COP15, Land use, Green burgers, Robotic grants

Regular readers will have noted my frustration with the increasingly polarised food security versus nature debate currently raging in the UK. I was therefore delighted to read that the House of Lords seems to agree. A new report published last week, Making the Most out of England’s Land, calls for a multi-functional and joined up approach to how land is used, bringing together government policy and planning legislation in a more coherent way. Hopefully, all parts of the government, not just Defra, will have a good read and conclude that its ambitious targets on new homes, tree-planting, biodiversity and food security will only be achieved by adopting a more strategic and considered approach to the countryside. Although, as discussed below, not everybody agrees the Lords’ approach is the right one. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

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Andrew Shirley Head of Rural Research

In this week’s update:

• Commodity markets – Oil up as Russian price cap bites
• Land use – Lords call for national strategy
• Food security – Planners must take it into account
• Politics – Tories losing farmer confidence, says poll
• Welsh farm support – BPS payment levels retained
• Agri-tech – New robot grant funding announced
• Meat alternatives – Plant burger sales slide
• Staff salaries - New benchmark report released
• The Farmland market – Video and podcast update
• International news – Cautious hope at COP15

Commodity markets – Oil up as Russian price cap bites

Oil and diesel prices rose last week following the implementation of a G7-imposed price cap of US$60/barrel on sea-borne crude oil exports from Russia. Western insurers will not be allowed to provide cover for shipments unless buyers confirm they have paid less than US$60 for the oil. President Putin had vowed that he will not allow Russian oil to be shipped under such restrictions creating concerns about a potential drop in global supplies. However, the Financial Times has received confirmation that a number of Russian tankers insured by Western companies are heading to India raising hopes that the impact of the cap on prices will be less than initially feared.

Land use – Lords call for national strategy

If you need some Christmas reading the House of Lords’ Land Use in England Committee’s new 103-page report, Making the Most out of England’s Land, published last week, offers a timely contribution to the increasingly polarised debate on how the countryside can feed the nation, help reverse the decline in biodiversity and mitigate climate change, while delivering renewal energy and new homes.

It calls on the government to “create a Land Use Commission tasked with producing a land use framework. The framework must consider several factors, including food, nature, housing needs and the push for net zero”. The report also advocates for a multifunctional approach to the land, with multiple benefits being achieved in the same place, so “that food production and environmental needs are combined with other uses where possible”.

Urgent clarification on the Environmental Land Management Schemes is also required, it urges. The planning system should also be strengthened to help support nature and agriculture alongside new development, while reforms are needed to “support provision of green and open spaces and to make more effective use of Green Belt land for public access, nature and biodiversity”.

The CLA, however, believes a Land Use Commission and Framework are unnecessary and could have unintended consequences. Susan Twining, Chief Land Use Policy Adviser, says: “Those in favour of a land use framework are always careful to say that they do not want to dictate or be prescriptive in land use, but inevitably if it were to go as far as identifying land parcels it could result in zoning and limitations on land use that could stifle both farming and environmental innovation. It may also be used to prevent rural development and business diversification.”

Food security – Planners must take it into account

Food security should now be considered as part of planning decisions, following an amendment to the National

Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) proposed by MP Greg Smith. As reported in the Farmers Guardian Mr Smith, with the backing of the NFU, had originally tabled an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which would have made it a legal duty for food security to be considered in public decision making, much like biodiversity or climate. But Ministers rejected this plan and instead offered the concession of changing the NPPF. Whether the amendment contributes to the more nuanced land-use debate called for in the previous article remains to be seen. An antipathy to solar farms seems to have been one of Mr Smith’s primary motivations.

Politics – Tories losing farmer confidence, says poll

I reported a few weeks ago that CLA President Mark Tufnell gave the government a bit of a roasting at the organisation’s annual conference saying it had lost the confidence of landowners. Now the latest sentiment survey from Farmers Weekly highlights the extent of the discontent. The results claim that support for the Conservatives from farmers has slipped below 50% for the first time. On average, only 42% of farmers would vote Tory if a General Election was held tomorrow, down from 72% in 2020 and 57% last year. The figure for owner-occupiers was higher at 56%.

Welsh farm support – BPS payment levels retained

Farmers in Wales will continue to get the same level of Basic Payment Scheme cash in 2023 and 2024 as they are currently receiving. English farmers are set to see their payments taper off dramatically. Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths said she was maintaining the funding for longer because the agriculture sector is facing many problems. A new Sustainable Farming Scheme will be introduced in 2025.

Agri-tech – New robot grant funding announced

Defra has just released details of £12.5 million of further funding for projects focused on cutting-edge agriculture and horticulture innovation to boost productivity, reduce labour demands, and create more sustainable farming practices. The tranche is the third round of the Farming Futures Research and Development Fund competition focusing on agriculture and robotics. Applications can be submitted from 9 January 2023.

Project leads should be UK-registered businesses of any size while farmers can participate as part of a wider consortium.

Meat alternatives – Plant burger sales slide

While switching to meat alternatives might seem a values-based decision, cost also plays a key role judging by the share price of one of the plant-based protein sector’s most-hyped brands Beyond Meat. Its stock has slumped by 78% so far this year with Q3 sales down 23%. Interest in meat alternatives increased sharply during Covid-19 lockdowns, but the cost-of-living crisis has tempered demand. Meanwhile, a September survey of UK shoppers found that 28% were cutting back on meat consumption to save money.

Staff salaries - New benchmark report released

Just a reminder that the latest edition of the Knight Frank Estate Staff Salary Survey has recently been published. The report reveals the average salaries paid for a wide range of rural estate and farming roles and level of wage increases being offered by rural businesses. Also highlighted are the key employment issues facing the rural economy. Download your copy here or get in touch with Chris Terrett for more details.

The Farmland market – Video and podcast update 

As mentioned previously, our Q3 Farmland Market update, which reveals a sharp annual increase in average farmland values, is out now. If reading research reports is not your thing, I’ve packed the key findings into a 60-second video that you may find interesting. You can also listen to my colleague Jessica Waddington and me discuss the farmland market with Knight Frank’s Global Head of Research Liam Bailey in an edition of our Intelligence Talks podcast.

International news – Cautious hope at COP15

At the time of writing on Monday (19 December) morning COP15 delegates were cautiously hopefully that the UN’s biodiversity summit in Montreal could actually deliver some tangible commitments. Although a final text was not due to be agreed until the final moments of the summit on Monday evening, a draft text from China, the conference president, contained the following:

• A commitment to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030 with a target to restore 30% of degraded lands
• A recommendation to allocate US$200 billion each year to fund the commitments, although details of where all the money will come from is yet to be agreed on
• Government subsidies that harm nature, such as those encouraging intensive agriculture, should be cut by at least US$500 billion a year by the end of the decade
• A direction for policymakers to encourage and facilitate businesses to assess and disclose how their activities affect and are affected by biodiversity. But, crucially, not make disclosure mandatory