Tough times ahead for Scottish farmers as Brexit bites

ONE in five Scottish farmers could quit their job this year because of Brexit fears.

The UK’s decision to leave the EU has caused widespread uncer- tainty, according to a report by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

More than two-thirds of the country’s farmers are aged 55 or older and a quarter of this age bracket are now considering retiring early or leaving the profession in the wake of the vote.

National Farmers Union of Scotland chief executive Scott Walker said it all added up to a challenging 12 months ahead. Last year was particularly tough with prices for virtually every farm product falling amid one of the wettest winters on record.

“It’s a difficult job and the numbers considering leaving is a reflection not just of Brexit but a lot of other difficulties,” said Mr Walker. “At the moment there is no detail about how Brexit issues will be tackled and what differences it will make.

“The Government needs to detail how non-UK labour, which is vital to large parts of the farming industry, will be handled.

“We also need to know what our trade terms will be with Europe and the rest of the world.”

The SRUC report highlighted the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – a system of subsidies paid to EU farmers – to ensuring that Scottish farms are profitable.

In 2015, only dairy farming returned a profit before CAP support.

“Brexit is clearly causing uncertainty,” said Steven Thomson, a senior agricultural economist with the SRUC and one of the authors of the report.

“Some farmers have told us that means they are thinking of retiring earlier than planned.”

EU farm subsidies currently make up to around 50 to 60% of farmers’ income in the UK, with payouts totalling £3.5 billion last year.

The think-tank Agra Europe estimates that without subsidies, 90% of farms would collapse and land prices would crash.

The Government has promised to match the subsidies until 2020 but what happens after that is unclear.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said there would be consultation soon about the future of farm and agriculture support.

“I will be committed to supporting farming in both the short and longer term,” she said.

But Calum Kerr, the SNP’s rural affairs spokesman, said the increasing number of farmers considering early retirement should be a “wake-up call” for the UK Government.

“Their continued silence and lack of clarity on any plan for exiting the EU is having a deeply damaging effect on the sector,” he said.

“Our farmers deserve to be given real answers and be treated fairly in this process.”