The British farmers’ tractor protest may just be the start

As you tuck into a leg of roast lamb this Bank Holiday weekend, consider how religious festivals are a boon for British farmers. The agricultural sector may be struggling overall, but lamb prices have just hit a record high, up £2 per kilo since the start of the year. Simple supply and demand. The surge is not driven so much by Easter, as Ramadan. The three-day feast of Eid al-Fitr is now an established – and prized – feature of the shepherd’s calendar. 

Farming never stands still. New markets emerge, even as old ones shrink. But the recent protests in Cardiff and Westminster have been prompted not by questions of demand, but supply. That and the perception that our elected leaders are forcing British farming into an unprecedented act of ministerially-mandated self-harm.

Take those lambs. Upland Wales, in particular, is reliant on sheep exports, mainly to England.