OFC21: Scottish Minister accuses Treasury of plot to slash payments to farmers

Mr Ewing also set apart the Scottish Government’s position on direct support from Westminster’s, repeating his earlier comments at AgriScot that Basic Payments were ‘earned income’.

“The main difference [between Scotland and England] is this idea which developed down south that payment should be for public goods,” he said.

“That has a certain resonance, but the trouble is my understanding is producing food does not constitute a public good and I find it very hard to agree with this concept.

“Producing high-quality food is necessary for a country to be secure, to provide our own food supply in a very uncertain world and to make sure we continue to produce high-quality protein through livestock farming.”

Rewarded

Defra has repeatedly refused to recognise food production as a public good because food is a product which farmers are already rewarded for by the market.

But Defra Secretary George Eustice denied that diverging agriculture policies and support across the UK would lead to any problems.

He said: “We are going to work together as a family of UK nations, co-ordinating our policy, sharing best practice, sharing ideas which work and sharing our experiences when things do not work.

“I think that will give some coherence to UK agriculture policy.”