Why Farming Matters

27th May 2026

Farming has long been at the heart of Cumbrian life, shaping not only the landscape but also the sustainability of rural communities and local economies. The way land is managed across the county plays a vital role in making Cumbria the distinctive place it is to live, work and visit. Farmers remain central to that story.

Although ACT no longer works directly with farmers, having helped establish The Farmer Network many years ago, the challenges facing the sector continue to matter for the wider rural community.

Pressures on farming businesses, whether from rising fuel costs, changing policies, or global events, do not exist in isolation, they have knock-on effects for local livelihoods, services and the resilience of rural areas.

This is not simply a farming issue; it has broader rural significance the conversation, we think, should be shared.

In this context, we are sharing thought-provoking words from Adam Day, Managing Director of The Farmer Network, who outlines the challenges currently facing our farmers and those across the country.

Why is the current Middle East conflict bringing food security into sharper focus?
The conflict is acting as a catalyst that exposes vulnerabilities in global food and energy systems, particularly around supply chains, fertiliser availability, and fuel costs. While it is not the root cause of current pressures, it amplifies existing weaknesses.

In regions such as Cumbria, these global shocks land on top of already fragile farming systems. Farmers have been warning for years that food production resilience in the UK is being eroded, but those warnings have not translated into consistent policy action. The result is a sector that is increasingly exposed to international instability without sufficient domestic buffering.

How has leaving the European Union affected farming, particularly in Cumbria?
Since the UK left the European Union, the previous Common Agricultural Policy system of area-based payments has been dismantled. These payments provided a relatively predictable income stream linked to land area, which was especially important in marginal farming areas like Cumbria, where production costs are high and natural constraints limit yields.

The replacement system has shifted towards schemes that reward environmental outcomes rather than food production. While these include positive environmental goals, they have reduced the direct financial linkage to food output. For many Cumbrian farms, particularly upland and hill farms, this has meant a structural shift away from production support towards land management incentives.

Are farmers heavily subsidised and what is misunderstood about support payments?
There is a persistent public perception that farming is heavily subsidised, but this is misleading. What farmers receive are better described as public support payments, designed to stabilise income and deliver environmental or social outcomes, rather than simply supplementing profits.

In practice, the old system of production-linked support has largely been removed. In Cumbria, where terrain, weather, and soil conditions already make farming less productive than in other parts of the UK, the loss of stable area-based payments has had a disproportionate impact. Farmers are increasingly expected to compete in global markets while also delivering environmental public goods, without equivalent production-focused support.

What impact have environmental schemes had on farming confidence?
Environmental schemes such as stewardship programmes and the Environmental Land Management schemes have become central to agricultural policy, but they have also been characterised by frequent change, partial rollout, and ongoing revision.

For farmers in Cumbria, this creates a particular problem: farming systems here are often long-term, extensive, and heavily dependent on stable planning horizons.

When schemes change repeatedly, it becomes extremely difficult to make investment decisions about livestock numbers, land use, or infrastructure.

The result is a widespread lack of confidence. Many farmers describe operating year-to-year rather than planning over five or ten years, which is fundamentally incompatible with sustainable land management or business development.

Is food “too cheap”?
One of the most significant structural issues is the declining proportion of household income spent on food over time. In the 1950s, after the Second World War, households in the UK typically spent over 33% of their weekly income on food and non-alcoholic drink. Food was a dominant household cost, reflecting both lower productivity in agriculture and the relative importance of food security in everyday life.

Over the decades, this proportion has steadily fallen. By recent years, it had declined to around 10% of household expenditure, and in some estimates slightly higher, around 11–12% in more recent inflationary periods. This represents a dramatic structural shift in how food is valued economically.

The consequences are significant. When food becomes a smaller share of household spending, it is often psychologically undervalued. This contributes to greater levels of food waste, reduced public awareness of production costs, and weaker political pressure to support domestic agriculture.

For farmers in Cumbria, this disconnect is particularly acute. They are producing food in challenging conditions, upland terrain, wet climates, and higher transport costs, while receiving prices shaped by global commodity markets and low consumer expectations.

