The Farmers’ Union of Wales has given a lukewarm response to the Autumn Budget, delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Despite the recent drop in inflation rates it is yet to see this feed through to lower interest rates and the warning from the Bank of England indicates that we should not expect many changes in the near future. This is a real concern for all businesses including farm businesses.
Whilst the FUW fully understands the need to get inflation under control this should not be at the expense of farmers being able to recoup the cost of production. There is a lot of recent evidence that the fall in the price of dairy products is having a very real and detrimental impact upon farm gate prices.
This is a rather disappointing fiscal statement from the UK Government which does little to resolve the cost of living crisis and not much to instil confidence in the business community.
Farmers in Wales have had their confidence impacted by trade deals that damage their interests, funding cuts for Welsh agriculture justified on the back of accounting tricks, and a Welsh Government that seems incapable of delivering a coherent habitat scheme for farmers as we move beyond the previous farm support system.
There was an opportunity for the UK Government to provide a much needed confidence boost for the sector but it appears that we will need to wait once again to see the issues facing the farming community being seriously addressed by the Government in Westminster.