On Thursday, two of the country’s most senior judges in the High Court ruled that the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the UK’s withdrawal from the EU without the approval of Parliament.

In response, the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said farmers need “Urgent clarity” on whether Brexit will go ahead as planned and what this will mean for farmers. The farm union said the High Court ruling adds confusion to that already surrounding the UK’s potential exit from the EU.

Responding to the news, FUW President Glyn Roberts said, “We need clarity! This decision has introduced more instability at a time when we can really do without it. The Brexit planning process has occupied us for many months now and we welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent announcement about a timeline for Article 50 initiation. To throw that timeline away now is not in the least bit helpful. And of course it may have huge implications, not just on the timing of Brexit but possibly on the terms of Brexit.”

FUW leadership will be meeting with Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns next week and Glyn Roberts said they will be seeking to discuss the issue further.

Defra has unveiled plans to chase lucrative export markets, and there are suggestions of the beginning of an industrial strategy for the food sector post-Brexit. However, commenting on some of the latest announcements in this area from Defra, experts from the University of Sheffield’s Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) told Farming Online that so far this looks like “More of the inadequate approach to manufacturing support of the previous few decades: piecemeal interventions trying to get firms and scientists to talk to each other” and warned that, “Simply enabling businesses to grow and export more of the same kinds of product is hardly a strategy for food security.”

The government has said it will appeal to the Supreme Court over the High Court decision, and on Friday reports suggested that Theresa May will be telephoning EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to inform him that she still plans to trigger Article 50 by March 2017.