Falling prices put finances under pressure even as regulatory burdens demand investment

The Indian summer of 2024 has made life a bit easier for farmers, and they plough on as usual in the hope that their financial fortunes will pick up.

The rise in costs was worst in dairy and tillage, with cost increases totalling 86% and 106% respectively.

Fun in the sun at the Ploughing Championships obscured the reality that income in the farming sector is at its lowest level since 2014.

Dairying, the jewel in the crown of agriculture, has run out of steam, with a 5% fall in milk production, a worrying development for the co-ops that invested so much in extra processing capacity to cope with increasing production since 2015.