"After three years of negotiations, we have a significant deal that sets us on a new path both for farmers and the public," Jones told a European Commission briefing at Europe House in London.

He said that the direct involvement of MEPs under co-decision for the first time in CAP reform had been a crucial part of the trilogue process and the conclusion of a successful package.

"The representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission all worked especially hard to conclude a solid and progressive deal," he commented.

Jones added that he was positive that parliamentary approval this October for the political deal would go through, as no-one would want to be responsible for scuppering the benefits at this stage.

On the United Kingdom, Jones observed that the gains were very much in tandem with the devolved political structures and institutions, as was favoured both by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Westminster, and the respective assemblies and parliaments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"There has been a specific focus on regionalisation and flexibility, which fits the way in which the UK wants to implement its agricultural policy. Internal convergence will also be welcomed as a balanced outcome, but no doubt there are some in the UK and other member states who will say this aspect could have gone further," he continued.

Britain will also benefit from increased flexibility on 'greening' or environmental measures that are part of the CAP reform agreement, meaning UK governments can now transfer extra funds to their rural development budgets.

"Tighter rules for active farmers should also be welcome by the UK, while co-decision has resulted in a stronger green package. There is also a larger element of regulatory simplification, combined with more risk-based support systems," Jones said.

On the young farmer payments, Jones said that he thought there would be an encouraging take-up of the scheme in the UK, as a mandatory approach had been favoured, in the face of some member state objections.

However, some green groups such as the RSPB still argue that greening could have gone further, particularly for wetlands. But there are significant environmental deals in the package, for example on Ecological Focus Areas, which could potentially be increased from 5% to 7% from 2017, although "we need the data from member states, although this is often either missing or incomplete," Jones said.

Jones also welcomed the reform of the sugar sector from 2017. "The current sugar quota regime is not good for the EU as it limits exports, and this reform should also benefit food manufacturers," he concluded. Britain had backed its earlier reform from 2017, while some member states had pressed for delay until 2020 or beyond.

For newer member states in Eastern Europe such as Croatia, there was also the prospect of a better land payment model from the reforms, Jones said. "The redistribution of support aid from larger to smaller holdings should increase direct payments to small farmers."

UK Lib Dem MEP George Lyon, who negotiated the CAP horizontal regulation and direct payments dossier on behalf of the ALDE Group, commented:

"In the Lyon report adopted by the Parliament back in 2010, I said that sustainability had to be at the heart of the new CAP if we are to address the huge challenges of a doubling of demand for food while at the same time reducing the use of scarce resources.

"I believe we have a reform that takes a huge step down the road towards delivering a more sustainable EU agriculture and it signals quite clearly that we are breaking from the past with a more targeted use of financial support in return for farmers delivering key public goods. We also introduced measures to stamp out the abuse by so called 'slipper farmers' who were getting payments but not doing any active farming," he concluded.

So as in the Common Fisheries Policy reform package earlier this year, where fellow Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies led the way on eradicating discards and other progressive sustainability measures, the UK is likewise punching well above its weight on farming, despite the constant carping of the Eurosceptics.