In his opening words to the BUAS Business Breakfast audience at the Border Union Agricultural Society Showground, Kelso, on Friday 25th July 2025, Virgin Money Head of UK Agriculture, Brian Richardson, urged UK farming to accentuate the positives that should carry the industry forward to a sustainable future.

"I have been working in agriculture for over 45 years and, on the one hand, I see great opportunity for the sector to meet its many challenges with the use of technology and data, alongside a greater understanding of what sustainable production looks like,  focusing on optimising production rather than just maximising output. On the other hand, I believe that there is more negativity around the sector than I can ever recall in the past.

 "After some initial momentum on the Net Zero challenge, many farmers were left rather confused, but what has become clearer is that carbon is generally a cost, so by improving productivity and efficiency, farmers have quietly got on with the journey to reduce emissions. The dairy sector is a great example of this – significantly reducing carbon outputs but doing so on the basis of efficient, sustainable production rather than a narrow focus on Net Zero.

 "Other challenges that farmers have addressed positively include the use of technology and data to improve profitability, and opportunities to stack income not only through traditional diversification but also using grants and refocused support to enhance habitats and biodiversity. Support monies, however, are limited and, as we have seen in England, the SFI scheme ran out of money and was suspended with less than half of farmers actually participating in it.

 "Having done their best to turn those challenges into opportunities, farmers were then confronted with the potentially devastating imposition of IHT on their farms. I believe that this too has created another opportunity for positive change. For many older farmers, this has come as a terrible shock, but professionals working with farmers are identifying clear options to mitigate the effect on family farms, and it has pushed farmers to look proactively at what succession looks like, and this often brings forward those challenging conversations about the next generation's ambitions.

 "As a leading agricultural bank, we can see the result of all this uncertainty in the drop in investment lending recently. Overall farm lending across the industry  is down 15% from where it was pre-Covid, and it is today at levels last seen in 2016. Less borrowing is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, particularly at a time of higher interest rates, but it does demonstrate the reduction in investment, which is a factor of uncertainty and negativity in the industry.

 "The good news is that we have a better balance with our agricultural customers, principally supermarkets, who are perhaps at last recognising the value of strong supply chains. Brexit brought to the fore how challenging it can be to suddenly have to bring in produce to fill gaps, so some greater medium-term security in price combined with the high standards of UK production are worth something.

 "The agricultural industry needs clear long-term policy from government so we can plan properly and have confidence to invest in the sector, and that is particularly the case around Net Zero. Farmers understand soil health, biodiversity and least-cost production, so let's focus on what we know that will also support the wider UK goals on carbon reduction.

 "This is an industry with a positive future but lots of negativity, much of it self-generated. We need to use platforms like the Border Union to showcase to the general public what the industry is really about; professional, dedicated, hard-working and focused on feeding the nation, combined with doing the right thing for nature, the environment and the countryside.

 "Farmers in the UK are resilient and adaptable, and I am positive about UK farming and the opportunities that are there. Yes, we will have fewer farmers, but producing the same amount of food in a more sustainable and productive way. We need to make sure that farmers can make a fair return doing that and the public is aware of the work that goes into that.

 "Last year, Virgin Money became part of Nationwide Building Society, and the bank now shares the purpose of the UK's largest mutual," Brian Richardson concluded, "We are embracing the Nationwide ethos of 'Banking, but fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society.' The good of society fits farming very well, and we must make sure the wider public doesn't forget it and understands the great job UK farming PLC does on its behalf."