Consumers claim farming is stuck in the past

Consumers’ perception of British farming is decades out of date, a survey reveals today

Consumers’ perception of British farming is decades out of date, a survey reveals, with confusion over how modern farms operate, the level of technology found on a farm, how educated farmers are, and even what they wear.

Despite most modern farms across the country relying on a host of technologies, including GPS steering systems, robot milking machines and even drones, only one in 20 (5 per cent) people surveyed would describe a farmer as tech savvy. In contrast, one in 10 (9 per cent) people think every farmer smokes a pipe, while a quarter (24 per cent) expect all farmers to wear a tweed jacket!

The reason for these misconceptions may be because more than one in five people (22 per cent) have never actually visited a farm, while a further 21 per cent haven't visited one for at least five years. Nearly one in five (17 per cent) people described farming as 'old-fashioned', with just one in ten (11 per cent) of those questioned saying they think farms are high-tech.

LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), who carried out the survey, are now calling on as many people as possible to visit a farm for next weekend’s Open Farm Sunday (7 June) to see modern farming in action. Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm Sunday Manager at LEAF said: “Farming has been a major part of British life for hundreds of years but that doesn’t mean that farming is stuck in the past. As a nation we’ve embraced technology at home and at work and farmers are no different. Many of today’s farms combine the best of traditional farming with the latest technological advances and environmental practices. Open Farm Sunday offers people the opportunity to see this for themselves, and discover the knowledge, passion and expertise that goes in to producing our food and managing the countryside.”

While there are still ‘family farms’ handed down from generation to generation, many of today’s farmers study agri-business at top universities and colleges. Despite this, less than one in ten (9.1%) people realise that a significant proportion of farmers are degree educated and less than a quarter (24 per cent) would describe a farm as a business, despite the total income from farming in the UK amounting to more than £5.5bn.

Less than three in ten (27 per cent) people surveyed said they got their farming knowledge from a farm visit, fewer than said that they got agricultural information from TV shows like Countryfile (32 per cent). One in seven (14 per cent) meanwhile said they got most of their knowledge from soap operas like Emmerdale.

On Sunday 7 June, nearly 400 farms of all types and sizes will be opening their gates for visitors to celebrate British farming and food. LEAF, the leading organisation delivering more sustainable farming and food, has run Open Farm Sunday since 2006. Open Farm Sunday is the agricultural industry’s open day and more than 1.25 million visitors have attended an event since it launched.