The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is an employer association representing farming and growing businesses within

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The NFU originated as the Lincolnshire Farmers' Union (LFU) which was founded in 1904. Over the next four years, similar farmers' organisations were established in neighbouring counties. In 1908, these organisations formed the current National Farmers' Union. Colin Campbell was its first president. The organisation has been led by Tom Bradshaw as president since 2024.

History

Background tensions

The late 19th century coincided with increased struggle between three main groups: *

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

s, those farming on land on which they had no control over; *

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and ma ...

s, those renting the land to farm; and *

landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...

, those owning the agricultural land. The rise of the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

saw farmworkers organise agricultural

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

such as the Lincolnshire Labour League and the Warwickshire Agricultural Labourers Union. These unions initially achieved modest victories and growth, but a series of unsuccessful attempts to use

collective action Collective action refers to action taken together Advocacy group, by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective. It is a term that has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences ...

resulted in the decline and dissolution of early farmworkers' unions. In response to the victory of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in the

1906 UK general election The 1906 United Kingdom general election was held from 12 January to 8 February 1906. It is dubbed the "Liberal landslide": the opposition Liberals under Henry Campbell-Bannerman won a landslide victory against a bewildered Conservative Party, ...

, many farm owners took revenge against farmers suspected of radical views or of Liberal sympathies. On 20 July 1906, the Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers & Small Holders Union was formed in an attempt to combat these retributions, and further renew unionisation efforts among farmworkers. Further angered in their opposition to potential

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

by the Liberal government, the Central Land Association (CLA) was formed to represent

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

s' interests against their farmers, and against the Liberal government.

Formation and growth

In 1904, the Lincolnshire Farmers' Union (LFU) was founded to represent tenant farmers, in part against both increasingly unionised farmworkers, and against landlords. On 10 December 1908, a meeting was held at the Smithfield Show to discuss the formation of a national organisation formed from the LFU. The meeting resulted in the formation of the National Farmers' Union. By 1913, it had 20,000 members—a majority being tenant-farmers—and excluded

but allowed owner-occupying farmers. The NFU's first president, Colin Campbell, worked to get new branches off the ground, encourage membership and establish the NFU's credibility with government, at a time when farming was going through the longest and deepest depression in its history, as imports of cheap grain and frozen meat flooded in from abroad. The NFU stood six candidates in the 1918 general election, none of whom were elected. In the 1922 general election, it stood three unsuccessful NFU candidates under its own name, and sponsored four successful Conservative Party candidates. It again sponsored Conservative candidates in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

and

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

elections, but has not done so since. Campbell was succeeded as NFU President in 1921 by Richard Robbins, an employers' representative on the Agricultural Wages Board. On 3 December 1955, 12 Welsh members of the NFU left and formed the rival

Farmers' Union of Wales The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), known as the in Welsh, is a member organisation that was formed in 1955 to represent farmers in Wales. History Split from the NFU Prior to the FUW, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) was the only or ...

. Verley Merchant, the NFU's Welsh Secretary, responded to the formation by saying "We will smash you in three months".

Recent history

In 1972, the NFU, alongside other farming employers' associations, set up the British Agriculture Bureau to represent their interests in the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

and later the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In 2000, with the National Farmers' Union of Scotland, the

Ulster Farmers' Union The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) is a member organisation/industry association for farmers in Northern Ireland. The UFU was formed in 1918 and currently claims over 12,500 members. Presidency Previous Presidents of the UFU included Basil Brooke, ...

, and other farming and food organisations, the NFU founded the

Assured Food Standards Assured Food Standards is a United Kingdom company which licenses the Red Tractor quality mark, a farm assurance programme for food products, animal feed and fertiliser. Multiple cases of animal abuse have been reported on Red Tractor assured fa ...

company which administers the Red Tractor food quality mark. In 2003 Ben Gill stood down as NFU president. Both deputy president Tim Bennett, and Derek Mead—a founding member of Farmers for Action (FFA) as well as a NFU Council member—stood as candidates. Tim Benntt successfully defeated Derek Mead. In late 2005, Derek Mead along with Farmers for Action chairman David Handley, established the

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

Better NFU over what they saw as the failures of the NFU's leadership. Better NFU also received support from

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist who served as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environmen ...

