Industry must look to the future - NFU

'LOOK forward not back' was the unequivocal message that NFU President, Peter Kendall delivered to Lincolnshire farmers last week.

Speaking at the opening of the new NFU offices at Horncastle Mr Kendall said that farming had a huge role to play in Britain's future: "Not only does our industry provide more than two thirds of the food we eat every day, but it can and will be part of the answer to climate change.

"We cannot afford to look back and mull over past problems. As professional farmers and growers, our role is to find solutions and promote our industry as providing forward-thinking and progressive answers to the problems of climate change, habitat provision and food security."

However, Mr. Kendall acknowledged that it was very difficult for livestock farmers to look forward positively, after an autumn in which a chronic lack of profitability had been compounded by the knock-on effects of foot and mouth and bluetongue and rocketing feed and energy costs.