Officials need to show that farming is valued following the Minette Batters review - Yorkshire Post Letters

Baroness Minette Batters was asked to review farm profitability. Profitability is the ability of a business to produce sufficient income to cover costs, and to consistently turn a profit, so as to be able to re-invest in the business.

Farming profitability is highly sensitive to the very narrow margin between input costs and the price produce fetches in the market. The market price is dependent on global prices.

Defra have detailed farm figures, which show that there are farms which perform better than others. Of these better farms at the top of the list, only 8 per cent stay in the top part over a period of five years. No matter how good management practices might be, no farm escapes the realities of external events impacting on their business.

These external events are risks; extreme weather; global influences; disease pressure etc. and represent a cost which needs to be covered - which is not covered now.

In addition, farmers need to comply with government dictates. Government attitudes to farming post-Brexit have been mostly negative, leading to a predictable loss of confidence in government.

The report indicates that civil servants would do a better job if they had first hand experience of what they were dealing with. Whilst the report could not say so; the same applies to Ministers. They need to show that farming is valued by taking the trouble to understand it.

There is a great deal of detail in the report, and this brief outline is to show the one thing which needs to be sorted. Official circles need to show that farming is valued. Until that changes; nothing else will.