Farming without subsidies

Farmer Fin

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
Just reading the FW farmer focus bit this morning. Piece about the Hodgkins says how they farm subsidy free yet his piece is all about waiting for his BPS. Not knocking him as they seem to be trying their hardest to make a go of things and doing things differently, but still reliant on BPS.
 
ive made my opinion clear im happy to farm sub free if the rest of the world looses the 497bn it gives to farmers each year, if theyre going to continue to keep supporting them and keeping world prices low we need to support our own
I don’t think the cost of commodities can be allowed to rise as certain people In societies around the world will go hungry. Especially if we run short. Therefore I can’t see that subsidies globally will ever go, and if we loose all our payments here imported produce will be very competitive as it will be produced at an artificially low price. Just a thought, how many farms now have a diversification bringing in an income plus the BPS, on top? It’s not for every farm.
I’m interested to understand how much subsidy affects the costs of our farm purchases/costs.
It does make you wonder..............
 
I don’t think the cost of commodities can be allowed to rise as certain people In societies around the world will go hungry. Especially if we run short. Therefore I can’t see that subsidies globally will ever go, and if we loose all our payments here imported produce will be very competitive as it will be produced at an artificially low price. Just a thought, how many farms now have a diversification bringing in an income plus the BPS, on top? It’s not for every farm.
I’m interested to understand how much subsidy affects the costs of our farm purchases/costs.
It does make you wonder..............
subs definately increase the likes of machinery and fert but removing ours wont necessarily reduce these much if europe is still getting their payments, its often assumed that remove subs and automatically all our suppliers will cut their costs and we will not be any worse off, its not that simple our suppliers have costs they cant cut such as staff and must pay min wage as do most farms
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
If you can’t farm sub free you shouldn't be farming imo

Sorry - I know that will upset a few ! I’m talking from my arable perspective as well but fundementally why the hell should food production be subsidised ?

My sub pays rent and finance though so has been a great bonus to expand and get ready for the future

It’s not a case of “if” but without doubt food subs are going, money will come from our provision of public goods but that’s a by product of good farming practice anyway imo
 
If you can’t farm sub free you shouldn't be farming imo

Sorry - I know that will upset a few ! I’m talking from my arable perspective as well but fundementally why the hell should food production be subsidised ?

My sub pays rent and finance though so has been a great bonus to expand and get ready for the future

It’s not a case of “if” but without doubt food subs are going, money will come from our provision of public goods but that’s a by product of good farming practice anyway imo
if your sub pays the rent your not farming sub free
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
I'm sure we've all had this conversation before
..... (I prefer 'Source code' to 'Groundhog day' myself, although I'm thinking there's another similar)
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
what are you going to pass over once the subs stop?

That’s the land owners problem not mine !

Rents around here are simply inflated by the value of sub, so without it they will all adjust to the bare land rental value which is perfectly affordable whilst still being nicely profitable

Most farms have fixed cost structures that are frankly ridiculous vs where they could / should be - they may be good farmers but seriously lacking in the ability to run a business

It will put somef farns out of business - this is not a bad thing .............
 
Last edited:

super4

Member
Location
Dorset
That’s the land owners problem not mine !

Rents around here are simply inflated by the value of sub, so without it they will all adjust to the bare land rental value which is perfectly affordable whilst still being nicely profitable

Most farms have fixed cost structures that are frankly ridiculous vs where they could / should be - they may be good farmers but seriously lacking in the ability to run a business

It will put somef farns out of business - this is not a bad thing .............
I can't see landowners accepting the reduction in there base earnings either from rent or through cf agreements. The tenant or contractors margin will fall to give the landowner a bit more after the loss of the sub. We will all be worse off.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
That’s the land owners was problem not mine !

Rents around here are simply inflated by the value of sub, so without it they will all adjust to the bare land rental value which is perfectly affordable whilst still being nicely profitable

Most farms have fixed cost structures that are frankly ridiculous vs where they could / should be - they may be good farmers but seriously lacking in the ability to run a business

It will put somef farns out of business - this is not a bad thing .............

bleddy hell Clive, hang on a minute.
it's all very well looking at bare arable land, but it's not all like that.
On one site, I rent grazing/mowing land off someone who claims the sub direct.
I don't pay em a whole lot (unfertilised, mole and bracken infested ground, partly steep, and needs yet more fencing, although i'm very fond of it),
...and if the costs of their fencing and the odd bit of maintenance are factored in, they're struggling to make tuppence without the sub.
You wouldn't want to be paying a mortgage on what i can pay them.

Take away the sub, and the family would be looking at a stark choice.

i'm not sure who you'd have put out of business here.
The rest of my operation is massively subbed, although this block has to stand on a certain amount of rationale, while their lives are propped up elsewhere (by subs on other ground, and I believe 'other income').

come the glorious day Brothers ('Freedom for Tooting' and all that), with no subs at all (and I suspect it won't come to that just there given its high enviro score) ...
I'd struggle to run any kind of cattle enterprise in a wholly unsubbed business,
while the saleable value of such ground wouldn't fall much because it's in a nat park, near a village, and a short clip clop up a stoned track to open moorland.

it's questionable whether, in a 'no sub' situation, whether this land would be farmed at all.
Is that a good plan for the nation?

Another one then.
Elsewhere (lower down), i rent out arable ground at the going rate, whilst also claiming on it myself.
My customer grows maize and/or barley, which is currently flogged into farm usage.
If his customers get the cramps because they're struggling to make stock pay.....well, I suppose he could send maize to an AD plant, but I thought we were talking about a world without subs?

I suspect my income from that land is destined to plummet in fairly short order.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
If you can’t farm sub free you shouldn't be farming imo

Sorry - I know that will upset a few ! I’m talking from my arable perspective as well but fundementally why the hell should food production be subsidised ?

My sub pays rent and finance though so has been a great bonus to expand and get ready for the future

It’s not a case of “if” but without doubt food subs are going, money will come from our provision of public goods but that’s a by product of good farming practice anyway imo
What do you do about high hill land . It's not viable without sub , farmers would have to pack up and leave as the only option would be to plant it with trees
 
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