Tory tantrums, Bumblebees, Labour shortages
The Knight Frank Rural Property and Business Update – Our weekly dose of news, views and insight from the world of farming, food and landownership
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The Tory leadership contest has been a pretty unedifying spectacle so far, with even some ministers of state dragging the debate into the gutter with their social media comments in support of one candidate or another. As discussed below, I’ve been asked what a Sunak or Truss win could mean for the countryside. It’s hard to say given that all their campaigning is aimed at a tiny slice of the population that has fairly traditional views on most matters. Both have realised that food security is a hot potato issue at the moment and have pledged to improve it, and, in the process, taken swipes at the easy targets of solar farms and rewilding. To me that smacks of telling landowners what they can or can’t do with their own property. If I was a farmer or estate owner I wouldn’t be holding my breath for any radical policy initiatives that might make my business more profitable. All I can suggest is that Sunak is more likely to maintain the status quo while Truss will be the more unpredictable policymaker of the two. Whatever the outcome, we’ll be here to help you prosper.
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Andrew Shirley, Head of Rural Research
In this week’s update:
• Commodity markets – Egg exit
• Tory leadership – What’s on offer for farmers
• Development land – Greenfield prices surge
• Bumblebees – Funding needed for species on the brink
• Deer – Have your say on the government’s new strategy
• Woodland – More community funding on offer for LAs
• Labour shortages – Longer-term policy needed
• Overseas news – Irish farmers vexed by emissions cut
Commodity markets – Egg exit
I’ve talked before about the pressure egg producers are under following the sharp increases in feed and energy costs. This seems to be having an impact on production. According to Defra figures, throughput dropped by 7m million dozen in the second quarter of the year, a 6.5% fall on the same period last year. The fall would have been greater if many producers weren’t committed to long-term supply contracts. Retail prices have been rising, but Robert Gooch, Chief Executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, told Farmers Weekly that only a small proportion of that has been passed on to farmers. Meanwhile, lamb prices are falling sharply off the back of a strengthening pound and wallet tightening by increasingly cash-strapped consumers.
Values are almost back to year-ago-levels.
Tory leadership – What’s on offer for farmers
I was recently asked which of the contestants in the Tory leadership battle – Truss or Sunak – would be best for farmers. Liz Truss was Defra minister under David Cameron from 2014 to 2016 so she has some experience of the sector, although it’s fair to say she didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. She is also unpopular with some farmers for negotiating free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia that they believe could allow the import of food produced to lower standards than allowed here.
Sunak, meanwhile, represents a rural Yorkshire constituency so should have some idea of the issues facing farmers. Both candidates have said they will prioritise food security, which is an easy promise to make, but harder to deliver. Ms Truss’s plan is to “supercharge productivity to enhance food security” by cutting red tape.
They have also each said that they will protect the best farmland from rewilding projects and solar energy projects.
The NFU has set out its wish list for the next prime minister, to which Mr Sunak has replied with a number of vague commitments.
Development land – Greenfield prices surge
In the past few weeks I’ve looked at countryhouse markets in England and Scotland. This week it’s the turn of development land. According to Knight Frank’s UK Res Dev Land Index compiled by my colleague David Chapman, prices for prime central London, greenfield and urban brownfield sites all increased year-on-year in the second quarter of the year. They were supported by a lack of supply and ongoing robust demand in the sales market. Greenfield land remained the strongest performer, up 13.9% annually, followed by PCL (+2.5%) and urban brownfield (+1.9%). Read the full report for more facts and figures.
Bumblebees – Funding needed for species on the brink
One of the most interesting people I have sat next to at a Rural Report breakfast event was Gill Perkins CEO of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. A number of our clients have already helped the trust with their efforts to save species like the Shrill carder, but others such as the Great yellow are under threat. If any readers would like to support the work of the trust to help the underappreciated bumblebee, a tasty snack for badgers, it has just launched a summer appeal.
Deer – Have your say on government’s new strategy
Estate owners may want to contribute to a government consultation that will inform a new strategy to help control and manage the UK’s increasing deer population to “better protect the natural environment and woodlands, while improving animal welfare standards”. Populations of wild deer, in part due to a rapid increase in non-native deer species, may now be higher than at any time in the last 1,000 years, according to Defra.
The consultation closes on 2 September.
Woodland – More community funding on offer for LAs
Local authorities looking to plant more trees could benefit from £44 million of new funding for community forests announced last week by Defra. They will also benefit from further support for the development of the new LA Tree and Woodland Strategies toolkit, launching in September in partnership with the Tree Council, Fera, Forestry Commission and Forest Research. This will help to build local capacity to plan for new trees and woodlands.
Labour shortages – Longer-term policy needed
A recently published government report on automation in the horticultural sector has acknowledged that a longer-term seasonal labour scheme is required in the UK before technological solutions like robotics are advanced enough to take up the slack. Certain labour-intensive sectors of the UK agricultural industry have been hard hit by a dearth of EU workers post-Brexit.
Meanwhile, it has just been announced that another review of labour shortages in the food chain will be chaired by John Shropshire who stepped down from his role as CEO of major horticulture producer G’s Fresh Group last year. His expert panel is a rollcall of industry luminaries, including food entrepreneur William Kendall. Farmers will be hoping that the government pays more attention to its findings than the National Food Strategy produced by another foodie Henry Dimbleby.
Overseas news – Irish farmers vexed by carbon cut
Farmers in the Republic of Ireland have hit out after being told they will have to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by 25% in under 10 years. Although no details have been released of how the targets might be met by 2030, a government spokesman insisted no farmer would be forced to reduce their livestock numbers, which is what many fear will need to happen. Other sectors such as energy and transport face bigger cuts.
Photo by Carolien van Oijen on Unsplash