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Speaking Up for Our Farmers
Farmers in Newbury and across the country have endured the most gruelling summer in a generation.
Five heatwaves. Severe drought. A bluetongue outbreak. And fuel and fertiliser costs that remain sky-high.
In just a year, UK red diesel prices have soared by more than 50%, heating oil used to warm farmhouses and barns has bolted up by 82% since the start of the Iran war, while farms face a £550 million hit from the worst harvest on record.
Input costs have surged; yields have simultaneously dropped to historic lows.
So, during our Liberal Democrat Opposition Day debate in Parliament, I spoke up for our farmers in Newbury and West Berkshire, challenging the Government on the shambolic roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) while urging the Minister to not only provide immediate support, but to recognise the indispensable role they play in our rural communities.
Last month, the second SFI application window closed after just five hours and 48 minutes. Thousands missed out as on a first-come, first-serve basis; screens froze and boxes were left unchecked in panic.
Instead of farms being given a bridge of support to get through the winter, they had to scramble for scraps, and now thousands are left facing a financial cliff edge.
In the Chamber, I shared the experiences of hardworking farmers in the constituency who are now dealing with the consequences. Tim Hayward, who manages a 3,000-acre farm in South Fawley, risks losing precious habitats that have taken over a decade to establish. James, another experienced local farmer, now regards the Government as an “unreliable trading partner”. And George Brown, Newbury farmer and Chairman of the British Farming Union, explained why the short window was simply not long enough for small farms to prepare for the complex applications required.
Livelihoods now at risk and generations old family farms seriously questioning whether they can go on.
At a time of deep geopolitical instability, our national security hinges on the sector and on the resilience of the food system they sustain. We cannot take that for granted. But farmers do so much more than produce our food: they’re the backbone of rural communities, caring for the landscapes and the residents they live alongside.
While the Government’s Farming Roadmap and commitments to scrap the first-come, first-serve system for the next SFI window are welcome steps, that feeling of distrust amongst farmers is as strong as ever, and their immediate future is no clearer.
So, during my speech, I pressed the Ministers on three key things: a clear and early timetable for the next SFI window, support for farms whose existing agreements end in the coming months, and meaningful investment in the upcoming budget.
Since being elected, I have consistently championed the invaluable role our farmers play in rural life and for the security of the country. That will not change.
I will continue to stand alongside them and pressure the Government to give farms across Newbury and West Berkshire with the support, certainty and confidence they desperately need.
