Unpacking the Batters review: what could the future of farming look like?

By Oliver Ratcliffe, Consultant

2026 brings real openings to influence the food and farming agenda - but only if you can turn big principles into practical, deliverable asks that align with Defra’s reset and farmers’ day-to-day realities. Further to this, smart positioning in this context is about being clear on your role, backing practical solutions, and showing where you can help deliver.  

The most significant recent development was Minette Batters’ farming profitability review, which landed at the end of a bruising year for government–farmer relations, and will now form the foundation for Defra’s next moves as the 25-year Farming Roadmap comes into view.   

I was in the room to hear Minette speak to MPs on the EFRA Committee last week and the message she gave was clear. She believes we need a joined-up plan that sees a proper revaluation of farming, government officials back out on farms, and a mindset shift that treats food and nature as two sides of the same coin. And she gives the Government a two-year window to get it right.   

With policy in this area rapidly developing, and the sector pressing to move on from a difficult year, here are my top 5 for how to navigate upcoming changes in 2026.  

Pick your ‘smart targets’  

Firstly, with so much landing at once, be ruthless about what you’re asking for and when. Can any of your asks be achieved in this Parliament?  Which specific policies are you looking to influence? When faced with our unsustainable and unhealthy food system, it can be tempting to demand a total rethink – but this can however lead to campaign paralysis. The ask is too big, the actions for success too nebulous.  

For campaigners, set one or two short-term, winnable targets that Ministers can announce or change quickly – the all-important ‘wins’ for the Government that show the public they’re delivering. Then pair these short term asks with a longer-term structural goal that can be baked into the Farming Roadmap, the National Food Strategy, the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) or the Land Use Framework. 

This is also a framing question. Be clear on the role you want to play in Defra’s reset - are you pushing for change, offering solutions, convening partners, providing evidence, or helping deliver on the ground? Position your organisation as part of the answer, with a proposition that fits ministers’ priorities.  

You might want to focus on one or two near term commitments you can help deliver and evidence. Whether that’s supporting the Government’s public procurement policy or showcasing the export or food security potential of UK horticulture produce, it’s about positioning your business as a practical delivery partner that can help Defra turn ambition into outcomes.  

Bring farmers into the story early  

“Defra needs to get out of Whitehall”- Minette Batters, Jan 2026 

Batters puts heavy emphasis on involving farmers in shaping the policies that govern their livelihoods. That means Defra talking to more farmers and civil servants getting out of Whitehall. The same should be true for organisations looking to influence policy and be partners for Defra.  

This is a great moment for ministerial site visits that show the real-world impact of policy, build trust, and demonstrate delivery beyond the spreadsheet (see here for Seahorse’s site visit tips). And you need to show ministers that farmers genuinely back what you’re proposing.  

River Action made this case powerfully through its Agricultural Water Pollution Strategy, which was built on close farmer consultation. Farmer voices were brought into the centre of the report through an extensive workshop process with the AHDB, the CLA, the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Soil Association and others. This ‘supported by farmers’ framing gained traction with the EFRA Select Committee Chair, Alistair Carmichael, and Minister Emma Hardy, who both spoke at the launch.  

 Framing your work around a private investment lens  

“The SFI was set up to fail” but “can be a really good scheme” - Minette Batters, Jan 2026 

Batters is clear that public funding alone can’t be relied on to support farming, given rising public debt and the Treasury’s, and indeed the world’s, shift towards greater defence spending.  

At the EFRA Committee, Minette Batters described the SFI as ‘set up to fail’ because it was open-ended and demand-led, so it was always going to hit a hard budget ceiling.   She instead proposes that we need fewer, clearer SFI actions that support productivity and resilience alongside environmental delivery, from soil health growing to protein crops like beans and pulses, using one package that makes sense on the balance sheet as well as in the landscape.  

Batters states that today’s fragmented metrics leave investors unsure what they’re paying for. Her solution is a ‘new economic model’ where verified environmental outcomes become sellable farm assets, creating income from businesses needing to meet nature-reporting commitments. The proposed SOILSHOT + NATURE is a whole-farm approach to rebuild soil health by standardising outcome measurements and scaling nutrient-removal tech solutions, strengthening fertility and resilience. 

With this in mind, the Government’s direction of travel this year will undoubtedly lean towards leveraging in private capital to support farm viability. If you can show your proposal will attract investment from the private sector, as well providing environmental ‘public goods’, you’ll get traction much faster.  

Be aware of the culture wars and lead with profitability  

Food and farming is increasingly being pulled into a polarised, populist narrative where climate-aligned policy is framed as an ‘attack on farmers’, rural identity and household living standards. We’re already seeing the populist right turning up at farming protests and amplifying lines like ‘net zero is destroying farming’, with hashtags like #costofnetzero gaining traction in online farming-and-climate discourse.   

A clear example was Reform leader Nigel Farage giving a speech ahead of a Westminster tractor protest, saying ‘100 Labour MPs’ would be ‘getting scared’ and would put pressure on No.10 as farmer protests grew.  

We know the Government is heavily focused on the cost of living, so anything that’s framed as pushing up food prices will be politically toxic and much easier for opponents to exploit. The best insulation against that is to anchor your campaign in profitability and resilience. If you can demonstrate lower costs, reduced risk, and a stronger business case for farmers, it becomes far harder to weaponise and far less likely to get dragged into a political football.  

Ground it in local issues and engage with local MPs  

Once you’ve decided your policy asks, your engagement strategy should look to Labour’s rural backbenchers, a cohort who will matter a great deal in this Parliament. Mapping who they are and what their constituency issues are will be key. Labour won 411 seats in 2024 and the CLA estimates 114 Labour MPs represent rural seats, creating a big caucus of voices with genuine leverage on Defra.   

Plug into the groups like the Labour Rural Research Group (a network of rural Labour MPs) and track what they’re saying on planning, land use, flooding, food prices and farm viability.  

And don’t ignore individual champions in marginal rural seats. Lloyd Hatton MP (Labour, South Dorset) has been hugely helpful for the Making Space for Water campaign, an initiative that champions nature-rich rover corridors across the UK by advocating for more simplified and targeted agri-payments schemes for river buffers, wetlands and beaver introduction.  

Lloyd has led a backbench business debate on river habitats, led a series of regional MP letters to No.10, and sponsored the campaign launch, in turn leading to traction from the Defra front bench and No.10 SpAds. This is a great example of the importance of building relationships early and bringing them practical solutions they can champion, not just problems to relay to ministers.