"BREXIT: "This will have a seismic implications for UK agriculture"

Will Gemmill, head of farming at Strutt & Parker, said the vote for the UK to leave the European Union would delight significant numbers of farmers, as polls had consistently shown strong farmer support for the leave campaign.

But he warned that there were still a huge number of questions about the likely impact on farm profitability.

“The UK’s decision to leave the European Union will have seismic implications for UK agriculture – ending more than 40 years of British farmers’ inclusion in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“If the value of sterling drops, then in the short term we could see improvements in our competitive position which will help exports and push up prices. However, over the medium term there are crucial questions about the level of support UK farmers will be paid and on the terms of any trade deals struck with the EU and the rest of the world. There is also the issue of how to deal with global issues such as climate change, energy security and environmental protection.

“At this stage there are huge numbers of unknowns which means the impact on farm profitability is difficult to predict. It is not even clear how long it will take the UK to negotiate its way out of the Europe. Under EU rules, a member state seeking to withdraw has two years to negotiate the terms and it needs the unanimous backing of all EU members to extend this.

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