Farm Diary: many farmers are non-plussed with this government

The cold overnight temperature is also holding things back and whilst the sunny days are very warm, the temperature drops sharply in the evening, and we have had slight frosts on several mornings last week.

The world is a crazy place right now as most people give up on second guessing what President Trump will do next. He is all over the place, but just as Liz Truss found in short order, he has also found his master in the bond markets, and the cost of borrowing as he reigns in the more extreme tariffs and trade measures, apart from China that is. The cost of borrowing for government is what keeps our chancellor Rachel Reves awake at night as she meets challenges to keep the economy and the markets on track.

All the unpopularity over her tough measures as she keeps to her fiscal rules and give herself some fiscal headroom is threatened by the antics of Donald Trump. Many other countries have the same difficulties of course, but that does not help her, as in this country we remain laser focussed on her performance and hold her accountable despite the international turmoil. No other party has any answers either, but it’s a good time to be in opposition as you watch and criticise.

The Conservatives need to be mindful that we still remember their 14 years as if it was yesterday and the mess, they left the country in, and there is a need to remain humble for a long time yet. There is a bit of swagger and that superiority from one or two re-appearing, but we remember very well the lack of talent and infighting which ensued post Brexit and finally did for them. It is also very clear that they knew they were going to lose the election and made no effort to do anything other than leave the Labour Party the biggest mess possible in their remaining months in power. Politics of that nature, caring little for the country, takes some forgiving and a great deal of time.

Whilst the Liberal Democrats seem to be a party fighting mainly local councils these days and bereft of any sensible national leadership or policies, Nigel Farage thinks he will be the next Prime Minister! Well, he cooked his goose with many farmers last week, when he said he would let in chlorinated chicken and hormone beef from the USA (and other countries I guess). I would leave it to consumers to decide, he said, they can choose what they eat and not be dictated to by the state. He has a point, many people do begrudge the nanny state approach to many things, but I have not heard anyone wanting to lower our animal welfare standards as yet.

Many farmers are certainly non-plussed with this government, and in a bid to placate things, the former President of the NFU has been hired in an attempt to win us over. Minette Batters is a good communicator and was certainly a popular President with many NFU members, but the NFU hierarchy whilst supportive in public, is probably less than happy about this. As Defra reel from the anger in the industry over tax reforms and the abrupt end to environmental subsidies amongst other measures, all driven by the Treasury, Steve Reed the Secretary of State has hired Minette to lead a review on farming profitability. Seen as a coup which might help in their quest to fight the challenge that they do not understand the sector.

Minette who farms in Wiltshire was elevated to the House of Lords recently as a cross-bench member and it has not taken long for her to land her first job. At Defra, she is now charged with delivering short, medium and long-term recommendations, and all within 6 months! No doubt a great deal of emphasis will be placed on diversification, better connection to the grid for solar and wind turbines, a relaxation in planning laws for holiday lets and farm shops, whilst emphasising the need to protect farmers from the imports Farage is so keen to consume.

The big challenge which has been there for years now, is how to make farming more profitable whilst producing food, rather than ways of supporting low margin food production with diversification. All governments over the decades have depended on ever cheaper food in order to keep down inflation, and allowing farmers to make good margins (good enough to afford inheritance tax) is very difficult without driving up the cost of food, and I fail to see how this circle can be easily squared.

Historically, we have produced as much as we can in the UK, whilst importing what else we need, usually at a lower price but produced very often to different standards. With our demand for high animal welfare and environmental compliance, the high cost of energy, fertilizer and so on, coupled with the rising costs of labour, it is challenging. When our inputs prices are dictated largely by multinational companies and most of what we produce is bought by a handful of all powerful and ruthless supermarket buyers, the challenge is greater still.

Despite this, farming continues and it has consistently produced close to two thirds of what we eat, with fewer, larger farmers using expertise and technology wherever they can in order to remain competitive. Small to medium farms and those not so well invested, struggle but many remain in the industry through a combination of tenacity, hard work, many owning their own land with little or no borrowing. They work very hard over ridiculous hours in many cases and their big problem is succession. Who in their right mind would want to live and work like this, whilst getting miniscule returns from such a large asset (the farm).

Well educated children have choices and also understand the fundamentals here, and that is that markets decide prices, and there is a need to at the very least break even when the markets are down in order to make some money when they recover. I fail to see how Minette or anyone else can change that, and despite Ministers wanting to get more money and less risk on farms from the supply-chain, how many years have we been trying to make that happen, with little success?

It is often true in farming that your biggest rival is your farming neighbour, you are always compared to his or her performance and how the farm looks, and you both want to buy any adjoining or local land for sale. Furthermore, if your neighbour is profitable and you are not, then you are in a difficult place when complaining about prices. That is the harsh reality of life and whilst I wish Minette the very best and hope she comes up with some good recommendations for the Minister, I also hope that there is some honesty here; farmers deserve that too.