NFU calls for loan and fallen stock support for struggling farms

The NFU is asking ministers to introduce 12-month working-capital loans and support with fallen stock costs as farmers contend with drought losses, livestock disease and mounting financial pressure.

The proposals form part of a new campaign seeking short-term government intervention to help farm businesses through the next production cycle.

Under the plan, a Keep British Growing Loan would provide temporary working capital to farms struggling with cash flow.

The NFU is also seeking a fallen stock scheme to help dairy and livestock businesses with the cost of collecting and disposing of dead animals.

The call follows a difficult growing season for parts of the industry, with prolonged drought conditions affecting crop production and forcing some livestock businesses to draw on winter feed earlier than usual.

The rapid spread of bluetongue has added another cost and management challenge for livestock producers.

There have been 795 confirmed cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) in the UK during the 2026 to 2027 season.

Of the total, 694 cases have been recorded in England, 82 in Wales and 19 in Scotland. Northern Ireland has recorded none.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said some farm businesses were struggling to absorb the combination of poor harvests, feed pressures and livestock losses.

“Many otherwise viable businesses simply do not have the financial breathing space to keep going,” he said.

The union argues that a 12-month loan could provide those businesses with enough working capital to cover immediate costs and prepare for another production year.

“A 12-month loan would provide an immediate lifeline, a bridge to the future, helping farmers stay afloat and continue producing the food we all rely on,” Bradshaw said.

The proposal is intended as temporary financial support rather than a permanent subsidy.

The NFU says growers suffering substantial drought-related losses could use the finance to fund inputs and other costs associated with producing next year's crops.

For livestock businesses, the union is separately seeking help with fallen stock costs.

That would target the expense of collecting and disposing of animals that die on farm, an issue the NFU says has become more pressing alongside bluetongue losses.

Bradshaw has also linked the current financial squeeze to wider inflationary pressures.

“Farmers are facing an unprecedented cash flow crisis which started with dramatic inflation caused by the Middle East war,” he said.

The NFU's proposals follow a recent roundtable involving farming organisations to discuss pressures facing the sector and possible measures to support domestic production.

The union is now using its Back British Farming campaign to build support for the two proposals among farmers and the wider public.

Bradshaw said the issue extended beyond the finances of individual businesses.

“This is about more than protecting individual businesses. It is about safeguarding the future of British farming and our national food security,” he said.

Any new loan programme or fallen stock support would require government approval, leaving ministers to decide whether short-term financial intervention will form part of their response to the pressures facing farm businesses.