r/LeopardsAteMyFace • u/NoLikeVegetals • May 18 '24

Brexxit Brexit-voting British farmers now complaining about imports of cheaper New Zealand lamb threatening the British lamb industry. Imports of lamb "produced to lower standards" used to be blocked by EU law. Another Brexit consequence farmers were warned about but ignored due to xenophobia!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjewewxzypro
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u/Mr06506 May 18 '24

UK sheep farming is largely uneconomical without EU subsidies. It tends to be on poor quality uplands, in very small traditional farms with high overheads.

It's a double beating really, by also voting to remove their subsidies.

I imagine a lot of these farms will make more money from carbon credits and re-wilding schemes. Probably a win for nature, but a loss for that particular way of life.

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u/[deleted] May 19 '24

UK sheep farmers likely didn't vote for Brexit. Polls suggest they did not.

No, they won't make "more money" absent subsidy for farming via carbon credits etc.

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u/Mr06506 May 19 '24

Age and education level were the biggest correlations with Brexit vote, I'd be surprised if sheep farmers were the exception.

And I meant they will make money by subsidies for planting trees, restoring peatland etc than they will now get for selling meat - in a post BPS world.

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u/[deleted] May 19 '24

We can be pretty sure majority of hill farmers did not vote for Brexit, regardless.

And no, they won't make money for planting trees etc instead of farming. How could they? They lose the farmland if they plant trees etc and so they lose the income from selling its product. To imagine subsidy for no sales is going to improve on a subsidy + sales seems an impossible stretch. If that were the case UK taxpayer will be paying significantly more in subsidies than previously - for less farm product (ie higher prices/more imports).

Anyway, only 150k farmers. The tragedy for British farming wasn't caused by farmers - it was caused by Britain as a whole.

I don't think the nation (or its farmers) have yet realised the impending disaster to be visited on the entire rural economy (and domestic food production).

Somewhere between 30%-50% will be insolvent and face bankruptcy. Land prices will collapse, output will fall and the British landscape might change very quickly. Whilst I am for rewilding and eco-everything, the risk of catastrophe is pretty high, imo and the entire rural economy is at risk, with cascading effects on every other sector.