UK farmers’ incomes stagnant since the 1970s, report finds

Earlier this month, farmers protest in Westminster against the government’s introduction of inheritance tax on their assets. Photograph: Andy Barton/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

Farmers’ incomes have remained stagnant since the 1970s despite improvements in productivity and a fall in the workforce, research has found.

This has been driven by falling prices for farm produce; as the UK has become more reliant on imports, supermarkets have taken over grocery shopping, and households are eating more ultra-processed food, according to the report by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.