Farming is not simply another industry in West Cumbria. It is part of who we are.
Our family farms produce food, sustain villages, support jobs and look after the landscapes that make this part of the country so special. Yet in almost every conversation I have with local farmers, I hear the same concern: too much uncertainty and too many decisions made by people too far away from the realities of farming here.
That is why the Government’s new Farming Roadmap matters. For the first time, it sets a direction through to 2050, with a commitment to maintain domestic food production at least at current levels. Treating food production as part of our national security is the right starting point.
The plan also recognises that profitable farm businesses, environmental recovery and resilience must go together. It includes new investment in innovation, action to improve supply-chain fairness, more support for collaboration between farmers and higher payment rates for five upland and moorland actions in the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive.
These are welcome steps, especially for a county where livestock farming, common land and upland businesses face very different pressures from farms elsewhere.
But a national roadmap will only work if it is shaped around local reality. Cumbria’s landscape, farm structure and economy are distinctive. A scheme designed around an abstract national average can easily fail a hill farmer in the Western Lakes.
That is why I have been making the case directly to ministers for farm funding and land-management decisions to be devolved to Cumbria. I have brought farmers together for discussions, pressed for a locally led pilot and argued that funding should be designed by and with the people who understand our land best.
This is not about abandoning national standards or environmental ambitions. It is about achieving better results. Farmers here know how food production, flood prevention, nature recovery and the management of common land fit together. They should have far more influence over how public money is used to deliver them.
The creation of a Mayor for Cumbria gives us a major opportunity. A Mayor would provide one clear, democratically accountable voice able to negotiate directly with government for devolved powers and budgets. That could include a bespoke Cumbrian farming settlement, designed locally rather than handed down from Whitehall.
A Mayor alone will not guarantee that outcome. We will need a strong plan and farmers at the table from the start. But it gives Cumbria greater leverage to secure it.
That matters because strong farms mean secure food, thriving communities, well-managed landscapes and a future for younger farmers.
The Farming Roadmap offers a clearer national direction. My job now is to make sure its delivery reflects West Cumbria: backing family farms, rewarding stewardship, supporting the next generation and putting more power in local hands.
Josh MacAlister MP 