Farming Roadmap a ‘road to nowhere’, warns NFU president
© Tim Scrivener The government’s Farming Roadmap is a “road to nowhere” that leaves farmers uncertain about their future, Tom Bradshaw has warned after a tense closed-door meeting with farming minister Stephen Morgan at NFU Council.
Speaking to delegates at Stoneleigh on 3 November, the NFU president said not even one of about 90 council members raised a hand when asked whether Defra’s 25-year roadmap provided clarity about the future of farming.
See also: Farming Roadmap ‘overtaken by events’, leaders warn
“That Farming Roadmap doesn’t give us any clarity about what you are expected to do on farms,” he said.
“At the moment, it’s a road to nowhere. We need to make sure it’s a road to a bright future that truly values food production alongside environmental delivery.”
Afterwards, Mr Bradshaw told Farmers Weekly the industry needed a five-year plan and a 10-year vision, arguing a 25-year roadmap merely allowed successive governments to “kick the can down the road”.
Budget a ‘missed opportunity’
The criticism follows a sharp attack on the government’s October Budget, which Mr Bradshaw called a “missed opportunity” to back domestic food security.
Of the NFU’s five Budget priorities – from addressing inheritance tax changes to boosting investment incentives and rising production costs – not one was met, the union said.
Addressing council, Mr Bradshaw said farmers felt “let down” by the fiscal statement.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw speaking at the NFU Council © MAG/Philip Case
Recalling prime minister Andy Burnham’s August visit to a Cornwall farm with minister Morgan, Mr Bradshaw said: “We really welcomed the fact that he listened, he engaged. What he didn’t do was act.”
He dismissed the £50m “boost” for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and £15m for reservoirs announced in August as recycled funding rather than new investment. “If food security really is national security, those words are meaningless without action,” he said.
‘Disaster’ looms for ag schemes
Mr Bradshaw warned that environmental schemes have become a critical “lifeline” due to collapsing industry profits.
According to NFU estimates, with £520m of agri-environment agreements expiring this year but only £310m allocated to new SFI agreements, Mr Bradshaw warned that repeating the pattern this coming year would leave too many farmers exposed and unable to plan a viable future.
“Today, those environmental schemes are a lifeline because of a lack of profit in the industry,” he said. “And if they’re not going to do something to help with the profitability, they can’t take away that lifeline and expect people to lay down quietly.”
In addition, he argued that primary producers are shouldering an unfair burden of risk: “The risk burden so far has gone far too much away from the supply chain, and we, as farmers, as the primary food producers, are carrying all of that risk.”
Strained relations
Relations with Westminster are under severe strain, according to the NFU leader.
He dismissed government celebration over minor fertiliser tariff reductions as inadequate, noting they affect less than 15% of imports, especially with new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Cbam) rules arriving in January 2027.
“I feel the friction and the relationship is under real pressure with the government, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed about that because we’ve got to stand up for what farming needs,” he said.
Mr Bradshaw questioned whether the farming minister was doing enough to champion the industry in Westminster.
“We need to know he has our backs and is relentlessly pressing the Treasury for the changes needed to unlock investment and safeguard food security. Farmers need to believe their minister is in the room fighting for them. At the moment, I don’t know.”
Mr Bradshaw urged members to look out for one another ahead of a challenging winter.
“The one thing that costs us absolutely nothing is that phone call to a neighbour, to a friend, to a colleague, just to make sure that that community really is there for the future,” he said.
Minister criticised
Following Mr Bradshaw’s speech, delegates told Farmers Weekly they were dissatisfied with the responses given by farming minister Stephen Morgan in the closed council session.
Angela Kirkwood, the NFU’s York East delegate, urged the minister to draw up an emergency recovery plan for the struggling pig sector, warning that 12,000-15,000 pigs a week could be pushed onto the spot market as producers lose contracts, risking a backlog and animal welfare concerns.
Criticising the minister’s response as “lacklustre”, Ms Kirkwood said he had failed to grasp the urgency of the situation. “I’ve got people in tears,” she said. “Some have told me they may not be farming the next time we speak.”
Government stance
The government maintains that its Farming Roadmap provides a clear long-term direction for English farming, with a commitment to maintaining domestic food production at or above current levels.
It has acknowledged that demand for the latest SFI window exceeded available funding and said it was exploring alternatives to the first-come, first-served application process for 2027.