Farmers Fearful Over Impact Of EU Exit

Farmers across the UK are fearing for the survival of their businesses amid uncertainty about what a vote to leave the European Union would mean for agriculture.

Every year more than £3bn is given to the country's farmers in EU subsidies to support their income, with many farms reliant on the payments.

And while the Government is sure to provide some sort of financial support, it is not clear how much it will be and for how long.

Viviane Gravey, a researcher and lecturer in agricultural policy at the University of East Anglia, says there are many reasons that farmers are concerned.

"Countries that are not in the European Union like Switzerland and Norway actually subsidise agriculture much more than we do in the EU but the UK Government has repeatedly said that it wants less subsidies in Europe so it's very unlikely that Brexit would mean more money for agriculture," she said.

"We don't know how the UK will trade with the rest of Europe or with the rest of the world, we don't know who will be allowed to come into this country to work in the fields and we don't know the type of environmental policies the farmers will have to comply with either, so there is a lot that is up in the air."

Some 40% of the total EU budget is set aside for the Common Agricultural Policy, and last year the biggest subsidy, called the Single Farm Payment, made up 56% of the total income of farms in England.

But the EU is seen as cumbersome and inefficient by many and riddled with too many regulations.

Despite the government campaigning to stay in, the farming minister George Eustice MP is convinced the time has come to leave.

He told Sky News: "I'm absolutely clear that if we took control, if we stopped spending £350m a week on the European Union, had control of our own budget, designed our own policies, we could definitely do better for our farmers."

James Foskett's family began farming in Bromeswell in Suffolk 60 years ago.

Now (NYSE: DNOW - news) he grows potatoes and onions as well as a variety of organic vegetables including a million bunches of carrots a year and 350,000 sweetcorn cobs, all of which are hand-picked.

In the past decade he has relied on as many as 100 Eastern European workers at a time, but says no one has been able to tell him whether he will still be able to employ them if the UK leaves the EU.

"From my business point of view, I would have to pack up growing organic vegetables if I can't have Eastern European people," he said.

"Frankly (Other OTC: FLKKF - news) we haven't got the workforce in this country that's willing to do this type of work so we are totally reliant on these people."

Despite that, he is still undecided about how to vote.

"If we stay in, we really need to be drivers in Europe. At the moment we sit on the fence," said Mr Foskett.

"And if we go out, who is going to drive the negotiations? It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) 's not going to be easy to get our trade agreements sorted out with the rest of the world."

If the UK votes to leave, trade deals and agricultural policy would be thrashed out during a two-year withdrawal period but many expect the negotiations to drag on much longer.