Farmers have little faith in future of farming, new survey reveals

Tenant farmers have voiced their disatisfaction with Defra as new Government figures revealed not one of those questioned was very confident current schemes and regulations will lead to a successful future in farming. 

The results taken from the latest Farmer Opinion Tracker for England (April 2024) also showed 52% of tenants were not at all confident in Defra's ability to deliver those changes. Just 3% said they were very confident their relationship with the department and its bodies - the Environment Agency and the Rural Payments Agency would develop positively in the future. While only 5% revealed they fully understood Defra's vision for the future of farming.

Chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) George Dunn said the findings should send a ‘signal to Government' regarding the sector and its needs.

"Sadly, I am not surprised to see the reported low level of confidence... The fact no tenant farmers felt confident in this must sound alarm bells within Defra and lead to urgency in picking up the reins in respect of the recommendations contained within the Rock Review into agricultural tenancies on which work has stalled since the General Election.

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Elsewhere, only 10% of owner farmers said they fully understood Defra's vision for farming while half of those questioned did not feel positive about their future in the industry.

Reacting to the figures, the Government said its ‘new deal for farmers' would address low confidence and provide ‘stability' for the farming sector. 

Confidence

Defra said the results make it clear the need for the ‘end of farmers being rocked by the chop and change of farming schemes', to ensure Environmental Land Management schemes work for all farmers including those who have been too often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms.

Defra Secretary Steve Reed said: "Confidence among farmers is extremely low. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, prevent shock rises in bills by switching on GB Energy, better protect them from flooding through a new Flood Resilience Taskforce and use the Government's own purchasing power to back British produce. 

"The work of change has now begun." 

Devised in 2019 to monitor farmer confidence, the tracker provides a snapshot of views and opinions towards Defra's vision for farming taken at a point in time.