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Next year will see farmers facing a complex mix of challenges, whatever happens with Brexit, farm business consultants Andersons have said. By Jonathan Wheeler

Defra Secretary George Eustice has said the current ‘buoyancy’ of the UK sheep market may mean the sector will not need to be compensated in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The gap between agricultural policy could grow on either side of the Scottish border post-2024, as England moved towards environmental payments while Scotland was set to retain the ‘known quantity’ of the Basic Payment Scheme.

The PM must negotiate a three to six-month adjustment period as part of any EU trade deal, so farmers have time to prepare for the new relationship, says Mike Rumbles, North East Scotland MSP.

With direct payments on their way out, farmers should consider rewilding on marginal land to boost the income they make from food production, says Dr Stephanie Wray, director of RSK Wilding.

With BPS on the way out, and Defra not yet ready to offer support which fills the gap, farmers must take steps now to survive the Brexit transition, says Dr Julia Aglionby, executive director at the FCL and chairwoman of the Uplands Alliance.

In the 80s, Thatcherism tore the heart out of British manufacturing, with long-term social consequences. We cannot let the same thing happen now to English farming, says Labour Shadow Defra Minister Daniel Zeichner.

Welsh farming unions have accused the chancellor of a ‘Brexit betrayal’ after he announced a decision to slash Wales’ agricultural budget in last week’s spending review.

Industry leaders have said they are ‘extremely concerned’ about a Government move to exclude the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) from considering the impact of agri-food trade on human health.

If Defra’s latest document is anything to go by, the path of agricultural transition will be beset by instances in which bureaucratic ideology butts up against the realities of farming and food production.