The National Sheep Association (NSA) has welcomed the long-awaited publication of the Farming Profitability Review today (Thursday 18th December), describing it as a timely contribution to the debate on how UK agriculture, including the sheep sector, can be placed on a more resilient and profitable footing.

NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “NSA is pleased to at last be able to read the extensive review. I’d like to thank Baroness Minette Batters for all her work in compiling this review and I am pleased NSA was able to contribute in a number of ways.

“We welcome the review’s emphasis on greater recognition of the wider economic importance of farming, strengthening market foundations and putting an economic value on nature provision, improving fairness in the supply chain and ensuring that farming businesses are better equipped to manage volatility and rising costs, something that almost every farmer in the UK has been all too familiar with in recent years.

“Many of the review’s recommendations have clear relevance for sheep farmers, particularly those operating grazing livestock systems in upland and marginal areas, where it has been identified that margins are tight, exposure to volatility is high, and access to SFI intermittent.”

Of the 57 recommendations in the review, NSA is particularly pleased to see recognition of the need to better acknowledge the economic value of agriculture, horticulture and related businesses. The Association is also pleased with the recognition of the importance of protecting and strengthening local supply chains, including recommendations that support the future of small and medium‑sized abattoirs. NSA has previously been vocal highlighting that accessible local processing capacity is critical to the viability of sheep farming, animal welfare standards, and the ability to add value to lamb and mutton at a regional level.

NSA also welcomes proposals around improved buying standards for large catering chains and public procurement, which have the potential to deliver more consistent demand for British lamb and reward high standards of production. Coupled with the review’s emphasis on building a stronger national food culture, NSA sees an opportunity to reconnect consumers with the value of domestic sheep production, including its role in food security, landscape management and rural communities.

NSA strongly supports the review’s recognition that agriculture must be treated as a sensitive sector in trade negotiations. Sheep farming, in particular, is vulnerable to being undercut by imports produced to lower standards. Clear safeguards in future trade deals are essential if UK sheep farmers are to compete on a fair footing and continue delivering public goods alongside food production.

However, NSA urges that care is taken around recommendations for an ‘active farmer’ clause, to ensure that our many part time sheep farmers are not excluded from access to funding, unintentionally excluding part‑time farmers and new entrants whose working patterns can be of a part time nature although genuinely farming. Any definition of ‘active farmer’ must reflect the realities of sheep production and avoid penalising those who are genuinely farming but supplementing income to remain viable.

NSA now looks forward to seeing how the review’s recommendations can be blended with the forthcoming Farming Roadmap and the Land Use Framework to ensure policy coherence. For sheep farmers, alignment across these strategies will be essential to avoid conflicting signals on land use, environmental delivery and food production.

The establishment of a government, industry and farmer partnership, to be known as ‘FARM’ - Food Agriculture Rural Matters, to deliver the review’s ambitions, is welcomed by NSA.

NSA looks forward to engaging constructively with Defra and other stakeholders as the review’s findings are taken forward, to ensure outcomes that genuinely improve profitability, resilience and confidence for sheep farmers across the UK.