According to a recent survey conducted by Rural Solutions, 35 per cent of respondents were looking to diversify into the leisure and tourism sector, including as glampsites, farm parks and venues, to help future-proof their assets. This comes off the back of an exclusive Country Land and Business Association (CLA) poll, which shows a third of farmers plan to use less of their land for agriculture.
According to the head of the National Farmers’ Union “the UK’s farmers face a profound crisis in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and there is dangerous ground ahead even if a deal is agreed”.
A government briefing in December suggested that in the event of no deal, it could allow some products to continue to enter the UK without paying a tariff to keep food prices stable. Minette Batters, the union’s first female leader, pointed out UK farmers would have third-party status and would face high tariffs to sell their goods into Europe. “We’d be priced out of the market and the result could be catastrophic. 40 per cent of our lamb goes to Europe, for example.”
