The Country 20/01/26: Tom Martin talks to Jamie Mackay

Our UK farming correspondent talks about tough times for British farmers and why Sir Kier Starmer is so unpopular with the rural sector.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
His name is farmer Tom Martin. He's a UK farming correspondent,
big social media influencer and he today or today we
find him and a hotel on the Yorkshire Moors with
no mobile reception, so we're going with WhatsApp. Hopefully this works, Tom,
because I am a stranger to technology, will try a
very very best. You're going to hell and a handcart,

(00:21):
if that's the correct terminology farming in the UK. Everything
is conspiring against you at the moment.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
I mean we had a little bit of good news
before before Christmas with our inheritance tax concession and we've
not had a terrible autumn planting campaign, but nationally things
are all over the place in terms of farming itself.
We're off the back of several poor harvests and the
last one second or third worst ever harvest. I mean

(00:50):
it's just been it's been dire everywhere we look. We're
hemmed in by government or the environment.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
So it's it feels like quite a quite a hard
time actually.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
So is that why you're on a holidaying in a
hotel on the Yorkshire Moors rather than Mayfair or Parklane.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Spending a bit of time with family, with my fingers
in my ears, trying to ignore the everything that's going
on in farming. But I'll be straight back to it
on Wednesday, and yeah, it's it's, it is. It is
a tough time, but Jamie, gosh, there's some crazy stuff happening.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
All over on surprises. Even I haven't been sanctioned or
tariff or drawn.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
We're honestly tippy toeing around Trump on this issue because
you guys have been slapped with a tariff for not
agreeing to give them the Nobel Peace Prize and Greenland
on a plate. It's a bizarre. You couldn't make this
stuff up. But I mean, I guess domestically in the
UK you said you've had a bit of a concession
on that inheritance tax before Christmas. I think the threshold

(01:48):
went from one million to two and a half million.
You can split that amongst two. So has this got
you out of the woods in terms of the problems
the inheritance tax would cause.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Far not at all.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
And course you know we all know that farming is
completely interlinks. So I sent some milling week off this
morning before I left early start and if that doesn't.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Make the grade, it'll go for chicken feed.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
So I'm relying on other elements of farming to be
healthy and in good form for our businesses to succeed.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
So if we start getting some.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Of our larger estates broken up, it's going to cause us.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's going to cause us some issues.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
And at the moment the Treasury seem to think it'll
hardly affect anybody.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Everybody else, including.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Our departments of the Environment through the Ural Affairs, seem
to have different figures with deeper and more long reaching impacts.
So I don't think our government having a great time
and I don't think as a result we the people
are either. So it's yeah, it hasn't been a great winter,
and it doesn't seem to be a year full of
optimism looking ahead to twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
But well, as farmers, we are naturally optimist.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
J Amy Well, I think you've got to be all
around the world to be a look Sakia Stam is
about as popular as a frost on a notice speech
at the moment, What chance, Nigel did you like my work? There?
What chance Nigel Farage and the Reform Party wanting the
next election? And I know it's a long way out,
but does he farmer friendly.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
It's a long way off. Is he farmer friendly? I
don't know.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
He's certainly very anti renewable energy and people have strong
opinions on renewable energy, but as farmers it's an important
part of what we provide with us a d or
or solo or other items. He's he's pretty clear on
on on wanting open trade and we've we've been singed
a little bit, should we say, with some of trade deals,

(03:46):
not not least the one with your good selves. So
I think, you know, he's pretty decisive. He's probably what
a fair few people are looking for. He certainly grabs
the column inches, not dissimilar to our friend the other
side of the But is he is he going to
be in power? And if he is in power, is
he going to be good?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
We're quite happy with the free trade agreement from Area
and it's working quite well for us at the moment
now Farmers UK farmers have been blockading tisco's supermarkets and
depots and sort of surprise raids, hit and run missions.
Did you call into one on your way to the
Yorkshire Moors?

Speaker 2 (04:25):
I didn't, And it's been it's been interesting.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
I think maybe we've been inspired by the French, who've
in French style, have decorated their local town halls with
with slurry and the like. We're a little bit more
reserved in the UK, or perhaps maybe more heavily police store.
I don't know, but there has been a campaign of
blockading distribution centers for all our supermarkets as well Tesco,

(04:47):
sains For and others. Interestingly, they've just done it for
a few hours and then gone away and then come
back again, so that there's not been a you know,
there's not been a sit in for you know, as
long as possible. It's it's it's a it's a campaign
of of attrition, of.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Annoyance, rather than all at war, and I wonder whether
that's a better strategy.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
Certainly hasn't attracted a huge media interest, but maybe it's
something that won't annoy the supermarkets too much.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
What will do just enough? I don't know.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
It's not something I've been involved in, and I'm probably
I'm not naturally do this, but probably sitting on the
fence on whether it's a great thing or not.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
At the moment. Let me certainly need to keep the
pressure on with.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Inheritance tax that is still a disaster even with concessions.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Hey farmer Tom Martin, UK farm and correspondent, Thanks to
your time. Enjoy your brief break on the Yorkshire Moors.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Thanks Jerry, it always a pleasure.