How Britain Can Rebuild Its Trade Power by Backing Our Farmers
For decades we have treated British farming as a cultural relic rather than a strategic asset. Successive governments have promised support, stability and long term planning, yet farmers have been met with rising costs, shrinking margins, and policies that make running a farm practically impossible. The result is predictable. Young people do not see farming as a viable career, food security weakens, and Britain becomes increasingly dependent on imports that undercut our standards and our producers.
We cannot keep pretending this is sustainable. If Britain wants a stronger economy, healthier communities, and a self sufficient future, we must rebuild British trade from the ground up, beginning with farming.
Britain has everything we need to succeed
One of the biggest misconceptions about British farming is that our limitations come from the land itself, but we have world class natural resources. Our climate, soil quality, expertise, and infrastructure can produce exceptional food at scale. The problem is not capability, it is cost and policy.
Farmers are pushed to the edge by a funding system that does not reflect real world conditions. They are taxed as if they were comfortably profitable businesses when many are operating on wafer thin margins. They face unpredictable subsidies, rising interest rates, shortages of seasonal workers, and cheap foreign imports that do not meet the standards British farmers are held to.
We talk endlessly about supporting British business, yet one of the oldest and most important industries we have is being priced out of existence.
If we lose British farming, we lose far more than food
People rarely consider what actually happens if farms continue to collapse. Land does not sit empty. When farming becomes unviable, land is sold, divided, or repurposed. Fields become housing estates, countryside disappears, and rural towns lose the backbone of their local economy.
Food quality declines as we rely more heavily on overseas suppliers. Prices become volatile, and families are at the mercy of global markets. At the same time, our ability to produce our own essentials weakens. No country can call itself strong or secure if it cannot feed its own people.
Farming must be a career the next generation actually wants
The average age of a British farmer is creeping higher every year. Why would young people enter an industry where long hours, high debt, and hostile policy are the norm? They love the land, but they also need a life where they can raise a family and build a future.
We need to create a farming environment where ambition is rewarded, not punished. That means modern apprenticeship routes, investment in agricultural technology, tax structures that support early growth, and clear pathways for young farmers to take over family land without being crushed by inheritance tax.
If we want British farming to survive, we must make it appealing again.
Fair trade starts at home
British trade will only thrive if we value our own products at the same level we value imports. That means:
• Supporting UK producers in procurement across schools, hospitals and the public sector
• Ensuring trade deals do not undercut British standards
• Investing in domestic food processing and distribution
• Reducing the administrative burden on small producers
• Making British produce visible and competitive at home and abroad
Right now, we import food we could produce ourselves. Not because we cannot grow it, but because our government has made it cheaper to buy elsewhere. No serious economic strategy would accept that.
Cutting red tape and removing financial choke points
Every conversation with farmers ends in the same place. Too much bureaucracy, too many unrealistic requirements, and too little margin for error.
A government genuinely committed to growth would streamline the processes around grants, land management, planning, and innovation. Farming should not require navigating a maze of shifting rules. It should be treated as a national priority, with systems that encourage stability and long term thinking.
Britain can and should lead in high quality food production
Countries around the world admire British produce. Our standards are trusted, our land is diverse, and our farming heritage is respected globally.
If we back our farmers, Britain could become a premium food producer with an export market that strengthens national income and global trading relationships. Instead of watching our farms close, we could be creating new opportunity in rural areas, new revenue streams for landowners, and new confidence in British trade.
A stronger trade future begins with one simple principle
Support the people who feed the country.
British farming is not a niche interest or a sentimental tradition. It is the foundation of national resilience, economic growth, and the long term health of our communities. If we want Britain to prosper, look after the land, look after the farmers, and build trade around what we are already exceptional at.
We have the infrastructure, we have the skills, we have the history. Now we need the political courage to turn British farming from an afterthought into the powerhouse it should be.