Farmers, particularly those in England, are find it difficult to adjust to life with reducing subsidies.
A Farmers Weekly of 500 farmers survey showed farmers across
the UK continue to rely heavily on support scheme money, with almost 90%
receiving some funding.
On average, BPS revenue accounted for 29.3% of farm incomes
in the 12 months up to spring 2023, only slightly down on the 31.7% recorded
for the same period a year earlier. For more than two in five
(41%), BPS money made up one-quarter of incomes. But for 16%, BPS funding still accounted for
three-quarters or more of total revenue, a slight increase on the figure for
spring 2022 when it stood at 14%.
Dwindling support levels continue to cause widespread
concern. A growing number of farmers
(49% – up from 45% last year) are now “very concerned” about how they will
replace lost revenue from support.
Overall, eight out of 10 farmers registered some level of
concern. Concerns ran so deeply that
87.5% said they were uncertain whether their farms would even survive without
BPS support. More than half (55%)
forecast it would be difficult to survive and one-quarter went further, saying
survival would only be secured with great difficulty.
More than one-third (37%) are looking to an off-farm revenue
to bolster incomes. Almost two-thirds
already have a source of off-farm income, with 22% in outside employment while
19% own another business and 15% hold investments unrelated to agriculture.
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