These are at least tangible expenses which can be factored into farm budgets. One rising cost which doesn’t often get discussed when looking at the expected harvest returns is that of rural crime.
On 1 August, the National Farmers Union (NFU) released its 2024 Rural Crime Report which quantified the cost to UK agriculture at £52.8 million in 2023. The total cost was an increase of 4.3% from 2022, but amongst certain items the increases were far greater. Theft of GPS units, now a standard item on most agricultural machinery, rose by 137%, while smaller vehicles such as quad bikes and ATVs saw instances of theft rise 9%.
With thieves targeting several locations in one evening, the impact of these crimes increases at the local level where neighbouring farms may have seen similar items taken leaving them then unable to lend or hire their own kit to others to help out. Areas are not then left alone once targeted, as 77% of NFU Mutual Agents knew farmers who had been repeat victims of rural crime.
The Eastern region saw the cost to its farmers increase by 8.4% to over £7 million. To put this cost into context, Strutt & Parker estimated a net margin of £183 per hectare for the 2023 harvest, and so the return on over 38,000 hectares of land (roughly 15% of the area of Norfolk) is lost to rural crime.
The costs are collated from total claims costs to NFU Mutual and so in many cases won’t fully reflect the inconvenience, efficiency losses or the emotional impact of machinery theft and livestock crimes happening at what for many is both their workplace and their family home.
Given the findings of the report, the NFU’s Vice President Rachel Hallos has called on the new government to reinforce their commitment to food security by widening the scope of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act to cover GPS theft from farm vehicles, recognising that food security is national security.