Back British Farming Day is an opportunity to recognise the vital contribution British farmers make to the country’s food supply, economy and environment.
Agriculture accounts for approximately 69% of the UK’s total land area, while domestic production is equivalent to around 57% of the food consumed in the UK by economic value. However, UK food security depends on more than how much food is being produced today. It also relies on farming businesses being able to remain viable, invest and plan for the future.
While food production remains the cornerstone of British farming, farmers also provide a range of essential services that benefit society as a whole. They are custodians of the countryside that millions of people enjoy for recreation, tourism and wellbeing. Farmers play a vital role in enhancing biodiversity, protecting and restoring habitats, maintaining iconic landscapes, managing water resources, storing carbon and contributing to climate resilience. They also support rural communities and economies by sustaining local employment, maintaining cultural heritage and underpinning thousands of businesses throughout the wider supply chain.
Why farm business resilience matters to UK food security
Behind the national food security figures are thousands of individual farming businesses making long-term decisions about production, investment, land and succession.
Those decisions are being made against a challenging backdrop. Volatile returns, changing input costs, extreme weather, labour pressures, policy reform and significant capital requirements are all affecting profitability and confidence across British farming.
The cumulative effect of these decisions will help determine the future productive capacity of British agriculture. Improving farm business resilience is therefore important not only for individual farming families, but also for the strength of the country’s wider food system.
The scale of change facing the industry is reflected in Defra’s April 2026 Farmer Opinion Tracker. Farmers on 82% of holdings said they were already making changes or expected to make changes to their business within the next five years. These included increasing productivity, reducing the size of the business, pursuing farm diversification, retiring or passing the farm to the next generation.
Charlotte Gore, Director of Agribusiness at Newton LDP, said:
“UK food security is not only about how much food Britain can produce today. It also depends on farming businesses having the commercial resilience, confidence and long-term plans needed to continue investing and producing for the future.”
Back British Farming Day rightly celebrates the people working throughout the year to produce food and manage the countryside. Supporting British farming for the long term also means helping individual businesses remain commercially sustainable, adaptable and prepared for what comes next.
Newton LDP’s Rural and Agribusiness team provides practical, independent advice to farmers, landowners, estates and rural businesses. We work alongside clients and their other professional advisers on farm business planning, farm succession planning, diversification, property arrangements and the long-term use of rural assets.
Alongside their professional work, many of our rural team are directly involved in farming businesses and are all proud to work with and for farmers.