Farmers are facing losses of up to £70,000 each as rising fertiliser and red diesel costs linked to the Iran conflict pile pressure on the agriculture sector.
The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) estimates a typical 500-acre cereals farm will spend an additional £25,000 on fertiliser next year, with overall losses projected to reach £70,000 by 2027.
Jeremy Moody of the CAAV said the situation would make the outlook for cereals farmers “very challenging”, adding it was a “new order of challenge” for the industry.
Since the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded earlier this year, red diesel prices have risen sharply, while nitrogen fertiliser costs have increased by as much as 80%.
Clive Bailye, founder of the Farming Forum, said: “It’s the first time in my father’s and my grandfather’s farming life where actually the correct business decision is to leave land fallow.”