After more than 60 years of market management and political manipulation, British farming is free to make its own choices – provided it can get over the current crisis. That’s according to Jeremy Moody, Secretary and Adviser to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.

“The Common Agricultural Policy was a social security system that paid people to occupy land that other people could farm better – we’ve had 40 years of pent-up change and that dam is breaking this year,” he says. “We need to manage that humanely and make arrangements to hand over land to those who can make best use of it.”

The Government has walked away from agricultural and environmental policy since October 2024, adds Mr Moody. But there are advantages to that. “It leads to a major repositioning of how we think – by no longer being beholden to anyone, farmers can take charge of their own business direction.”

There is a shift of responsibility; it’s no longer about looking to the Government for answers, he notes. “Defra is very active being inactive at the moment. You have to be the master of your own destiny and manage what you can control. Use technology to take the grunt out of what you do, so you can focus properly on managing your business.”

Better policy

As the country gets progressively poorer in real terms, expecting Defra funding to be a salvation to farming is no longer realistic, warns Mr Moody. But there are other, targeted ways that better policy could encourage business growth and investment. These include sensible tax reliefs, easing planning policies, and genuinely making business growth easier.

It’s a similar story with rural housing – as policies and tightening margins make it increasingly difficult to rent properties out or develop new ones, the risk-reward balance makes it less worthwhile. “It might still add up in urban areas, but it does nothing to help rural communities.”

However, some schemes, like the Sustainable Farming Incentive, have the potential to remain useful, for some people. “SFI shouldn’t be seen as a subsidy – it’s an option,” says Mr Moody. “It should be the Government saying: ‘We want to buy change from you’. But we’re clearly watching more being demanded with less being paid.”

The top quartile of farmers are the ones who will be successful by just quietly getting on with things. “There’s a huge difference between the top quartile and the rest – and they tend to be better environmentally, too. The arable sector is in particular difficulties – we’ve lost productivity due to subsidies, and now need to build back with more resilience. For that, my call to Government is: ‘Make doing business easier.’”

• For more information visit www.caav.org.uk. Jeremy Moody will also be speaking on both days at the Cereals Event on 10-11 June at Diddly Squat Farm.