Íæż½ã½ã

Íæż½ã½ã have little faith in future of farming, new survey reveals

Defra says the work to address a lack of farmer confidence has already begun

clock • 2 min read
Defra Secretary Steve Reed says work to boost farmer confidence has begun
Image:

Defra Secretary Steve Reed says work to boost farmer confidence has begun

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 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 Íæż½ã½ã 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.

READ NOW: Tenanted sector 'losing momentum' warns TFA

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.

BNG National Habitat Bank Creation & Unit

£±Ê°¿´¡

FARM LOANS & RE-MORTGAGES

£±Ê°¿´¡

BNG Leading in Habitat Bank Creation & Sales

£±Ê°¿´¡

More on Farm Business

Livestock ferry rule change withdrawn after being described as 'nonsensical'

Livestock ferry rule change withdrawn after being described as 'nonsensical'

Ferry operator CalMac had told farmers it would not operate bookings if there was not an 'attendant' available to administer euthanasia on journeys over three hours

clock 28 January 2025 • 5 min read
Grocery Code Adjudicator launches survey to investigate retail behaviour

Grocery Code Adjudicator launches survey to investigate retail behaviour

The Grocery Code Adjudicator, Mark White, said he wanted to hear from as many suppliers as possible about their ongoing experiences supplying to large retailers

Rachael Brown
clock 27 January 2025 • 1 min read
Council apologises to farmers after calling on residents to swap to vegan milk alternatives

Council apologises to farmers after calling on residents to swap to vegan milk alternatives

The Countryside Alliance said local authorities needed to 'back off' telling people what to eat

clock 27 January 2025 • 2 min read