“Farmers deserve better”: Butler and Allister back UFU’s no confidence vote in DAERA

Two senior Northern Ireland politicians have backed the Ulster Farmers’ Union’s (UFU) unprecedented vote of no confidence in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), describing it as a “seismic moment” and “wholly understandable”.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Agriculture spokesperson and Chair of the Assembly’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, Robbie Butler MLA, said the move represents a damning indictment of a department and minister that have “fundamentally failed Northern Ireland’s farming community”.

Speaking following the UFU’s announcement, Mr Butler said:

“This is not just a warning shot, it is a seismic moment. The Ulster Farmers’ Union, an organisation with a long and respected history of constructive engagement, has taken an extraordinary step that confirms what many in rural communities have long feared, the Agriculture Minister has, in practice, become the Environment Minister.

“The priorities of farmers have been sidelined, and the Alliance Party has turned its back on rural Northern Ireland.”

He said the UFU’s vote sends “a clear and unambiguous message” that the farming community feels “abandoned, ignored, and betrayed”.

“The challenges facing farmers, from inheritance tax uncertainty and the persistent failure to tackle bovine TB, to the deeply flawed Nutrients Action Programme, have been met with indifference and delay.

“Added to this is the Department’s failure to facilitate policy-compliant planning applications due to a risk reversed attitude to ammonia emissions, which has paralysed progress and investment across the agri-food sector.”

Mr Butler warned morale among farmers is “at rock bottom” and said the situation had become one of “survival”.

“Morale across the sector is at rock bottom. Farmers are exhausted from being dictated to rather than engaged with. This vote is not about party politics, it is about survival. It is about the livelihoods of farm families who feel disrespected and disregarded.”

He also pointed to broader failures beyond DAERA, particularly around the ongoing environmental crisis at Lough Neagh.

“While DAERA must shoulder much of the blame, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the role of wider infrastructure failings, particularly around Lough Neagh.

“The lack of coordinated action and investment from other departments has compounded the crisis. Farmers are being asked to carry the burden of environmental mismanagement while government dithers.”

Mr Butler urged Minister Andrew Muir to treat the UFU’s motion as a “wake-up call”:

“Minister Muir must treat this as the wake up call it is. He must urgently meet with the UFU and listen, like really listen, to what farmers are saying, and take concrete steps to restore trust. The Department must stop talking at farmers and start working with them.”

He added that the UFU’s decision was “a demand for change”, concluding:

“The UFU’s vote of no confidence is not just a cry of frustration but more a demand for change. The stakes are too high for further delay or indecision. Farmers deserve better. DAERA must listen, act, and deliver.”

Allister Welcomes UFU Rebuke of DAERA

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister MP also welcomed the UFU’s no confidence vote, saying it “chimes precisely with the feeling across the farming community”.

“The vote of ‘No Confidence’ in DAERA and its minister by the UFU is wholly understandable and appropriate. It chimes precisely with the feeling across the farming community.”

Mr Allister said the UFU’s criticisms reflected widespread disillusionment with the department’s handling of agricultural policy.

“The litany of issues recited in the UFU statement demonstrate there is not a single significant responsibility of the department and minister where there remains any confidence in them.”

The TUV leader accused Minister Muir of allowing ideology to override farming priorities:

“Whether it’s NAP, ammonia, TB, net zero, this is an out of touch minister, whose ideology, not farming needs, shapes his every disastrous approach.”

He added:

“Minister Muir has had his chance. He has failed. In any other system of government he would be gone, but, sadly, in Stormont failure is the order of the day!”

The mounting political criticism comes after the UFU’s Executive Committee unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in DAERA, accusing the department of failing to deliver on key issues including bovine TB, ammonia regulation, and the Nutrients Action Programme.