Following our extensive work on Fairtrade Fortnight, and liaison between students and National Farmers Union representation, two of our Sixth Formers, Rosie Bentley and Emily Turner, reviewed the present context facing British farmers after an incredibly difficult few years:
Is the UK government sufficiently supporting an industry we have relied on so greatly in recent years? Or are we disinvesting in homegrown goods in favour of a global market with cheaper and more varied produce? We spoke to Simon Spencer, from the National Farmers Union and Chris Broome, a local arable farmer, to understand the biggest threats to the farming industry and what we can do to support sustainable UK farming.
Supporting UK farming has many benefits. This includes the reduction of the food miles of products, ensuring food regulations have been met and promoting the maintenance of valuable British green spaces alongside benefiting local farming economies. However, recent international trade deals made by UK government appear to neglect these benefits. With increased foreign trade comes less visibility of the provenance of the food we’re consuming.
We asked Simon and Chris if they felt increased trade with countries who don’t prioritize produce regulation poses a threat to the sustainability of UK farming. Simon outlined the advantage international farmers have due to different food production standards whereas UK farmers are tied to restrictions: “These can undermine (the government’s) own country’s suppliers”. In addition to this, Simon and Chris highlighted the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on their industry, outlining the two-fold issue of cost of supply and a reduction in demand.
The increasing fuel prices have impacted farmers in the UK by driving up the prices of fertilizers, an instrumental input into farming. The war in Ukraine has also destabilized the UK farming industry in an apparent way. Being one of the world’s leading fertilizer producers, Chris told us that pre-war prices of fertilizer were around £240p/ton. Comparatively, last year he paid £780p/ton: “It had been as high as £1,000p/ton… you can’t really work with that volatility”. From a domestic perspective, the cost-of-living crisis has also impacted the demand and profitability of homegrown products. As consumers, we’ve become forced to neglect the sustainable provenance of the food on the shelves for cheaper international goods.
You may believe that a reduction in the usage of fertilizers and fuel consumption in farming can only be good news for the environment. With food production accounting for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, we asked the farmers how a warming climate is impacting them, and what they do to reduce their carbon footprint. It is known that warming weather has increased the likelihood of year-round diseases in animals and crops, and Simon shared his observations: “The seasons are merging. There is not Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn – it’s merging into this blandness of warm or wet or very dry. It’s extremes”. This poses a threat to the future of British farming as we know it, contributing to the accessibility of water supplies to grow vital produce, such as potatoes. However, with a more positive outlook, Chris suggests this means we can grow more salad crops and fruit as well as grapes to produce more wine, with the emergence of vineyards in warmer and drier summers…every cloud.
Before we participated in this interview, we knew very little about UK farming. Mainly surface level information including the different types of farming or the implications and benefits that come with trading goods around the world – only thanks to our A-level Geography course. As Simon and Chris talked in more detail about their farming experiences within different sectors, as well as the day-to-day issues they face, our eyes opened to the wider world of farming. A topic so unfamiliar to us, yet simultaneously one that impacts us far more than people are aware of.
As the interview progressed, we learned more about why Simon and Chris were so keen to come into school and speak to us, we slowly sensed their passion towards the lack of recognition of UK farmers and grasped why this was significant. These are people’s jobs, their livelihoods, and what they have devoted their lives to. We were keen to understand more about what we can do, and what messages we can share with friends and family that will help to support UK farmers.
Chris and Simon’s response included many ideas that are accessible for everyone. One approach included checking labels when shopping – looking out for the Red Tractor label and for UK grown foods. They noted that supermarkets sometimes strategically place UK grown foods next to imported products. If you have the time, please look carefully and support UK farmers instead of absent-mindedly, mistakenly buying produce from outside the UK.
From an environmental point of view, Chris and Simon emphasized the importance of buying foods that are in season. This includes refraining from buying strawberries and avocados in the winter. The BBC Good Food Seasonal Calendar is a really helpful website if you are struggling, this informs of the foods that are in season in each month of the year. For example: cabbage, cauliflower, grapefruit, leeks, oranges, rhubarb and sweet potato are all in season in March. In doing this, you help to support UK farmers and reduce food miles.
Another method they pointed out was shopping at supermarkets who support their local farmers. The Co-Op and Sainsbury’s source 100% British for their ‘premium lines’ of beef and lamb only. Similarly, retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, The Co-Op, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have put in place pricing mechanisms which support their milk supplying farmers and pay a price relating to the cost of production. As well as this, Waitrose reported selling twelve lines of British fruit and vegetables, Morrisons with ten, and Tesco and the Co-operative with six. By applying this small change into your routines, such as being mindful of which supermarkets you shop at, you can help to support local farmers. Where you can, also support local farm shops.
Finally, Simon and Chris noted the importance in having conversations with the people around us: “What we’d like to see is a strategy from government where they look to schools, prisons and hospitals to source more British produce”. We can advocate the significance of this due to the impact this interview had on us personally. Just by chatting to Simon and Chris for an hour, we were introduced to the livelihood of 92,100 people in the UK and the various challenges they face. This is in part due to a lack of advocacy from their local communities and the governing bodies ‘guiding’ them. So, if all you can do today is get talking and raise awareness, then do it. Help to support and maintain UK farmers.
Helen Barrett, Assistant Headteacher, added: “We encourage our students to not only study hard but also to reflect at a high level on the world around them. Lichfield is very much set in a productive rural locale and our local farming community are an important local employer. Their critique of the situation facing UK farmers is well put together and helps us all to appreciate the challenges we face to create a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and post-Brexit food supply.”
