Income squeeze: Past farm policy and what the future holds

British farmers face the biggest changes seen by UK agriculture since the end of the Second World War. But this time around, growers and livestock producers have less time to secure a future for their farm businesses.

With the economy ravaged by six years of global conflict, leading to food rationing that continued until the mid-1950s, the post-war UK government was determined that Britain would never again face the prospect of being starved into submission.

See also: How stewardship areas can increase arable productivity

Rather than relying on food imports to feed the nation, the government’s 1947 Agriculture Act called on British farmers to produce “such part of the nation’s food… as in the national interest it is desirable to produce in the UK”.

The goal was to ramp up domestic food production using the latest science and technology. Guaranteed prices – underwritten by the taxpayer – ensured that the more farmers produced, the more subsidy they received.

Yet many farmers in the 1940s and 1950s remained wary – unsurprisingly, perhaps, given that a similar scheme in 1921 was abandoned after global food prices fell in the wake of the First World War.

British farming transformed

It took time, several publicity campaigns, and grants like the 1957 Farm Improvement Scheme to convince farmers that the government wouldn’t again suddenly reverse its policies and pull the rug from under their feet.

By the 1960s, farmers were convinced that the government wanted them to produce more – much, much more. They invested heavily in their businesses, hugely increasing productivity over the next 40 years.

© Allan Cash Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo

Within a generation, British farming was transformed.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, agriculture was largely powered by the muscles of men, women and horses – using mostly 19th-century technology to produce less than half of the country’s food.

By 1985, less land and far fewer people were involved in farming. The power sources and technologies had been completely transformed. Rather than muscle, mechanisation was the order of the day.

Agricultural output soared, a trend which continued after the UK joined the EU. The value of output almost trebled from just over £4bn before the war to nearly £12bn in 1981-85.

Today’s policy

Today, government policy is going in the opposite direction – but just as radically. Instead of increasing farm support, payments are being reduced – in England at least, although the other UK nations are likely to follow.

Rather than subsidising food production – and later paying farmers for the amount of land farmed – the government wants to support farmers who undertake environmental work and mitigate climate change.

The plan is outlined in the 2020 Agriculture Act. But the government’s vision is less clear than it was in 1947. How, for example, will farmers be rewarded for storing carbon in their soils? How will results and payments be determined?

These questions and others remain unanswered. The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) – which accounts for some two-thirds of farm incomes – will be phased out in England by 2028. But the policy which will replace it is not fully formed.

One thing is clear. In less than six years, farmers will no longer be able to rely on the government for such a large proportion of their income. And they will have to work harder in return for any public money they do receive.

Rather than the safety net of a subsidy system – or BPS payments based on the area farmed – growers and livestock producers will be expected to secure a much bigger share of their income from the marketplace.

The remainder will come from payments for public goods – the provision of cleaner air, better soil and fresher water – alongside carbon sequestration, wildlife habitats and other environmental improvements.

The 1947 Agriculture Act required farmers to embrace new methods to achieve a huge increase in productivity. The 2020 Agriculture Act will require a similar change of mindset – but in a different direction entirely.

© Boydell & Brewer

About Paul Brassley

Paul Brassley is an honorary fellow at the Centre for Rural Policy Research, Exeter University. He is also a co-author of The Real Agricultural Revolution: The Transformation of English Farming 1939-1985.

Published by Boydell & Brewer, the book is a detailed and authoritative history of the seismic changes experienced by UK farmers during the second half of the 20th century. It examines the development of new technology and how farmers used it to produce more food.

Farmers Weekly readers  can save 35% – paying £39 rather than the £60 cover price – by ordering via the Boydell & Brewer website and entering the offer code BB135.