Changing opinions on the importance of food security and achieving a balance between production and the environment are among the key issues being tackled in a review of farm profitability led by former National Farmers’ Union president, Minette Batters.

Speaking at an event at Balmoral Show organised by KPMG, the Wiltshire farmer highlighted a number of key issues she intends to address in her six-month review, commissioned by Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed.

Included within that is the need to focus on food produced in the UK. “We are going into a new era of challenges around food security. We should be focused on producing much more food here. The line from government is that we are a wealthy nation who can afford to import food – it is a big mistake,” said Batters.

She is also keen to find a balance between food production and the environment, and would like to “measure the baseline” by some form of scheme in England similar to the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) in NI.

Long-term

But even if significant funding can be found for environmental actions on farms, agriculture departments are reliant on an annual allocation of money from the Treasury, so potentially coming up against the NHS or education. “We need a long term approach,” she said.

She was also critical of proposed reforms of inheritance tax from April 2026, suggesting it was a last-minute decision based on desktop advice to ministers, rather than any well-thought through policy.

Identity

The other issue she raised was around the lack of a UK identity for food. “You really have got to establish what we are in the world. There is a huge piece of work to complete. I really hope I can make a difference,” she said.