madam president the crisis in the eu's livestock sector has hit farmers hard in scotland and there are many things we could do to help
firstly we could reduce the regulatory burden
it is madness that we apply more stringent red tape and regulation to our own eu producers than we apply to our competitors outside the eu
our farmers are bound hand and foot by red tape and yet we import vast quantities of foodstuffs produced under welfare and hygiene conditions that would constitute a criminal offence in the eu
the high cost of complying with all of this red tape is not reflected in the prices our beef farmers are getting for their cattle
british beef is now being sold well below the cost of production lowland suckler-cow producers reckon they are losing around gbp two hundred and sixty per cow our dairy farmers have suffered a long spiral of decline
we have to stop the rot
