Concerns for future of farming shared at county show

John Watt says farming is a "brilliant, vibrant" industry, but it needs to attract more young people

Concerns for the future of farming have been raised at a county's agricultural show.

More than 90,000 people are expected to go to the two-day Suffolk Show at Trinity Park, Ipswich.

On the opening day on Wednesday, farmers told BBC Radio Suffolk - broadcasting live from the site - that while the industry was "resilient" it was also facing challenges.

Weather, supply chains and fewer young farmers were highlighted as issues.

Livestock displays are one of the attractions of the Suffolk Show

John Watt, 27, is on the National Farmers' Union (NFU) student and young farmer ambassador programme.

While he believed there was not "any shortage of young people who would love to be in farming", he said there were challenges stopping them.

"It's the most brilliant, vibrant, varied industry where you can do so many different things," he said.

"It's going to be really difficult for young people to get into an industry where it's not profitable. They need a stable, profitable environment to be keen to join it."

Mr Watt said he was concerned about fairness in supply chains and explained he thought farmers were not paid fairly for what they produce.

'We are resilient'

In May 2024, an NFU survey revealed the confidence of farmers was at an all-time low.

But Glenn Buckingham, county chair for the NFU, said: "We had challenging times - the energy crisis, the weather, the climate in the last two years, which was dry then wet," he explained.

"We've also had the problem with fairness in the supply chain. We often feel we are not fully rewarded for the work we do and it's a risk.

"We're taking 10, 12, 20 months to grow the crop until a product hits the shelf and it hasn't been fully rewarded, therefore confidence is low.

He added: "We are resilient and it's part of the challenge."

Dominic Saunders is encouraging people from outside farming to get involved

Dominic Saunders, a third generation farmer from Wattisfield, near Diss, said he also wanted to see more young people in the industry.

"It's an old man's game," he said.

"There's not enough young people in it anymore."

Mr Saunders believed more needed to be done to recruit people without a farming background.

"Anyone can jump on these machines these days - it's not like the old school stuff," he continued.

"A lot of the time these days it's all computerised and quite easy."

He said farming colleges were "begging" for new people to take courses.