'At 1p profit per loaf, stores need to step up'

Clive Bailye describes farming as the "best job in the world", but says that financially it is "really tough".

The arable farmer, based in the countryside between Brownhills and Lichfield, wants supermarkets to do more to support British farming.

Bailye believes more profit should "go back to the farm gate" and said he worried for the future of the industry.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) said it ensured retailers complied with its code and if farmers had any issues they could contact the body confidentially.

Bailye is a third generation farmer at TWB Farms in the village of Hammerwich, Staffordshire, which grows cereals, oilseed, pulses, sugar beet and cover crops.

He said: "If a loaf of bread is £1.50 from a supermarket, around 0.9p of that is our profit margin, less than a penny.

"Imagine if you were to increase it by 1p, if the supermarkets were to pass that back to the farm gate, that would double our profit margins.

"Right now, that's the difference between being in profit and at a loss."

As well as lobbying supermarkets to support British farmers, the farmer said the cost of production and competition from global imports were also causing his farm issues.

"We have seen huge increases in the cost of growing a crop of wheat. So all the import costs, particularly recently.

"The price of everything has gone up, yet the price of the wheat and the other crops that we sell has gone down."

When asked if he worried about the future of British farming in the UK, Bailye said: "More than I ever have done in my entire life, unless things change fairly dramatically in terms of profitability and sustainability in terms of our businesses."

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle told the BBC: "Our farmers keep the nation fed, act as guardians of our countryside, and are at the heart of our rural communities across the country.

"I want to thank BBC Farmwatch for shining a spotlight on the dedication, skill and hard work that farmers show every day of the year.

"We are backing our farmers with a record £11.8 billion for sustainable and profitable farming over this parliament, protecting the sector in trade deals, and our new trade agreement with the EU will make it easier for British food to reach our largest export market.

"Our 25-year Farming Roadmap sets out a clear vision for the future, including helping farmers to be more resilient to climate extremes, so our farmers can have the confidence once more to invest and feed the nation with pride for generations to come."

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