FARMING MUST wake up to the reality of Brexit and seize the opportunities that it holds before it is too late.

During a Save British Farming panel event this week, there was agreement that the UK cannot compete on a global commodity market but should instead focus on a future of higher standards and premium products, and the upmarket opportunities it can tap in to.

Former NFU chief economist Sean Rickard urged that the focus not to be on ‘the possible chaos’ which could result in early January but on what the position of agriculture will be in five years’ time.

“There are opportunities for British agriculture as part of the agri-food chain to prosper in this new world but it will call for a very different direction to that that set out in the agricultural act and it will call for new thinking and a change in attitudes right across the food industry, not just in agriculture,” said Dr Rickard.

He went on to stress that farming cannot continue as it once did and expect handouts from the government and ignore the fact that sooner or later imports from low cost nations will enter our shores.

“We must wake up to reality and seize the opportunities because it will be too late to wake up in five years’ time,” he continued. “The logic of Brexit was to open our borders to freer trade with the rest of the world and agriculture can’t stand aside from that because countries like America will say, if you want a trade deal with us you have to put everything on the table.

“We have to prepare ourselves for operating on a world stage without the power of the EU behind us to defend off things they don’t like. Agriculture is not the largest concern for the government.”

AHDB chair Nicholas Saphir hit home that the end of government support for farming is looming: “We need to recognise that the government has signalled that it is going in to a seven-year transition where it will actually exit responsibility for supporting British farming. It might still have responsibility for the environment, climate change and sustainability but it is not going to support British farming in the same way.

“After the longest period of stability, we have seen for 200 years we are heading towards instability. It is time to recognise what we are good at, what are we potentially good at, what are the opportunities and how do we actually survive.”

The panel were in agreement that a deal with the EU would most likely be on the cards but stressed that the barriers which will still arise cannot be underestimated: “We still have major problems with border control posts,” said chief executive of the National Sheep Association, Phil Stocker. “We still have issues unresolved around export health certificates and meat health stamps. There is no end of practical everyday problems.”

He pointed out that sheep farmers have known about this for some time which might suggest the trend of selling lambs earlier during summer and autumn and added that most people will view selling lambs during January and February as a real gamble.

Panellist Steve Elnor is one such farmer, who added that he will not be relying on selling livestock as an income stream early next year: “We have all planted wheat in the ground, have cows calving and plans for how much milk to produce, but nobody knows what’s coming down the line in six week times and in the next 12 months.

“Businesses live and die on short term cash flow,” he continued. “Agriculture isn’t a high margin industry so there will be a lot of businesses having to look at what they do, wondering what the prices will be in the new year and how they’ll cope.”