A hard year, but a bigger picture
It's been a tough year to be a farmer. A dry spring and summer, costs that refuse to settle, and an SFI window that closed almost as soon as it opened.
When you're in the thick of it, it's easy to lose sight of what you actually achieve. So this week, we’re remembering what you and farmers like you make possible, every single day.
1. You look after most of the country
The UK's 212,000 farm holdings cover 17 million hectares. That's 69% of all the land in the UK.
Think about what that means. The patchwork of fields people picture when they think of Britain, the views walkers stop to photograph, the hedges and field margins where wildlife lives: most of it is looked after by farmers. You don't get a thank-you note for it, but the countryside the nation loves is, in large part, your work.
2. You feed the nation
UK farms produce 60% of all the food we eat by value. For foods that can be grown or reared here, that rises to 72%.
That's the milk on the breakfast table, the bread in the lunchbox, the Sunday roast and the delicious potatoes beside it. In a world where weather shocks and global markets keep pushing up the cost of imports, home-grown food matters more than ever. Every harvest you bring in is part of the nation's food security.
3. You keep rural Britain working
In 2025, agriculture employed 446,200 people in the UK, almost half a million.
And that's only the farm gate. Behind every farm are vets, contractors, agronomists, machinery dealers and village shops.
4. Did you know? England's hedges could wrap round the world almost ten times
A laser-scanned map of England found 390,000 km of hedgerows between one and six metres tall. That's almost ten times the distance round the Earth.
Those hedges shelter birds, insects and small mammals, keep livestock in, and store carbon. And the care you put into them shows. According to UKCEH research for Natural England, 63.5% of hedgerows under agri-environment schemes are in good structural condition, compared with 46.8% outside them. Every hedge you lay, gap you fill or cutting regime you change adds up.
5. Together, you're making a difference at scale
Closer to home, the JustFarm community now manages more than £275 million of environmental agreements across 1.5 million acres. That's 3,000+ farms, each creating habitats, protecting soils and improving water quality, while still putting food on the nation's table.
Thousands of farms, each doing their bit, for our beautiful world.
Something to be proud of
Whatever this year has thrown at you, the work you do matters. You look after our country, feed the nation, keep rural communities going and bring nature back - often all before breakfast.
So take a moment to be proud of it. And if you know a farmer who could do with hearing this, share it with them.
And when you're ready, JustFarm is here to help you so you can spend less time on paperwork and more time on the farm.
