Maintaining public support as farmers diversify

The British public say they see farming as the second most important and well-respected job in the country, beaten only by nursing.

Increasingly shoppers in the UK are demonstrating their support for farmers through their spending. Almost three-quarters of them (73%) insist they “often or always” look specifically for British food when shopping.

So as the nation marks Back British Farming Day this week (Wednesday Sept 11) all would seem to be well in the world of agriculture. Happy customers, after all, mean happy businesses.

Yet anyone who farms will tell you that is not the case. All is not well. Farm incomes are down, farm confidence has crashed and while the new Labour government has outlined broad support for farming, external factors - from Brexit to extreme weather - are impacting on the sector as almost never before.

With a positivity rating from the public of more than 70% and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and Country Land and Business Association (CLA) promoting their cause, landowners and farmers might not seem to be in need of support to boost reputations and win over the public.

But declining incomes increase the need for diversification. The climate crisis has heightened the requirement for more renewable energy. And changes to the subsidy system mean farmers must demonstrate they are delivering public benefits. There is no room for complacency when it comes to keeping the mainly urban population onside.

The most recent farmer confidence survey, organised by the NFU in May this year, (2024) reveals levels at their lowest since records began in 2010, across most agricultural sectors.

Some 65% of farmers have seen a decline in profits, with many raising concerns that their businesses may not survive far into the future. Confidence fell from minus eight last year to minus 25 this year.

So, what’s going wrong and how can land managers overcome the difficulties to keep on farming and managing the landscapes - providing the food we all need and looking after the landscapes we all love?

Some things are out of their control. Extreme weather is a leading concern, with 82% citing it as having a very negative or fairly negative impact on their business. The phasing out of subsidy support linked to acreage, rising input prices and government legislation were all cited by more than 80% of farmers as major factors of concern.

The collapse in confidence is having an impact on Britain’s food security, already down to 62%.  If the nation relied on home produced food and had no access to imports, then from August 14th this year the nation’s larder would be empty.

Those sobering statistics look likely to get worse with farmers in all sectors across the UK expecting to cut production over the next year with arable farming likely to see the biggest falls in output.

Environmental Land Management schemes, (ELMs) which pay farmers for delivering public goods for the environment and communities, are seeing growth in take up. But a little over half of all farmers told the NFU survey in May they would be engaging with ELMs to make up for money lost as acreage payments are scrapped.

The alternative, for many, is making changes to the way they work. Around 75% of the land in the UK is classed as farmland, yet for many farmers and landowners who formerly saw food production as their main business, that description is no longer wholly accurate.

Investments and partnerships are being made by landowners but they are often in non-food related activities, including renewable energy schemes, eco-tourism, forestry and the conversion of farm buildings to holiday accommodation or commercial lets.

Some of these projects are controversial with communities. Surveys consistently show increasing public support for solar farms, wind turbines and other forms of energy that move away from a reliance on greenhouse gas-creating fossil fuels. Yet when specific projects are proposed, there is often local opposition.

It follows that farmers and landowners, including rural estates that are shifting the emphasis from farming to other income streams, can no longer rely on the broad support of the public they enjoyed when they were growing crops and rearing livestock.

They must work much harder to maintain the backing of their neighbours and others in the community if they want to stay sustainable through diversification projects that might be unpopular, like solar farms, biodigester plants or - as the moratorium on onshore winds ends under the Labour government - turbines.

Many of these constitute a change of use and require planning approval. That means consulting with those affected in the surrounding communities, explaining – well in advance of submitting an application – what is proposed and trying hard to meet objections head on.

All of that is substantially easier for landowners who have already made a long-term investment in their reputation, engaging with their community, explaining the benefits so many of them naturally provide, from maintaining rights of way to providing village facilities.

Many are doing all that as well as contributing to the UK’s ability to keep the population fed – something that may become increasingly important as global instability grows and access to imports comes under pressure.

In a recent episode of the Estate Matters podcast, CLA president Victoria Vyvyan stresses the difference between food security and self-sufficiency, pointing out that food security means being able to feed the population, with home grown food as well as imports. 

But she says if the nation is threatened with starvation – as it was in 1939 when the Second World War severely restricted imports – we need to be ready to be respond, and that means getting the soil into the best shape possible to grow as much food s we can and playing to our strengths as a food producer.

She is right. It is vital for the continuation of traditional farming activities like producing meat, milk, arable crops, fruit and vegetables, that the public continues to back British farming and chose UK produce wherever possible.

It is vital too that people behave with common sense and respect when they access farmland for exercise and recreation. And it is essential that, when farmers and landowners look to diversify, to maintain the sustainability of their businesses and meet changing demands for an enhanced natural world, they are supported too.

Back British Farming doesn’t just mean you should check the labels on the produce you put in your shopping trolley; it extends across an increasingly diversified sector.  And it has never been more important than it is today.