Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Farm Profitability

Thursday 23 June 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sheryll Murray inquired about steps being taken to help increase farm profitability amidst rising production costs.
  • The Secretary of State stated that farm incomes have seen a strong recovery since the 2016 referendum, with record high land prices and increased milk prices.
  • The Government secured staging protections for beef and lamb for a decade as part of the free trade agreement with Australia to manage market risks.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sheryll Murray Con
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP is concerned about rising costs affecting farmers and their ability to remain profitable.

Question

What steps he is taking to help increase farm profitability. My farmers are seeing rising production costs, from increases in fertiliser costs, feed prices going up, the price of red diesel agriculture fuel doubling and increasing labour costs because of low availability of labour in the south-west. Those pressures will increase food prices further or see farms go to the wall.

Answer from George Eustice

We will spend over £600 million on farm-based innovation over the next three years. Our recent food strategy outlined how we intend to use grant support to help businesses invest to improve their profitability and increase their agricultural output. To help with cash flow, we have brought forward basic payment scheme payments to July, and we have also announced an additional 10,000 visas through the seasonal worker visa route to help with labour shortages.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address rising fertiliser costs directly

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Q2 Sheryll Murray Con
Brexit Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP is asking about the Secretary of State's assessment of how Brexit has affected farm profits.

Question

What is the Secretary of State's latest assessment of the impact on farm profits of plunging exports, new red tape and the labour shortage caused by the Conservative Government's Brexit deal?

Answer from George Eustice

Farm incomes have seen a strong recovery since the 2016 referendum. Land prices are running at record highs and the price of milk has also increased. Farm profits have been on the rise in recent years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address plunging exports or new red tape directly

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Q3 Ben Bradshaw Lab
Brexit Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of free trade agreements, specifically the Australia-UK deal, on UK agriculture.

Question

While the other place's International Agreements Committee report broadly welcomed the Australia-UK trade deal for sectors such as financial services, it was concerned about the deal's impact on UK agriculture. The Committee fears that that will continue with other trade deals that the Government pursue and criticises their refusal to involve the devolved Governments. How can farms and our food and drink sector remain profitable in the face of such free trade agreements?

Answer from George Eustice

In the context of the free trade agreement with Australia, we secured staging protections for the sensitive sectors of beef and lamb for a decade, and then a very strong special agricultural safeguard thereafter. We judged that that would be sufficient to manage any risks to the market.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not fully address the devolved Governments' involvement or impact on food and drink sector profitability

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Q4 Deidre Brock SNP
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of free trade agreements, specifically the Australia-UK deal, on UK agriculture.

Question

While the other place's International Agreements Committee report broadly welcomed the Australia-UK trade deal for sectors such as financial services, it was concerned about the deal's impact on UK agriculture. The Committee fears that that will continue with other trade deals that the Government pursue and criticises their refusal to involve the devolved Governments. How can farms and our food and drink sector remain profitable in the face of such free trade agreements?

Answer from George Eustice

We judged that the staging protections we secured for beef and lamb, including a decade of sensitive sector protection followed by strong agricultural safeguards, would be sufficient to manage market risks.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address impact on food and drink sector profitability or devolved Governments' involvement

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