No '˜compelling argument' yet for UK to leave the EU, says Ulster Farmers' Union

No '˜compelling argument' has so far been made that agriculture would be better off outside the EU, the president of the Ulster Farmers' Union has said.

Ian Marshall made his comments following a meeting of the UFU Executive last night (Wednesday).

He has said both sides in the debate on the EU referendum need to set out, in detail, their vision of the future for agriculture in or out of the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy.

Mr Marshall, acknowledged there was significant interest in the UFU position, because the CAP was worth over £230 million a year to farmers here.

He added: “We want this to be an informed debate. For farmers future financial support is the central issue.”

Mr Marshall poined out that with the industry in crisis, the referendum was secondary for farming families and the UFU to getting through a deepening cash flow crisis across all enterprises.

“Tackling this is our current priority, but we will do all we can to encourage debate before the referendum – including bringing both sides together to make their case to farmers,” he said.