UK farmers’ confidence in the near and near future is at its lowest level since records began in 2010, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) annual Farmer Confidence Survey showed on 6 May. ), FarmingUK reported.
There is a serious risk that this situation will lead to a decrease in food production, the NFU warned after publishing the study. Due to lack of confidence, farmers’ production intentions have also fallen drastically and all agricultural sectors expect lower production in the coming year.
The persistence of wet weather played a major role: 82% of respondents said their agribusinesses had been negatively affected. According to a survey of almost 800 farmers in November and December 2023, mixed farms, agricultural farms and dairy farms were the most affected. Since then, farmers have been battling persistent heavy rain and the UK has been hit by four major winter storms since the start of 2024.
If the survey were repeated today, the results would be even worse, the NFU warned. The profitability of agricultural businesses has declined: 65% of farmers surveyed said their profits were declining and their business may not survive at all. The NFU said the government must recognize “extraordinary character” climate impacts and warned that many farms “They may not be able to get out”.
Commenting on the dismal survey results, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “We have already lost over 7,000 farming businesses since 2019 and no-one wants that number to rise, least of all our customers who really value high-quality, sustainable food produced by British farmers.”.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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