Britain’s chaotic post-Brexit agricultural revolution

The government is making huge changes to how farm subsidies operate after Brexit. Farmers say that the details of what will replace them are still far too vague. Cris Sholto Heaton reports

Minister for Agriculture George Eustice
Farmers don’t think that environment secretary George Eustice is really backing them
(Image credit: © Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images Images)

What’s changing for farmers?

The entire system of agricultural subsidies on which most farms in Britain depend to remain in business. At the end of November, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) announced plans to reduce the main form of subsidies in England – known as basic payments – by a minimum of 50% over the next four years. The larger the basic payment that a farm currently receives, the bigger the cut will be: the 50% figure applies to payments below £30,000, while anything between £30,000 and £50,000 will be trimmed by 55%, anything between £50,000 and £150,000 by 65% and anything above that by 70%. These cuts will be phased in: payments next year will be between 5% and 25% lower. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are developing their own policies, which will mean that payments fall by different amounts in different regions.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.