How does lack of public understanding affect farming communities like Cumbria?
There is relatively little public education about food production, supply chains, or nutritional basics. Many people are disconnected from how food is produced, where it comes from, and the costs involved in producing it sustainably.

In Cumbria, where agriculture shapes both the landscape and the rural economy, this disconnect can feel especially stark. Farmers often feel that their work is not understood or properly valued, despite their role in maintaining food supply, managing large areas of land, and supporting rural communities.

This lack of understanding also weakens political support for long-term food production policy, because the system is largely invisible to consumers.

How is climate change affecting farming in the UK and Cumbria?
Climate change is no longer a distant concern; it is already influencing rainfall patterns, growing seasons, soil conditions, and extreme weather events.

There have been projections suggesting that by 2050, large parts of England could experience a climate more similar to present-day Barcelona. While such comparisons are illustrative rather than exact predictions, they highlight the scale of potential change.

For Cumbria, this creates a complex picture. Increased rainfall intensity, flooding risk, and changing grass growth patterns could all affect livestock systems. At the same time, warmer conditions may alter what crops can be grown. The challenge is not simply environmental change but adapting existing farming systems that have evolved over centuries.

What is Cumbria’s role in UK food production?
Cumbria is one of the most significant agricultural regions in England for livestock production. It is a major producer of red meat and dairy, with a strong reliance on grass-based systems.

The county produces close to one billion litres of milk annually, making it a cornerstone of UK dairy output. It also supports extensive beef and sheep farming, particularly in upland and hill areas where arable farming is not viable.

Because of its geography, Cumbria plays a critical role in utilising land that cannot easily be used for crop production, turning it into food through livestock systems.

So why are dairy farmers in Cumbria currently struggling?
Dairy farmers are facing a sharp decline in milk prices, which have fallen from around 45–50 pence per litre last year to the low 30s, in many cases below the cost of production.

This means many farmers are producing milk at a loss on every litre. Combined with rising feed, fuel, and fertiliser costs, the financial pressure has become severe.

For some farms, especially smaller or more remote ones, buyers such as processors or supermarkets may also be reducing collection routes, making continued production increasingly difficult.

How are rising costs affecting farming viability?
Fuel, fertiliser, feed, and insurance costs have all risen significantly. Agricultural diesel (red diesel) has roughly doubled in price, peaking above 120 pence per litre before settling slightly lower.

Fertiliser markets are particularly exposed to global instability. The UK relies entirely on imports, and a significant proportion of global supply moves through critical shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, making it vulnerable to geopolitical disruption.

These costs interact rather than exist in isolation. A rise in fertiliser prices, combined with fuel inflation and falling farmgate prices, creates a compounded financial squeeze that is difficult to absorb.

What is the overall situation for farming in Cumbria?
The overall picture is one of structural pressure combined with uncertainty. In Cumbria, farmers are dealing with falling output prices, rising input costs, policy instability, and increasing environmental constraints.

Hill farming, in particular, is under pressure as land-use policies increasingly encourage reduced production in favour of environmental outcomes such as rewilding or tree planting.

At the same time, global events are reinforcing the importance of resilient domestic food production systems. The tension between environmental goals and food security is becoming more visible but remains unresolved in practical policy terms.

For many farmers in Cumbria, the core issue is not a single crisis, but the accumulation of multiple pressures that make long-term planning increasingly difficult.

If you want to know more about The Farmer Network, contact: admin@thefarmernetwork.co.uk, phone 01768 868615, thefarmernetwork.co.uk/

To discuss ideas about how rural communities and can help themselves with local initiatives around food and growing, and for support on wider community issues, get in touch with ACT on info@cumbriaaction.org.uk, 01768 425666, cumbriaaction.org.uk/

ACT works to support the long-term sustainability of rural communities, guided by its ethos: “no-one disadvantaged by where they live.”

Interview by Karen Barden on behalf of ACTion with Communities in Cumbria

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