Farming groups unite over urgent farm crisis support

The NFU convened a farming roundtable to discuss the immediate support and investment needed to keep businesses operating and protect food production into next year.

The meeting comes as the impact of a severe drought continues to be felt across the farming sector, with poor harvests, reduced grass growth and failed field crops adding to pressure on farm incomes.

Production costs have also risen, with farmers facing higher bills for fuel, fertiliser and energy amid wider geopolitical instability.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said the situation had left many businesses struggling to maintain cash flow.

“We’re hearing daily about the cash flow crisis facing farmers,” he said.

“Whether it’s the grower in Buckinghamshire who’s down £220,000 on their usual harvest, or the dairy farmer in Dorset spending an extra £500 a day on fodder to feed their cows, the balance sheets are not adding up.”

Farming organisations warned that the consequences could extend beyond the current financial year, with farmers potentially lacking the funds needed to plant next year’s crops or replace livestock lost through disease.

The NFU said the situation was particularly concerning for the next generation of farmers, with the financial pressures facing existing businesses potentially affecting succession and future investment.

Bradshaw said recent commitments from Defra on water and long-term resilience were welcome, but argued that more immediate assistance was needed.

“Defra’s strategic commitments last week were a welcome and important step towards building greater water and long-term resilience on farms,” he said. “But farmers face an immediate crisis in cash flow and confidence.”

He added: “Rain has come too late for lost harvests and slashed yields, while livestock farmers are dealing with the worst bluetongue outbreak in recent years.”

The NFU is calling for two immediate financial measures.

The first is a Keep Britain Growing Loan, which would be a government-backed, interest-free loan linked to losses caused by drought. The proposed scheme would provide working capital to enable farm businesses to continue producing food for next year’s harvest.

The second is urgent government support through a fallen stock scheme, aimed at helping livestock farmers affected by bluetongue meet increased costs associated with the collection and disposal of fallen animals.

The NFU says further action is also needed to improve water resilience and support homegrown food production over the longer term.

Bradshaw said the current crisis was being compounded by the removal of the financial safety net previously provided by direct payments, alongside exposure to weather extremes, animal disease and geopolitical disruption.

“Farmers in England are now without the breathing space once provided by direct payments and are increasingly exposed to geopolitical shocks, repeated weather extremes, animal disease and global conflict,” he said.

The NFU president said the farming organisations involved were united in seeking measures that would keep businesses viable and ensure farmers could continue producing food.

“When we met the Prime Minister on farm in Cornwall last week, he acknowledged the scale of the challenge and said the commitments were a ‘welcome start’, but there was ‘more to come’,” Bradshaw said.

“That is why we have brought farming organisations together to agree the urgent action and investment needed to keep businesses afloat, protect next year’s food production and safeguard long-term food security.”

He added: “Action is needed now to secure the future of British farming and enable the next generation to keep producing the nation’s food.”