Public consultation: grain supply chain fairness

A wheat field. Credit: Canva

Published: Tuesday 16 December 2025

Defra has launched a new public consultation, seeking views on the fairness of contracts in the UK combinable crops sector. A spokesperson said: ‘For those who grow wheat, barley, oats, oilseed rape or other combinable crops, this is your chance to share your experience and help ensure fairer treatment.’

‘The consultation is open now and runs until Wednesday 4 February 2026. It's open to all, but for people working in the arable supply chain, your voice is especially important.’

Go to the consultation

Share your views

Defra's Farming Communications Team continued: ‘Improving fairness across the supply chain is a government priority. A stronger, more transparent contract system is essential to long-term food security and ensures farmers are treated fairly when selling their crops.’

‘After one of the most challenging harvests on record, with rising costs, volatile markets, weather pressure and tighter margins, concerns about how contracts operate have come into sharper focus.’

The consultation asks farmers, merchants and processors about issues including clarity of standards, sampling and testing procedures, supply volumes, data sharing and dispute resolution.

You can find out more about the consultation in this Defra Farming blog post.

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Chris Young
Campaign Coordinator
Real Bread Campaign

Chris Young has coordinated the Real Bread Campaign since March 2009. In addition to lobbying for an Honest Crust Act of better loaf composition, labelling and marketing laws in the UK; he created and runs initiatives including: Sourdough September; Real Bread Week; Real Bread For All; Together We Rise, promoting therapeutic/social benefits of bread making; No Loaf Lost surplus reduction guidance; and Lessons in Loaf for schools. He’s the author of the Knead to Know…more microbakery handbook, Slow Dough: Real Bread recipe book and Bake Your Lawn grow-a-loaf guidebook; and edits True Loaf magazine.

From 2014-18, Chris also coordinated Sustain's London Food Link network, which included editing The Jellied Eel magazine and helping to launch and run the Urban Food Awards with the Mayor of London’s office. Chris has pulled on his judge’s wig for BOOM Awards, The Cateys, The Great Taste Awards, The Scottish Bread Championship and The World Bread Awards. In 2017, The School of Artisan Food honoured Chris with its first Fellowship, and in 2025 he was named joint Person of The Year by Slow Food in The UK.

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