

It also fears that alignment could restrict the UK’s ability to adopt new agricultural technologies, including developments in gene editing.

Genetic technologies and genetically modified organisms are among the areas potentially affected, although the final scope and any negotiated exceptions have not yet been settled.

“The EU knows its red tape stifles innovation - and we need to innovate,” Moody said.

He acknowledged that the agreement could make some trade easier, but warned it could also increase competition from European food and farming products.

“It would make some trade easier but would open us to all EU produce; a sensitive point on welfare standards, while the Government argues it will lower food prices,” he said.

The CAAV is calling for urgent clarity over transitional arrangements, the treatment of existing pesticide authorisations and the amount of notice farmers will receive before the new rules apply.

“Our focus should be on getting our farming and our economy growing again, rather than simply accepting regulations from others with the added uncertainty as it then changes beyond our control,” Moody said.