Farmer confidence drops after tough year
Poor weather and rocketing costs have dented farmer confidence in 2012, with fewer than a quarter saying they are confident about the year ahead.
Results from the NFU survey, show 2011’s optimism has faded, replaced instead with apprehension about the coming year.
Only 22% of farmers surveyed said they were confident about the year ahead, compared with nearly half 12 months ago, while 42% said farmers said their businesses were in for a tougher year. This compares with just 30% in 2011.
Phil Bicknell, NFU chief economist, said the results came as “no surprise” given the exceptional year many farmers had experienced but, while all sectors had seen a drop, livestock farmers had the lowest confidence levels.
“Rising animal feed costs have been well-documented in recent months, and the confidence of pork, dairy and red meat producers has tumbled as costs have risen,” he said.
“While other sectors show confidence rising in the long-term, over the next five years this remains weak for red meat and pork. Tight supplies already characterise these markets and both sectors need greater confidence if we’re to see them able to respond.
“The challenging year we’ve had makes it easy to forget that farming has been something of a success story in recent years, increasing its contribution to the economy, creating jobs, and seeing improvements in farm profitability, as well as underpinning one of the most successful British industries, food and drink,” he said.
The good news is that farmers are staying more positive about the long-term outlook for the industry. This is in keeping with the previous NFU confidence surveys, said Mr Bicknell.
“Maintaining a degree of confidence is critical, given it shapes investment and production decisions across the industry. Results for the horticulture, poultry and arable sectors are notable in that they all show signs of increasing optimism when considering business prospects in the next five years.”
Farm incomes per worker stagnate in 2012
Robyn Vinter on G+