I am proud to represent one of the great farming counties of England. Across Lincolnshire there are over 3000 farms, and put together they produce a remarkable proportion of what ends up on British plates. Greater Lincolnshire produces over a quarter of all vegetables grown in this country and 18% of our poultry. That is something to be genuinely proud of.
When people talk about pressure on our farmers, they will often talk about oil prices. It is a very real concern. But there is another issue just as serious yet far less talked about, and that is the cost of fertiliser.
Fertiliser is not optional. For an arable farmer, it is just as essential as the seed itself. As crops grow every spring, fertiliser is applied to provide the nutrition they need. Without it, yields would fall and the price of food would rise.
Yet the cost of fertiliser has been silently climbing. Many of our livestock farmers are currently absorbing prices that have risen from £370 to £490 per tonne just this year. For a farm that applies hundreds of tonnes each season, that is a significant financial hit that cannot be ignored.
The reason is not complicated. Natural gas makes up the large majority of our fertiliser production costs, which means that any instability in global energy markets, for example disruptions to shipping routes in the Middle East, feeds directly into what our farmers pay to grow their crops here in Lincolnshire.
What is more concerning is that it may get more expensive still. From 2027, the Government’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will place a new carbon charge on fertiliser imports, increasing the costs of higher-carbon fertilisers over time.
This is where the Government’s approach has become so frustrating. As we know, our farmers have been hit with a family farm tax that threatens the security of farms to be passed down through generations, and now through their carbon policies, they are set to push the cost of fertiliser even higher without any plan to help farmers absorb the impact. This is not backing British farming, it’s blocking it.
I’m afraid ultimately many in power down in Westminster just do not understand the rural way of life. Many farmers are already working on very tight margins. Higher costs risk reducing earnings and deterring people from investing in future harvests. This does not only affect farmers, but the food on our tables.
Our farmers are resilient, hardworking, and essential to both the country and our community in Grantham and Bourne. They deserve a Government that recognises that, and I will keep making the case for our rural community in Westminster.
