THERE will be much examination of the small print of the Common Agricultural Policy reform proposals this week.

As ever, the devil is often in the detail.

The key change seems to be the continued “greening” of the policy with more subsidies dependent on environmental practices.

Indeed, the carrot has become a stick under the proposed reforms with direct payments to farms to be cut by up to 30 per cent if farmers refuse to place their land under environmental management.

There are real concerns about the practicalities of the outlined scheme and whether farmers in disadvantaged areas, like the uplands, will be unfairly penalised. There is also concern whether the measures will actually work in protecting the environment and encouraging diversity.

It’s not all bad though. The plan to provide start-up assistance to farmers under the age of 40 for the first five years of a business sends just the right message to young farmers wondering if there is a future in working the land.

The hard bargaining over the final form these changes take will start now. It is to be hoped this Government makes a better job of negotiating a fair deal for British farmers than some of its predecessors. We’ve been here before, of course.