British farmers will need to produce more high quality food using smarter techniques whilst using less land, according to a new report.
The CLA, which represents over 30,000 landowners and farmers across England and Wales, has published its Redefining Farming report, exploring how farm businesses are adapting for the future.
It says that the nation will need farmers to use less land, so other areas of the countryside are used for environmental measures such as natural resource protection, a landscape for everyone to enjoy and house building.
The report states that farming and land management contributes in multiple ways to food security, rural vitality and enhancement of Britain's natural resources and environment.
However, it also says that farming is often defined by the goods it produces or size of its operation, and calls this a "narrow view" which can be limiting to businesses and policy by stifling innovation and change.
Farming businesses are often multifaceted, with diversified income streams, varied markets and supply chains, integrated with the local community. It says the best are inherently involved in nature and the environment.
The report says the vision of profitable farming needs tackling on a number of fronts, including actions to address productivity, market development and risk management. It praises the individual actions of farmers and land managers, which will be "key in shaping the future".
It says the best farmers are already embracing the opportunities presented by changing markets, alternative land uses and collaboration, by making changes and facing new challenges head on.
The government has also been urged to continue with direct investment to enable this process to move forward.
Changing world
The new President of the CLA will tell a conference of 500 industry leaders on Tuesday (28 November) that farmers must prepare for a changing world in which less of their land will be used for traditional farming.
CLA President Tim Breitmeyer, who became the new president of the organisation in November, said exiting the European Union will impact rural areas more than any other part of the economy.
Mr Breitmeyer said: “Leaving the EU will be a defining moment for farming. Farmers will not have the luxury of being able to carry on doing the same thing year-in-year-out as they have done before.
“It will soon be time for every landowning farmer to make choices about whether their land is delivering the best income opportunities, whether they need to farm differently, or use the land for other purposes.
“Farming is vital to our future prosperity as a nation. Producing enough high-quality food is our overriding purpose, but we have to be smart. Technology and scientific advances allow us to farm in new ways, to examine closely field by field where our land is and is not productive, to use chemicals more efficiently and manage breeding and welfare better than ever before.”
Investment
Mr Breitmeyer added that government policy will play a major role in how the farming sector harnesses the opportunities of Brexit.
He said exiting the Common Agricultural Policy is an opportunity to direct more investment into making farming more productive and profitable.
“It is also a chance to transform the business opportunities for farmers and landowners to derive a fair income for vital work that benefits the public, from addressing climate change and encouraging biodiversity to managing the landscape,” Mr Breitmeyer said.
