What will farming look like in 2050?

Finding more certainty in farming
Acknowledging the current uncertainty and lack of cohesive food and farming strategy, both guests stress the need to try and plan five to 10 years ahead to achieve any kind of business resilience and stability. Flexibility and the ability to adapt are seen as crucial, reflecting Jake Freestone’s comments in episode one about diversification being a route to overcoming the lack of clarity.

Managing farm succession
During his Nuffield Scholarship travels, Peter Craven found banks more concerned about family dynamics than business finances when considering succession. Catherine agrees it’s a “huge issue”, suggesting the scale of an enterprise can cause a distorted view of assets, with family members believing they want to farm but without the skills required to take over. Strong advice, she says, is vital. And unlike other industries, in farming you are often living with the rest of the team, David adds. So, walking away when you’re ready to hand over is both essential and difficult.

Why good mental health is so important for farmers 
Good mental health is recognised as an important part of running a successful farming business, leading to better decision making and stronger relationships within a team. But David also believes mental health needs to be better defined, suggesting it’s used as a ‘catch all’ for a range of conditions relating to health and wellbeing. For example, he highlighted how farming involves a great deal of pride; an emotion he has seen cause high levels of anxiety and distress in farmers, but is encouraged by the progress being made to address these difficulties by organisations like the Farm Community Network.

Making the most of farm assets
In episode 4, rural business advisor Simon Haley said diversification is a great way to learn what’s best for your farm. Picking up on this, Catherine feels most farmers use diversification to support farm income by spreading risk. But it’s not a panacea or replacement for a poor enterprise and farmers must ask themselves if they have the right skills for a new venture. It mustn’t distract. 

Managing agricultural land through a climate crisis
There is pressure on farmers to move quickly on targets relating to achieving net zero, but David says while the statistics are frightening, change must be done well. “We don’t want to find ourselves greenwashing our way into an immediate solution which actually isn’t going to last and isn’t actually going to do the job.” He would love to see current climate schemes brought together to make more sense and with a greater understanding of the financial incentives. Ideally, he believes, there needs to be some political unanimity around the steps required and backed by science for the long term, so it doesn’t become a political football. Catherine agrees. She believes farmers are trying to do their best and can talk positively about it but need better direction and scientific support, with a proper framework or vision. 

How farmers and the public perceive animal welfare
As Amy Jackson points out in episode 9, public perception of animal welfare differs greatly from that of farmers, so good communication is vital. In a similar vein, David believes farmers must communicate how they can produce the vital commodity of food without destroying other things, be it climate, biodiversity or animal’s lives. Public opinion has moved on, and consumers want farming to be done in the right way; farmers need to acknowledge this and prove it’s true.

What does farming look like in 2050?
In conclusion, having looked back across the series, both guests describe how they see the future of farming. 

Catherine focuses on the land, talking about biodiversity and habitats being restored. More entrepreneurial approaches to energy production through land use feature with more digital solutions to farming problems as they arise, possibly more robotics and less heavy tractors. She also hopes to see people joining farming from a variety of backgrounds, not just the ‘farming families’ as we see now. 

David feels the industry will be less coherent with many other industries in rural areas bringing with them different jobs, particularly in technology and a variation in land use. He believes farmers will essentially recognise they have to “get the permission of the public to farm” which means meeting their needs in terms of how they farm and what’s produced, food being an important part. “We’ll be less isolated, we’ll be more mainstream, we’ll be more engaged with the public, we’ll be providing multiple benefits, with better quality jobs and I think it’s got a good future.”

The skills required by farmers of the future
Drawing on responses given throughout the series, the core skills required of farmers in the years ahead were identified as:

·       Flexibility and an ability to adapt

·       Able to communicate with consumers

·       Resilience

·       Entrepreneurial, forward-thinking, brave, opportunistic

·       Positive, passionate but balanced with time off the farm

Listen to the full episode below - also available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

About our guests

Catherine Mead runs Lynher Dairy in Ponsanooth, Cornwall with her son Otto, making Cornish Yarg cheese with milk from their own and other local herds. She was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to cheese and community and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall.

David Fursdon is actively involved in his diversified family farming business in Devon while also holding positions in leading agricultural organisations, including being a Food, Farming and Countryside Commissioner and a Trustee of the Royal Countryside Fund. He has been Lord-Lieutenant of Devon since 2015.