Baroness Minette Batters' Farm Profitability Review has been released today with 57 recommendations. to improve long term profitability, productivity, resilience and investment across farming.
Industry has been reacting to the publication.
READ NOW: Baroness Minette Batters' Farm Profitability Review: New Farming and Food Partnership Board launched
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said it was a thorough and complex report and it would be digesting and analysing the recommendations.
"As we continue to face huge and wide-ranging challenges from geopolitical uncertainty and trade deals that threaten to undermine our marketplace, to uncertainty around the future of environmental schemes, extreme weather events, continued price volatility and the unfair family farm tax, this report is right to recognise that reform is needed.
"Changes that will drive competitiveness and profitability, which are critical elements of thriving farming businesses, are also crucial to achieving the government's own targets for economic growth," he said.
"This is about enhancing the financial resilience and long-term sustainability of British farming – the bedrock of the nation's largest manufacturing sector, food and drink, worth £153 billion to the economy and an industry that supports more than four million jobs.
He added the NFU had set out its key priorities in its submission and it was encouraging that the five priority areas singled out by Defra were consistent with what the NFU has been calling on government to prioritise.
"The creation of a new farming and food partnership board with profitability and food security at its heart will enhance collaboration and ensure the government and industry can work in partnership delivering on the issues that matter most for the sector.
"A commitment to continue working on supply chain fairness is a top priority for all farming sectors, while delivering planning reforms will help underpin growth for the industry. Refocused efforts on growing our exports is also welcome and vital to adding value for domestic producers.
"And while private finance can play a big part in delivering new income streams and delivering for nature, we cannot hide from the fact that significant challenges remain to this beyond the pilot stage to a truly scalable market delivering financial opportunities for farmers.
"The ball is now in Defra's court. Ministers have to drive these priority areas forward. But alongside this, there are other immediate actions that are needed to boost British farming like providing much-needed clarity and certainty on the future of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and doing the right thing on the pernicious inheritance tax changes.
"Secretary of State Emma Reynolds recently said that farm profitability was vital to enable the UK agriculture sector to grow. We could not agree more. The NFU stands ready to work with government to deliver our collective ambitions for economic growth delivered by a British agriculture sector that is set up to thrive."
George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association, said: "For too long, the agricultural industry has felt like the forgotten sector of our economy when, in fact, it can deliver so much for our nation."
He added Defra has talked about the need to produce a Farming Roadmap but suggested this report fills that requirement.
"It has key messages for Government, planners, the supply chain and farmers which we must now grasp together to deliver.
"The 57 recommendations of this report are crosscutting and should also enjoy cross-party support within Westminster. This report gives us all a huge opportunity to drive and deliver a sustainable, resilient and profitable industry for the benefit of us all. To that end, it is good to see that Defra has already responded by establishing a new Farming and Food Partnership Board to be chaired by the Defra Secretary of State. This must become a true workhorse for change.
"Minette has pulled all of the issues together into a coherent whole and her report must be the agenda this new board needs to deliver.
"Of course, the TFA is particularly pleased that Minette has echoed issues which the TFA has championed for many years. The need for longer term, more secure agricultural tenancies is vital to drive investment and to deliver strong environmental outcomes.
"At a time when the Government is looking to amend Inheritance Tax, it needs to take off its blinkers to see this significant good it could achieve in making sensible and well thought through amendments to its policy to bring forward that much needed security of tenure.
"Minette is also right to address issues of poor conduct within the landlord and tenant sector in agriculture which we must root out. Profitable businesses rarely grow out of conflict, we need clarity, communication and collaboration to achieve those ends."
Urgent action is needed to build self-sustaining farm businesses, the CLA has urged.
Baroness Batters' report highlights the need for closer collaboration between farming, industry and government, and greater clarity and certainty for farm businesses looking to grow and invest.
CLA president Gavin Lane said: "As this report highlights, profitability across the sector is perilously slim, with farmers battling high input costs, low commodity prices and volatile weather conditions.
"Many farm businesses are marginal or loss-making, yet will soon be hit with unaffordable inheritance tax bills, which in many cases will dwarf their annual profit.
"We welcome Minette Batters' conclusions and urge the government to work with the industry to build profitable, self-sustaining farm businesses, otherwise food production and nature recovery will be put at even greater risk.
"Now is the time for urgent action. We need a stable policy environment, clarity on farming schemes, real planning reform and a recognition that a joined-up approach to rural affairs is desperately needed across Government."
Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: "Farm profitability has been hammered in recent years by volatile gas markets and climate extremes, with farmers left counting the cost of climate change after the wettest winter on record was followed by the hottest spring and summer ever. It's no wonder that four fifths of farmers are worried about making a living from farming as a result of climate impacts [2].
"We have now seen three of the five worst harvests on record [3] in England since 2020 following extreme weather, with arable farmers estimated to have lost over £2 billion in revenue as a result. And with grass failing to grow in this summer's drought, some feed prices for livestock are approaching record highs [4]. Green farming schemes offer a vital source of income independent from this volatility, supporting greater resilience to extremes through measures that improve soil health and boost pollinators. A key step to boost profitability in the sector now will be to re-open these schemes and bring more stability back to government policy."
Come back to farmersguardian.com for more reaction and analysis.
Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) chief executive Christopher Price said: "Today's Farming Profitability Review provides important recommendations on improving farm profitability, financial certainty, and supply chain resilience. However, it falls short of recommending the specific initiatives to place native livestock breeds at the heart of UK farming which are essential to achieving this vision.
"Profitability and conservation go hand in hand, and the Financial Profitability Review is quite correct in emphasising the importance of stable, long-term funding to support farmers in delivering public goods. This support must include farming with native breeds: encouraging more farmers to rear native breeds will help improve biodiversity; protect against future animal diseases; support the production of high-quality local produce; and help secure sustainable livelihoods in marginal landscapes.
"This important report underlines why policymakers must recognise that conserving native livestock is a vital investment in the resilience, sustainability, and profitability of UK agriculture."
