UK farmers are considering quitting due to extreme rain and low profits

Rural bodies have warned that British farmers may be considering leaving their farms due to the recent record-breaking run of rainy weather, which has put the sector “on edge”.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the Soil Association expressed concern over the dangerous situations that many are facing in their industry. Profits were squeezed and the extreme weather caused by the climate change crisis put financial and mental stress on farmers.

Helen Browning is the Chief Executive of the Soil Association. She said, “Many farmers are seriously considering their options and think about walking away from the farm, as they could earn far more money by doing something else.”

Browning, a Wiltshire farmer who runs both a livestock farm and an arable farm, said: “If one were to be economically rational, they wouldn’t have a farm.”

The comments were made by trade bodies during a Thursday briefing by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank ahead of next week’s second annual Farm to Fork Summit, which will be hosted by Rishi Sunder at No 10.

The summit will discuss future food security in the UK against the backdrop of extreme weather, which has affected four out of five farms over the last 12 months.

Since September, the UK has experienced 11 named storms and its wettest period of 18 months since records began.

Tom Clarke, a member of the AHDB board, stated that the worst effect this year on farms was the bad weather. Many farms planted fewer crops or none at all due to the fields being flooded. It’s been an awful year. I think that farmers in the UK are on the edge, not only financially, but also ecologically.

Clarke, a farmer in Cambridge who grows wheat, sugar, and other combinable plants, said that the rain had resulted in some fields having no crops for the very first time in many decades. A large portion of the crops that were planted was in poor condition.

The AHDB arable crop report of April revealed that only 45% winter wheat was rated in excellent or good condition, a far cry from the 88% rated in the same month last year.

Clarke mentioned that farmers will also face challenges due to the phase-out of EU basic payments scheme subsidies. The UK government was supposed to replace the payments with sustainable farming incentives subsidies , but the roll-out has been delayed.

He said: “This means there is less money available in the system for the farmers. This affects the viability and economics of farming in this country.”

The National Farmers’ Union’s annual survey released last week revealed that the confidence of farmers had reached its lowest level for at least 14 years. 16% said their farms weren’t profitable and might not survive, which is the highest percentage recorded.

The Foundation for Food also spoke at the ECIU’s briefing on Thursday. They warned that climate change in the UK, and abroad, was causing price volatility. Many British households are unable to deal with the rising costs.

Anna Taylor, executive director of the charity, stated: “Inflation is out of the headlines but a basic basket of food remains 25% more expensive than it was just two years ago, and wages haven’t kept up with the cost.

The result is that 8 million adults and three million children are living in food insecurity, and they struggle to feed themselves.