After a difficult past 12 months for farmers, Tom Bradshaw is calling for better government support
The NFU has laid out its ambitions for farming in 2025 following what its president called a “wretched” year for the industry in 2024.
NFU chief Tom Bradshaw was elected last February and used his first New Year’s message to reflect upon a difficult 12 months for farmers, referencing volatile input costs, commodity prices at record levels in some farming sectors and on the floor in others, a reduction in direct payments, and one of the wettest periods in decades.
“To cap a wretched year, we saw a Labour government, which, after 14 years in opposition, promised to reset its relations with British farmers and deliver a much-needed lift to farmer confidence. Instead, it delivered an inflationary Budget and all but removed the tax reliefs for agriculture property and business property,” he said.
Those controversial changes to inheritance tax (IHT) led to farmer protests in Westminster, and a strained relationship between the government and farming community.
“We are keeping up the pressure on government, targeting those rural labour MPs and with a powerful visual reminder from the banners going up all over the UK that the fight is far from over,” Bradshaw explained.
”Ultimately, this needs to be sorted out by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a solution sought that will mitigate the extreme human impacts of this indefensible family farm tax policy on the current holders of those businesses, for whom, up until 30 October, the best tax advice was to hold their farm until death. Rest assured, we will keep fighting to find a solution.”
Election promises
Bradshaw stressed he wanted to see Labour stick to its election manifesto promises, much of which brought optimism among farmers. In particular, he said the Agricultural Transition Plan needs immediate action and focus. Rolling over the Higher Tier environment schemes and with an uplift in payment rates, rethinking the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to ensure it is compatible with food production alongside environmental delivery, and ensuring the new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) are available and working for all farm businesses in all sectors, are also key, he added.
“A robust system of core standards for food imports is essential to protect farmers and consumers from imported food that would be illegal to produce here and allow the economic marketplace to function properly rather than our members being constantly undermined,” Bradshaw said. ”There needs to be vital legislation to boost promised public procurement of British food, and a planning system in place that enables us to invest in on-farm infrastructure that delivers for food production and mitigates environmental risk.
“These are the building blocks needed to secure UK food security and provide Britain’s farmers and growers the confidence they desperately need to invest for the future and deliver on our joint ambitions to produce more sustainable, affordable homegrown food while creating more jobs and delivering for nature, supporting greener energy security and climate-friendly farming.”
Shards of light
Bradshaw highlighted a number of successes from the past year, including a first US export opportunity for UK beetroot growers and eight of the country’s major retailers backing the NFU’s call for ‘Buy British’ tabs to be added to their websites.
“As we head into the new year, we will build on the momentum of the public’s unwavering support and strive to ensure we are doing everything we can to help deliver a thriving and profitable farming industry – one that is good for shoppers, good for the environment and good for a secure supply of British food,” Bradshaw concluded.
