As NFU president Peter Kendall takes the reins for a third consecutive term in office, Johann Tasker outlines five priorities for the union over the next two years.

Europe

Reform of Europe's cumbersome Common Agricultural Policy promises to be a major feature of 2010 and beyond, with Brussels set to engage in a wide debate about how the EU budget should be divvied up post-2013.

Talks will be heated - not least because the global economic downturn has fuelled the need for massive cost savings. Agricultural spending is likely to bear the brunt of efforts to ease budgetary pressure.

Direct payments have meant stability for farmers, but the view is strengthening - including within DEFRA - that financial support must do more to protect the environment, or be transferred into rural development policies.

The NFU might find an unlikely ally in EU commissioner Dacian Ciolos. But the tri-lingual Romanian faces an uphill battle to defend the scale of the CAP budget and to increase its legitimacy in the eyes of taxpayers.

At the same time, adoption of the Lisbon Treaty means the European parliament now has a full say on agricultural matters, so the NFU must persuade MEPs as well as the EU Commission of the best way to support farmers.

Bovine tuberculosis

The most emotive issue facing farmers will continue to generate headlines - as will the government's ongoing refusal to sanction a badger cull to combat the spread of the disease in England.

Failure to tackle bovine TB has seen up to 40,000 cattle slaughtered a year. Herds and livelihoods established over generations have been destroyed at a cost to the taxpayer approaching £100m a year.

While preparations for a badger cull are stepped up in Wales, English farmers are forced look on powerless as ministers pin their hopes on badger vaccine trials due to start this summer.

While continuing to press the case for a cull now, NFU insiders privately acknowledge that a change in government offers the best chance of a change in policy. Both the Tories and Lib Dems support a reduction in badger numbers.

Behind the scenes, the NFU has prepared proposals for a cull following the general election. It will face an almost certain legal challenge from animal welfare groups, so it is vital that those plans are watertight.

Young people

A skills shortage means Britain's agricultural sector must recruit more than 60,000 new entrants over the next decade. Yet most youngsters continue to view the industry as an unattractive career choice.