The Stroud MP's weekly column.

The biggest change to farming in England for 50 years will happen following the end of the Brexit transition period.

Controversial £3 billion EU farm subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be phased out over the next few years and there will instead be incentives for higher food standards and ‘public goods’ to improve water, soil and reducing carbon emissions.

Under the outgoing CAP, farmers received taxpayers’ money based on the amount of land they own. The bigger the farm, the more the grant. After 31 December, the new system, named Environmental Land Management (ELM), will pay farmers for delivering public goods, including if they prevent floods, plant woods and help wildlife. This will mean more trees planted as unproductive land will be used for this purpose. Productivity will be enhanced by technology and sustainable farming practices.

I certainly understand that farmers may feel all this change is daunting and might happen too quickly over the next four years. It has been positive to see the National Farmers Union President confirm the government has embraced many of the industry’s ideas for sustainable farming and food production. Our Stroud, the Valleys and Vale farmers are our important food producers and their views need to be listened to and their livelihoods supported.

I think there are arguments for a slower pace of change for farmers in some cases but I note that conservationists want all this to happen quicker, so the government will need to move forward constructively.

I also accept there is a worry over the direct subsidies starting to be phased out by next year. I will speak to Ministers about this and push for flexibility to support our farmers. The government has pledged to maintain £2.4 billion in annual subsidies until the end of this parliament.