and Robin Page. Following, the pressure groups' formation David Handley announced he would challenge sitting NFU President Tim Bennett for the position. Handley said wished to see the NFU be more proactive and democratic, while his opponents feared he would turn the NFU into a larger version of the FFA. Deputy President Peter Kendall also announced his candidacy. Peter Kendall won ahead of both in the 2006 leadership contest. Handley would describe Kendall as more collaborative than prior NFU Presidents. As a part of the UK quango reforms by the Cameron–Clegg government, in 2013 the government prepared to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board—the body which had been responsible for regulating farm workers' wages. As pressure grew to maintain the board, the NFU lobbied in support of abolishing it. The government and the NFU were successful and in 2013 the board was abolished. In the same year, the NFU campaigned against the imposition of any cap on subsidies that farmers could receive. In 2016, the Ethical Consumer Research Association published a report ''Understanding the NFU - an English Agribusiness Lobby Group''. The report described the NFU as promoting policies that benefit big

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

es at the expense of farm workers pay and conditions, the environment, and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

. During the

Brexit referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, the NFU Council voted overwhelmingly to endorse the Remain campaign, but did not actively campaign on the issue. In the lead-up to the referendum, the NFU commissioned a report by

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public university, public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally i ...

which found that two of three

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

scenarios could increase farm-gate prices. In 2018, the NFU Council elected Minette Batters, deputy president of the NFU since 2014, as the NFU's president. She defeated the only other candidate, Guy Smith, who became her deputy. She stepped down as president in February 2024 and was succeeded by Tom Bradshaw without any challengers. In the October 2024 budget, the Labour government announced reforms to

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

which revoke the exemptions for agricultural estates. From April 2026, these estates will be taxed at 20% (half the standard rate) but the first £1million of the property value will continue to be exempt. The NFU opposed the reforms, and responded by organising a protest in London. In 2025 NFU held an AgriFutures Diversity Conference at STEAM house in Birmingham to promote inclusivity in agriculture. The archives of the NFU are deposited with the Rural History Centre at

Reading University The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

Structure and function

The NFU is registered as an employer association with the Certification Office for Trade Unions and Employers' Associations. Despite potential confusion due to "Union" being in the NFU's name, it is not a trade union. The NFU is governed by its constitution and rules, which state that the NFU shall maintain a number of bodies which are responsible for the governance of the NFU. These include the NFU Council, Governance Board, Policy Board, National Commodity Boards, Regional Commodity Boards, an Audit and Remuneration Committee and Legal Board and Regional Boards. The NFU is led by its president (currently Tom Bradshaw since 2024). The position is elected by the 92 member NFU Council, the NFU's

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

. The NFU is closely associated with the insurance company NFU Mutual. Prior to its abolition in 2013, the National Farmers' Union nominated eight employers' representatives to the Agricultural Wages Board of England and Wales.

NFU Cymru

NFU Cymru is the constituent Welsh branch of the NFU. It was formed in 1999 in response to

Welsh devolution Welsh devolution is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, transfer of legislative powers for self-governance to Wales by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current system of devolution began following the enactment of the Government of Wa ...

and the formation of the Welsh Senedd. NFU Cymru's current president is Aled Jones who has held the role since 2022. NFU Cymru is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

. NFU Cyrmu nominates one of the two employers' representatives on the seven-member Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales.

British Agriculture Bureau

The British Agriculture Bureau (BAB) is the joint office of the NFU, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The BAB lobbies for the British farming industry in regards to

policy.

Presidents

List of presidents of the NFU since 1945: * 1945: James Turner * 1960: Miles Thomas * 1960: Harold Woolley * 1966: Gwilym Williams * 1970: Henry PlumbLeonard Amey, "President of NFU is ousted", ''The Times'', 30 January 1970, p. 2. * 1979: Richard Butler * 1986: Simon Gourlay * 1991: David Naish * 1998: Ben Gill * 2004: Tim Bennett * 2006: Peter Kendall * 2014: Meurig Raymond * 2018: Minette Batters * 2024: Tom Bradshaw

Election results

Barnard was also sponsored by the National Party. Blundell, Bruford, Lamb and Shepperson stood for the Conservative Party. All candidates stood for the Conservative Party. Both candidates stood for the Conservative Party. in the 1935 general election, two candidates were sponsored and elected for the Conservative Party.

Arms

Footnotes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control National Farmers' Union of England and Wales Agricultural organisations based in England Business organisations based in England Organisations based in Warwickshire Organizations established in 1908 Farmers' organizations 1908 establishments in England Agricultural organisations based in Wales Rural Coalition (England) Employers' organisations in the United Kingdom