The Country 09/12/25: Farmer Tom Martin talks to Jamie Mackay

Our UK farming correspondent discusses one of the worst grain harvests on record (three of the worst five on record have happened since 2020). We also discuss the worst government ever for British farmers and one of the better English rugby sides.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's another one of our regular correspondents making his final
appearance for twenty twenty five, our UK farm and correspondent
farmer Tom Martin farms just north of London. He's a
big social media influenza and an arable farmer and Tom
arable farmers right around the world at the moment are
having a really tough time of it.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
They are, but the markets don't seem to be reflecting that.
We've had a real double wummy here, particularly in the
south and the East of the UK, where we've had
absolutely dismal yields, but we don't seem to be getting
prices that are kind of picking up and remedying that
so yields low prices. It's not been a great year.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
I was reading from the Guardian as you do, Tom.
Record heat and drousse drought costs Britain's arable farmers more
than eight hundred million pounds and lost production, and twenty
twenty five in one of the worst harvests recorded. Three
of the five worse harvests on record have now occurred
since twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah. It particularly affected green fill in our wheat and
varley crops and for many farmers like us, wheat is
the cash cow. A lot of other crops don't make
anywhere near the profit or very often break even. And
so with wheat yields at probably kind of averaging twenty
five to thirty percent down, that's a lot of your
profit gone and then moving into a pretty strong loss.

(01:25):
So I can well believe the headlines, even if they
are in the Guardian, So.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Can you, pervot And I hate the word perfect, but
I'm trying to think of a better one. And to
any other farming system, I know you've got a few
livestock running around, but you're largely an arable farmer. Could
you go dairy farming for instance?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Very possibly. My neighbor's a dairy farmer, so it is possible.
I think we probably look at different cropping We're looking
at different parts of the world where they're used to
longer dry periods. We started to grow a bit of
buckwheat here, which is a lot more drought tolerant. In fact,
it seems to seems to love a little bit of sunny,
dry weather. And there may be other crops that suit us.

(02:06):
All other strange other genetics within the crops that we grow,
so it's not something that's being ignored. It's something that
we're all kind of staring into and trying to make
some plans to address what is obviously going to be
the new normal.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Maybe the climates and prices aren't your biggest challenge in
the UK at the moment, farming. That biggest challenge might
be called Sakiah Starmer and the Labor Party. And I
note that a Labor MP has been suspended after voting
against the government's plan to text and hero to farmland
from April of next year.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah, you're right, climate, weather and all that sort of
stuff absolutely pales into insignificance. We've got a government who
are actively acting against farmers. But there are a number
of Labor MPs who actually there was a vote on
inheritance tax none and vote on the second of December,
and a number of them have stained, which is quite

(03:03):
a strong message to government. It's very British, isn't it.
They just decided not to vote. But where the government
had instructed their MPs to vote, they were I think
thirty three of them who refused to and one Marcus
Campbell Savers who actually voted against the government ridiculously and
then had the whip suspended and that basically means he's
kicked out of the Labor Party. And basically I've got

(03:26):
the comment of what he said in full here, which
is worth repeating. He said, like many candidates during the
election that was twenty twenty four, I was approached by
people who wanted to know whether the government would remove
the rules on agricultural property relief. I went and sought
out with assurances, found public statements from the Labor Party
front bench, and made promises to my constituents. Who wouldn't
do that After we've come in the government of reneged

(03:48):
on these promises and I'm not prepared to break my
work to my constituents. Isn't that amazing? Why do we
have more MPs who do that, who make promises to
stick and stick to them, who you know, who have
principles and and don't bend and break.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
You have a five year term in the UK. Are
you stuck with Starmer till twenty twenty nine?

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well? I think so, although you know I had a
conversation today. If he steps down from leaguing the Labor
Party doesn't mean that we'll have a little trigger election.
It means that we could have somebody even worse behind him,
So it's a bit of a challenge. It's a bit
of a challenge at the moment. And for the last
decade we've been talking about it, Jamie. You know in

(04:29):
the UK we've been voting. Instead of been voting for
the best person for the job, we've been voting for
the least worse.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
On a brighter night and wats to finish our chats
for twenty twenty five, the England rugby team has the
best winning percentage of any team in world rugby. You
only lost one game, I think, mind you, I don't
think you played the spring box, but I'd have to
say at the moment as it stands, at the moment,
the box are hid and shoulders you a lot of
second I reckon.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
We've had a good year. We've had a good year.
Is a year to be proud of him. As you know,
the class seems doing pretty well. There's some great club
club side's behind that as well, which which is of
course what feeds in. There's always a little bit of
controversy and a few bits and pieces going on today
in the newspaper, but it's great and twenty twenty five

(05:14):
with a team who are riding high. So yeah, we'll
perhaps give you a bit of a run for your money.
I think we've got an easy pool again, haven't we.
That's what normally happens, and a lot of the Antipothys
in particular get upset about that. But yeah, I don't
write that. I don't mind an easy run. You see
in the semis, well.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
You may see us in the quarters, depending on whether
we throw a game to Australia to avoid the spring box.
That's another story for another day. Plus you've got Henry Pollock,
farmer Tom Martin. Thanks for your contribution throughout twenty twenty five.
Merry Christmas. I hope you get a white Christmas, so.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Can I on behalf of the people of the United Kingdom.
Wish you in New Zealand at Murray, Merry Christmas and
the happy New Year.