Collaboration Beyond The Report: Food Security and the Upcoming Budget

AUTHOR: Lee-Anne Oliver
BVM&S CertAVP(cattle)(sheep) MRCVS

Beef and sheep producers are carrying swings in market prices and input costs largely on their own, while the policies meant to support them pull in different directions. Food security and the environment sit with Defra, climate targets with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and each of the four nations sets its own farm and environment rules. Where these collide, the outcome tends to favour whoever lobbies hardest, and funding has not kept pace with the pressure on farms.

On October 28th the UK Government will announce the annual autumn Budget, which will indicate where the government is positioned when it comes to the urgency of food security within the UK. The largest-ever bluetongue outbreak and the worst drought in 50 years means 2026 has been a bleak year for farmers across the nation, and action needs to be taken quickly to address the stress farmers are experiencing.

The good news is that the conversation has begun. In its detailed submission to the HM Treasury, National Farmers Union (NFU) has demanded the budget to be “relentlessly focused” on food security. More recently, on October 15th the House of Lords held a debate on food security, where Earl Russell called for a Cabinet Office-led food systems resilience task force and a food security and resilience Act, emphasising the duty of government to ensure that the public can be fed in a crisis, echoing the need to move beyond “just in time” to a whole-system approach.

In our report, Building Resilience into UK Beef and Sheep Farming, published earlier this autumn, Ruminant Revival called for food security, climate and environmental policy to be brought together, asking the Westminster Government to bring forward a Food Security Act to set minimum domestic production levels, and every UK administration to put a resourced delivery plan behind its netzero targets. In its pre-budget letter to the Chancellor, the NFU presses for measures to reduce the cost of producing food, and with that help restore confidence for farm businesses. Adequate funding is crucial in making positive changes a reality for farms and the budget will signal whether good intentions around national food security are backed up with cash.

This Food Security Act should demand:

Set minimum levels of food production needed to maintain a self-sufficient supply for the UK population, accounting for imports and exports;
Advocate for consumption-based carbon accounting so that food-associated emissions are allocated to where food is consumed rather than where it is produced;
Broaden climate change metrics to include phosphorus alongside carbon and improve the accuracy of the methodologies used to measure emissions;
A clear, resourced delivery plan to back net-zero targets.

To make this happen we need to be aware of how the government implements policy, monitoring the link between food, climate, and the environment. Decisions on environmental schemes and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should be made with farm businesses in mind. Farmers want to deliver for the environment, and the Budget needs to match that ambition. Progress depends on stronger input into policy development and a clearer, better-evidenced plan for balancing food security with climate and environmental goals.

To ensure this happens, there needs to be consistent dialogue between the government and the wider agricultural industry. The government should consult professionals on how to implement policy; there is a clear gap between on-the-ground realities and how they inform policy. We were encouraged to see the Public Accounts Committee holding two evidence sessions in mid-October to explore the resilience of the UK’s food supply to disruptions, but this expertise must be translated into action. At the same time, it is necessary that the wider agricultural industry develops a better-coordinated evidence base to inform food security, climate and environmental policy development.

Our full report, including what we’re asking for food security, is available to read here.