Five weeks in the United Kingdom offered a front-row view of the pressures shaping modern agriculture and a reminder that farmers must stay united and at the policy table.
Earlier this year I spent five weeks in the United Kingdom participating in the Challenge of Rural Leadership program, speaking at industry events, visiting farms across England and meeting with UK Members of Parliament.
During the Oxford Farming Conference, tractors lined the streets outside the venue as farmers protested inheritance tax changes — sending a clear signal to Westminster about the growing pressures facing agriculture and the lingering anger across the sector, as family farms face tight margins and an uncertain future.
The visit offered a valuable opportunity to see firsthand how another advanced agricultural economy is responding to many of the forces now shaping farming globally.
While the policy settings and scale of agriculture in the UK differ from Australia, many of the debates shaping their sector around land use, environmental expectations, trade standards and declining farm profitability are increasingly relevant here as well.
UK farming operates in a highly urbanised society, with a population expected to approach 80 million people on a land mass roughly a quarter the size of South Australia. Land is under intense pressure from competing uses — housing, infrastructure, renewable energy development and environmental restoration — while farmers are also expected to deliver on climate action, cultural heritage, biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes.
At the same time, traditional farm support payments are disappearing. Since Brexit, the UK has begun phasing out the EU-style income support that once underpinned farm businesses. These payments are being replaced with schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, which pays farmers to deliver environmental outcomes for the public good.
But the policy is also reshaping how land is used. In some cases, land that would previously have produced food is now being directed into SFI programs — adding further pressure to produce more from already scarce acreage.
It is a reminder that planning decisions about land use — whether for housing, food production, environmental programs or energy projects — are becoming increasingly contested.
“Regenerative agriculture” dominated many of the conversations I heard in the UK. Yet despite how often the term is used, there is still no single agreed definition or standard.
Instead, large multinational food companies are developing their own contractual programs requiring farmers to meet soil health, biodiversity and emissions targets in order to supply ingredients into global supply chains.
In other words, the rules governing farming are no longer set only by governments. Increasingly they are shaped by global markets, foreign capital and corporate sustainability commitments.
Trade politics is shifting as well. During my visit I heard criticism of the Australia–UK Free Trade Agreement based on claims that Australian livestock production operates under lower animal welfare standards — claims not supported by the evidence. Some farm and political leaders are now using this argument to call for Trump-like tariffs to shield British producers from imports. It is a reminder that production standards are increasingly being used as tools of protection in trade debates.
Perhaps the most important lesson from the experience, however, was not about any single policy issue.
It was about leadership.
Agriculture is often discussed in terms of policy, markets or technology. But at its heart the industry is made up of people — the farmers, industry leaders and policymakers I met in my travels — who must navigate change, make difficult decisions and represent their communities in an increasingly complex world.
That is precisely why programs such as the Challenge of Rural Leadership course exist: to help develop capable leaders who can guide agriculture through periods of rapid change.
For Australia, the message is clear. The operating environment for agriculture is evolving quickly, and the sector will need strong, thoughtful leadership to navigate the challenges ahead.
If agriculture becomes distracted by internal disputes or fragmented representation, we risk losing influence at exactly the time it matters most, particularly during these times of global instability.
Strong and unified farm organisations will be critical to ensuring farmers remain part of the decisions that shape the future of our industry in a crowded political agenda.
As the old saying goes: if you’re not at the table, you’re probably on the menu.
This column was written by PPSA CEO Caroline Rhodes and originally appeared in the 12 March 2026 edition of Stock Journal.
