Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, addressed the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference and set out Labour’s roadmap for England’s farmers. He said that Labour’s blueprint for agriculture was based on food production, business diversification and resilience, and nature integration.
He said, “Our farming roadmap will be the most forward-looking plan for farming in our country’s history; the blueprint that will make farming and food production sustainable and profitable for the decades to come. It will be built on our vision for the future of the farming sector.”
Food production
Reed explained that Labour’s vision depended on three strands. “First, a farming sector that has food production at its core. Second, a sector where farm businesses can diversify their income to make a fair profit and remain viable in challenging times. Third, a sector that recognises restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production, but is essential to it.”
Focussing on profitability, the Secretary of State said that the primary purpose of farming, “has – and always will be – to produce the food that feeds the nation.” Lambasting the previous prime minister for his suggestion that “farmers are not in it for the money”, Reed said, “Farming is not some sort of hobby project. The food and farming sector employs over 4 million people, providing jobs in every corner of the UK. If we are serious that ‘food security is national security’, farming must be recognised as a serious business that needs to turn a decent profit.”
Reed reminded the audience of farmers and supply chain professionals that Labour’s manifesto committed to use the government’s own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition for 50 per cent of food in hospitals, army bases and prisons to be local or produced to high environmental standards. He said, “For the first time, government will now monitor where food bought by the public sector comes from, the critical first step in helping the public estate buy more British food, and ensuring farmers get a fairer share of the £5 billion pounds a year spent on public-sector catering contracts.”
Profitable and resilient farm businesses
The Secretary of State set out the challenges facing food production, from climate change to rising geopolitical tensions. He said that for farm businesses to remain profitable, they must also be able to benefit from diversification.
Reed said, “This is the second strand of our vision. We will introduce reforms to support all farmers to innovate and diversify their businesses. Building business resilience so you can plan for the future, even if there’s a bad harvest or disease outbreak.”
This included national planning reforms to make it quicker for farmers to build farm buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need to boost their food production.
Reed said, “Planning rules have got in the way for too long. We will speed up the system so you can grow and diversify your business. Like chicken producers who want a larger shed to boost the amount of food they produce. Or vegetable growers who want to upgrade or expand greenhouses, polytunnels, packhouses or other facilities so they can become more productive.”
Expanding on the theme, Reed said that the government would ensure permitted development rights work for farms wanting to convert buildings into a farm shop, a holiday let, or sports facility. He said that the government would support farms to reduce water and air pollution, through improved slurry stores or anaerobic digesters – and that government wanted to make it easier for farm businesses to connect to the energy grid. He said, “Whether a solar panel or wind turbine, small scale energy offers farmers the chance to diversify their income and reduce their bills. But too many farm businesses and rural communities are waiting too long for a grid connection. We are working with Ofgem to dismantle the queue so we can free up capacity for electricity generation in rural areas.”
Integration with nature
The third strand of the government’s vision was nature. Reed said, “Restoring nature is vital to food production, not in competition with it.”
He said, “Healthy soils rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. They are the foundations farm businesses rely on to produce high crop yields and turn over a profit.
“Without nature, we cannot have long-term food security. That’s why we’re investing in the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with a total of £5 billion pounds over the next two years, to help all farmers – tenants, commoners and landowners – transition to more nature-friendly farming methods.”
The Secretary of State said that more than half of farmers are now signed up to Defra farming schemes, but recognised that farmers needed more support to navigate changes in farm support. He said, “I know you need our help to move off old Higher Level Stewardship schemes into Higher Tier. We’re making changes and getting more farmers into Higher Tier than ever. But the pace is lower than your ambitions and I am pushing to increase that.”
Inheritance tax
Reed also spoke about the farming protests in Westminster following the October budget. He said, “When farmers came to protest in Westminster last year, it wasn’t just about tax. Too many rural communities feel misunderstood, neglected and disrespected by politicians over many, many years. Farms are battling volatile input costs and tight margins. Imbalances in the supply chain are preventing fair returns for the food farmers produce. A shortage of skilled workers is putting the brakes on growing farm businesses. Farmers spend long hours in the fields, followed by an evening of paperwork. There are growing concerns about more extreme weather. The promised continuing access to European markets after Brexit was broken. Other trade deals have undercut British farmers. The straws are piling up and up – and the camel’s back is close to breaking.
He said, “You’ve heard it before, but the £22 billion pound black hole left by the Conservatives was bigger than anybody could have expected. Our planning in opposition was done without knowledge of a hidden financial black hole. It meant we had to take immediate tough decisions across the economy to balance the books, including on APR.”
Reed said, “We were shocked by the size of the black hole we were left to fill. I’m sorry if some of the action we took shocked you in return. But stable finances are the foundation of the economic growth needed to get the economy growing again after it flat-lined through a decade of chaos.”
Cast-iron commitment
The Secretary of State concluded with what he called, “A cast-iron commitment to food production, more resilient farm businesses, and nature as the foundation.” He said, “These are the elements that will underpin our farming roadmap as we work towards a more sustainable sector with food production at the centre. It will not tell farmers what to do. It will be led by farmers. It will involve government and farmers working together to find answers to the challenges we face. It will support farm businesses to succeed.”
Reed concluded, saying that the government road map won’t exist in isolation. Labour will, “deliver a land use framework that protects food security, working for farm businesses and for nature. It will also be part of a wider reform of the whole food system, with a food strategy encompassing economic growth, food security, public health and the environment.”