Big scale farmers feel hard done by

A new report from the Commercial Farmers Group examining the role of commercial agriculture in the UK says farming has the potential to solve sustainability challenges, generate employment and boost the post-pandemic economy. Yet it warns that commercial farmers are being systematically ‘written out’ of emerging policy in the rush to push environmental enhancement above all else.

‘Commercial Farming: Delivering the UK’s new Agriculture Policies’ has been released today by the Commercial Farmers Group to coincide with the second reading of the Agriculture Bill in the House of Lords. As well as laying out the areas farming can impact positively, it argues that UK farmers should be ready and willing to compete with food imports – provided there is clear labelling identifying differences in production standards.

James Black from the group, who runs the family farming business producing pigs and arable crops in Suffolk, explains that commercial farming is important as fewer than 10% of farming businesses currently produce over half the UK’s agricultural output.

“These businesses are also ideally-placed to stimulate local economies, support wider industries and address pressing problems such as use of finite resources, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and biodiversity decline. However, they can only do this if allowed the chance,” he says.

“Unfortunately, UK history is littered with the results of so many great aspirational concepts which have been poorly delivered – because policy makers have not fully engaged with the people most involved in the implementation. We must avoid food and farming becoming a casualty of this too.”

Mr Black says commercial farmers should be seen as the solution, not ‘the enemy’. With their efficiency based on evidence-based decision making and best practice, they structure their operations to make optimal use of their natural resources – and where they are already engaged in delivering public goods, they do so with accountability towards the outcomes.

“In short, they can quickly bring about change through capability, data, scale and technology, to meet changing market demands,” he adds.

“This is the thrust of our report and why our group wants to be involved as the details for implementing new agricultural policy are identified – so that real public goods can be achieved alongside the imperatives of food security and economic viability.”

The report provides examples of areas where commercial farming can help to improve the success of future farming policy, such as: the ability to use resources efficiently with fewer emissions; provide land and capital to invest in renewable energy technologies; and deliver land improvement and biodiversity projects. These actions can stimulate rural development and the contribution of Gross Value Added arising from the food and drink sector. 

You can access the report here: https://www.commercialfarmers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Commercial-Farming-Delivering-the-UKs-new-Agriculture-Policies-June-2020-low-res.pdf

Agriculture Bill may threaten smaller farms

Richard Byrne from Harper Adams University welcomes the radicalism of the new Agriculture Bill but warns it may pose a threat to the viability of smaller farms: May not be enough to sustain smaller farms

He is justifiably concerned about trade relationships with the United States, but one might add that the phasing out of the Basic Payment is also a challenge, given that it represents the difference between profit and loss for many farms. ELMS may involve transaction costs (form filling) that it is easier for larger enterprises to deal with. Smaller farms may also be located in areas where fewer diversification opportunities are available.

But should maintaining smaller farms be a policy objective? Or would consolidating units boost productivity?

Dysfunctional CAP on its way out, but can farming meet climate change challenge?

The Agriculture Bill which will provide the basis for farm policy in England after Brexit has been published: A boost for the environment and food production

In line with the new policy approach developed by Michael Gove when he was secretary of state at Defra, it is claimed that 'It sets out how farmers and land managers in England will in the future be rewarded with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, higher animal welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding. This will contribute to the government’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, while at the same time, helping to boost farmers’ productivity.' [Farm productivity has been growing slowly.]

'This will replace the current subsidy system of Direct Payments which pays farmers for the total amount of land farmed, skewing payments towards the largest landowners rather than those farmers delivering specific public benefits.' Farmers have been highly reliant on those subsidies to keep their farms viable and the new form of payment is likely to generate a less certain income stream. Overall farm funding will be maintained at current levels, but not adjusted for inflation, for the duration of the current Parliament, i.e., potentially until 2024.

The main concern of farmers is not the domestic legislation but the prospect of imports of cheap food, produced to lower standards, as the result of trade deals: NFU president Minette Batters.

Much of the future for British farming will depend on the adoption of new technological innovations with the prospect of a digital revolution in farming that deserves to be encouraged by appropriate government funding.

Few of us will mourn the disappearance of the dysfunctional CAP which was not well adapted to British farming. However, the ability of British farming to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be a big challenge for farmers. Recent extreme weather events in the UK including both droughts and floods have brought home the reality of climate change to the farming community.