Feeding Britain, Rural Report, Slurry Handling

Another week, another ambitious report on transforming the UK’s food and farming sector. This time it’s the turn of the Sustainable Farming Trust to lay out its vision. And it’s a gentle vision that sees the countryside reverting to the more nature-friendly mixed farming systems that were once the default here, with less intensive farming of feed-hungry pigs and poultry. In essence we would eat what the UK’s farmland can sustainably produce. It sounds bucolic, but it does require people to radically overhaul their diets. In his forward, Sustainable Farming Trust CEO Patrick Holden says given the right information “we believe that it is reasonable to assume that many of the UK population would choose to transition to healthier and more sustainable diets”. I’m not so sure.

Please get in touch if we can help. 

Andrew Shirley, Head of Rural Research

In this week’s update:

• Commodity markets – Fuel up, oilseeds down
• Future farming – New strategy launched
• National Food Strategy – Read the report
• The Rural Report 2022 – Sign up for webinar tomorrow
• Groundswell – Meet us there
• Gene editing – Scotland rejects bill, but EU wavers
• Slurry handling – New grant funding launched
• Property focus – Herefordshire regen ag opportunity
• Overseas news – US corporate agri crackdown

Commodity markets – Fuel up, oilseeds down

Oilseed rape continues to lose some of the gains it has made this year. After appearing to be heading for £800/tonne at one point after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is now back well below £700/tonne. Good harvesting prospects around the world, weaker demand forecasts and the lifting of Indonesia’s export ban on palm oil have all helped reduce price pressure, although prices are still almost £175/tonne higher than this time last year. Oil prices also fell last week, but so far this doesn’t seem to have filtered through to the pumps. Red diesel was well up last week.

Future farming – New strategy launched

Following the launch of the government’s food strategy, the Sustainable Farming Trust has launched its own vision for the future of food production in the UK.

The Feeding Britain from the Ground Up report puts grass-fed beef and lamb at the heart of food production systems with far less emphasis on intensive pig and poultry production. This would reduce the need to grow large acreages of cereals for animal feed and allow more space for woodland and nature, while helping the UK become less reliant on food imports and doubling its production of fruit and vegetables.

My colleague Alice Huxley, who attended the launch, says: “The report is very ambitious, but in a world of rising energy and input costs, not to mention biodiversity loss and climate change, its aspirations make sense.”

National Food Strategy – Read the report

The government’s new food strategy, which was released last week, received, to put it mildly, a lukewarm reception. To make up your own mind you can now read the full report. There are lots of plans and proposals for further consultations and a belated nod towards the importance of food security, but it’s certainly not a full farm-to-fork strategy as originally envisaged.

The Rural Report 2022 – Sign up for webinar tomorrow

If you’d like to hear our thoughts on the future of food and farming do have a look at the newly published edition of The Rural Report, which contains articles on how profitable food production and making more space for nature can co-exist. You can also sign up for the report’s launch webinar, which goes live tomorrow morning and will then be available on demand.

Groundswell – Meet us there

Rather meet us in person? A number of our Research and Rural Consultancy teams will be attending the Groundswell event on 22nd & 23rd June so do get in touch if you’d like to chat and hear our views on regenerative agriculture or any other issues affecting you.

Gene editing – Scotland rejects bill, but EU wavers

As I mentioned a week or so ago, Defra has just introduced the Genetic Technology Bill, which will allow the use of gene-editing technology to help breed more productive and disease resistant crops. Agriculture, however, is a devolved matter and the Scottish government has since confirmed it plans to stick to the EU position on genetically modified organisms and not adopt the bill.

But there are growing calls from a number of EU counties to allow the use of gene-editing technology and the bloc is holding its own consultation on the issue. A response is expected sometime in 2022.

Slurry handling – New grant funding launched

Beef, pig and dairy businesses will soon be able to apply for grants covering 50% of the cost of slurry handling systems that create six months of storage capacity. Grants will range from £25,000 to £250,000. Defra says the Slurry Infrastructure Grant will be open for applications sometime this autumn.

Property focus – Herefordshire regen ag opportunity

If you are looking for a small farm to practice regenerative agriculture and make space for nature, this picturesque 178-acre property in Herefordshire, guided at £2.5m, could fit the bill. Speak to Alice Huxley for more information.

Overseas news – US corporate agri crackdown

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are joining forces in the US to try and crackdown on the power of large agri-food corporations, which they claim are abusing their power to the detriment of farmers.

If passed The Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2022 will introduce an indefinite moratorium on acquisitions and mergers within the agriculture and food industries.

“Corporate profiteering and out-of-control consolidation by big agricultural firms have led to increased prices at every point on the food chain, from the farm to the grocery store,” said Democratic Representative Mark Pocan in a statement announcing the legislation. “Congress must do more to help local farmers be competitive while providing greater market transparency to the American consumer.”