The latest Defra Farmer Opinion Tracker with results from October 2024 show a gradual decline in confidence and optimism since the survey was first launched in 2019.
Farmers were asked questions about business planning, relationships with farming organisations and Defra, new schemes and the future of farming.
As of October, just 35% of farmers felt positive about their future. The findings reflect those of Riverford’s Get Fair About Farming campaign which found that 61% of farmers believe they will have to abandon their farms in the next 18 months, primarily due to stringent supermarket contracts.
The Farmer Opinion Tracker also found that over 80% of farmers stated it would be very (60%) or moderately (21%) important to the future of their business for Defra to be paying environmental outcomes.
For further information visit; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/farmer-opinion-tracker-for-england#full-publication-update-history