UPLAND farmers have warned that falling livestock numbers and growing pressure on rural businesses could threaten the UK’s food security and the future of farming communities.
Representatives from the UK’s four main farming unions met in Eryri National Park in North Wales for a summit examining the challenges and opportunities facing upland agriculture.
NFU Scotland joined NFU Cymru, the NFU and Ulster Farmers Union for discussions covering agricultural policy, food production, extreme weather and the changing use of upland areas.
The meeting followed a difficult summer for upland farming communities, with prolonged drought and large-scale wildfires affecting parts of the UK.
Representatives argued that actively farmed and grazed uplands could play an important role in reducing vegetation which can provide fuel for wildfires, while also delivering environmental benefits.
The four unions also raised concerns about declining livestock numbers, arguing that upland areas make up a significant proportion of the UK’s agricultural land and remain important to domestic food production.
In a joint statement, upland representatives said: “Upland farming is strategically important to all our nations.
“These areas produce some of the finest beef and lamb in the world, as well as providing the nucleus breeding stock valued by lowland systems across the nations.
“Farming systems have, over the centuries, shaped iconic landscapes treasured by millions of visitors each year whilst also delivering a wide range of environmental services such as water quality, carbon storage and biodiversity.”
Among the common challenges identified at the summit were rising costs, low profitability and the additional expense associated with being further from services and markets.
Farmers also highlighted increasingly extreme weather, including the risk of summer wildfires and winter flooding, as well as concerns about land-use changes associated with decarbonisation policies, rewilding and species reintroduction.
The representatives said keeping people actively farming in upland areas was essential to maintaining rural communities and landscapes.
They added: “These are living, working landscapes, the ongoing management of which is only possible if it is economically sustainable and there are people there to work the land and care for the livestock.”
Although agricultural policy has increasingly diverged across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland following devolution, representatives said governments should ensure upland farmers were properly rewarded for food production, environmental management and their contribution to rural communities.
They also called for future agricultural policies to recognise the different circumstances faced by tenant farmers, crofters and those farming common land.
The joint statement concluded: “Ultimately, it is farming families and their livestock that ensure the long-term sustainability of our uplands, delivering environmentally, economically, socially and culturally.
“Our respective governments must ensure that policy is centred around them.”
