REFORM UK has set out plans to put food security and British farming at the centre of its agricultural policy, with proposals that could have implications for farmers and rural communities across the Forest of Dean.

The party used its annual conference in Birmingham to launch a series of principles which it says will guide the development of its future farming policy, including protecting productive agricultural land, cutting bureaucracy and giving British produce greater priority.

Reform said food security should be treated as a national priority and argued farmers should be encouraged to produce food while continuing to act as custodians of the countryside.

The proposals are not yet a finished manifesto, with the party planning further consultation with farmers, trade bodies and industry experts before producing detailed policies.

Among the measures outlined was a commitment to make farming more profitable by addressing supply chains and regulation, alongside reducing the amount of paperwork faced by agricultural businesses.

Reform also wants British farmers to be prioritised when taxpayer-funded organisations buy food and has called for clearer labelling showing where products come from and how they were produced.

The proposals could be particularly relevant to rural areas such as the Forest of Dean, where agriculture remains an important part of the local economy and debates over the future use of countryside and farmland have continued alongside pressure for new development and renewable energy.

At a Countryside Alliance event during the conference, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice went further by saying the party would stop productive arable land being used for solar and wind farms.

The party has previously argued solar panels should be placed on roofs rather than agricultural land, claiming large renewable energy developments can reduce the amount of countryside available for food production.

Reform's agricultural principles also say environmental schemes should support food production rather than replace it, while recognising farmers as environmental stewards.

The party has additionally promised to repeal changes to agricultural inheritance tax which it describes as the "family farms tax".

At an NFU event at the conference, Mr Tice said Britain needed to be ambitious about increasing its food security and highlighted reducing production costs, cutting unnecessary regulation and attracting younger people into farming.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw told the event that British farming had endured a particularly difficult summer, with businesses facing pressure from high input costs, disease outbreaks and a poor harvest.

Reform's plans would mark a significant change in approach to agricultural and environmental policy if the party entered government, particularly in its stance towards renewable energy development on farmland and regulation.

However, much of the detail remains to be decided, meaning the eventual impact on farmers in areas such as the Forest will depend on the policies produced following the party's consultation with the agricultural sector.

For now, the conference has signalled that Reform intends to make farming, food security and protection of productive countryside prominent parts of its pitch to rural voters ahead of the next general election campaign across Britain.