We can't survive as farmers under Labour — so we're moving to France

Times

28-05-2025

I was born and bred in Hertfordshire, and I've been farming most of my life here [ says Jo Franklin, 42 ]. My parents farmed, my father's parents farmed and their parents did too. My husband, Rob, and I set up our business 13 years ago from scratch. We're passionate about what we do and very good at it. But since the new government came in, we've realised our business isn't viable any more. So we've decided to sell our farm in England, move our family to France and start again as farmers there. We feel we have no choice.
Right now, we have a five-bedroom farmhouse in one acre near the town of Ware, in Hertfordshire. We have a 64-acre smallholding where we run a sheep dairy business, with 300 milking ewes. For our main business, we are tenant farmers across another 1,800 acres, where we have another 2,000 commercial sheep for meat, and we also do arable farming. We have 27 landlords. Our goal by this age was to stop being tenant farmers and buy our own land.
But when this government came in, we sensed the future was not going to be good. Things were already difficult. Since the Second World War, food production has been subsidised by the government. And they've continued to do it, to keep food cheap and voters happy. The supermarkets have so much power, while farmers have none — and it's a race to the bottom in terms of quality.
Labour is expensive here, and in England it's traditionally expected that farmers will house workers. The red tape is also huge in this country. I probably spend a month a year dealing with audits and inspections. We have some of the highest overhead costs in the world here, and our government is making it harder by putting national insurance up. That's really hurt small businesses. On top of that, they've brought in a fertiliser tax, without consulting farmers. At the same time, they've pulled the plug on major subsidies.
We knew that the government's Basic Payment Scheme, which gave you money to manage your land responsibly, was being wound down over seven years. But the first thing this government did when they got in was say, we're going to end that this year. So that cost us about £60,000 in annual income.
The final straw was the scrapping of the Sustainable Farming Incentive subsidy scheme. We got about £200,000 over three years for that. In March, the government closed it suddenly.
The Franklin family's five-bedroom farmhouse in Ware, Hertfordshire, is on the market for £1.25 million
AARON BARTLETT
AARON BARTLETT
Luckily we'd got our papers signed off in December last year. But in two years, when our subsidy expires, our business will fall off a cliff. We have a profitable business that employs seven people. But once the subsidy is gone, we would be a lifestyle business, a smallholder. We wouldn't be able to afford the staff, and we would literally be working to pay the rent — hand to mouth.
All our money from government subsidies previously came to about £250,000 a year. And the profit of our business is about £250,000 a year. So you take those subsidies away, and you've got no business.
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In the past, France was not attractive to us, because the inheritance tax was high there. But now inheritance tax here will be about the same as it is over there. The difference is, we will be able to run a profitable enough business in France to put cash aside for the children to be able to pay inheritance tax.
'Consumers in France care about what they eat'
What appeals about France is, the land is cheaper and the country is invested in food. Consumers care about what they eat. Many consumers here don't seem to care what they eat. The more processed, the better. The supermarket aisles are filled with processed food. In France, the supermarket chains are not as big and powerful. People still go to markets, take the time to eat and consider what they're eating. They eat less but the food is better quality. And agriculture is a far bigger slice of France's gross domestic product, so it's of more interest to the government.
An aerial view of the farm in Ware
In France, farmers make profits. They don't have a lot of the red tape that we do with assurance schemes and inspections. Labour is expensive, but you don't have to house the workers, and housing is cheaper if you do. Lower property prices are a big advantage.
We spend £300,000 a year renting land in the UK. In France, our income will be about the same. But rather than spend £300,000 a year renting land, we'll be spending £90,000 a year on a mortgage.
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We're selling our five-bedroom farmhouse in Hertfordshire for £1.25 million with the estate agency Cheffins. It's got an acre, with a zip line, climbing wall, vineyard and home office block. So it's ripe and ready for a family. And in a separate lot we're selling the 64-acre smallholding for £1.35 million. It's got electricity, water, fencing, an outbuilding and planning permission for a house, so it could be good for somebody who's always wanted a smallholding, or for someone who wants to build their own Grand Design.
With the proceeds from the sale of our house and smallholding in England, we're buying two adjoining farms in Confolens, near Limoges. One of the French farms has a four-bedroom house, multiple outbuildings and 247 acres. The farm next door has another 550 acres, two houses and comes with a solar business from panels on the roof of the cattle sheds. We also plan to buy 200 cattle and 2,000 sheep.
We're doing it through an agent, who will sort out all the red tape around Brexit. We will get an entrepreneur visa, and eventually be able to apply for residency.
I'm anxious about the move. Some days I'm really excited. The whole family is learning French on Duolingo. When we have a bad day, we can't wait to leave. Then if it's a lovely sunny peaceful day, I feel sad to be going. But we're taking what we love with us — the kids and the business — and hopefully leaving a lump of costs and red tape behind.
The Franklins are planning to move to Confolens, a small town near Limoges
GETTY IMAGES
'I can produce lamb to compete with the best in the world'
It makes me really cross that our family can't thrive in our own country. Farmers are told to diversify. Because we're tenants, we can't do caravan storage or whatever else. But why should farmers be expected to do Airbnb? Hospitality is not my skill set. But I can produce lamb and wheat to compete with the best in the world. With the extra red tape and costs, however, we can't do that anymore in Britain.
I plan our cashflow five years ahead. The new government keeps putting in all these changes and I'm thinking, where can we find that extra amount? We had to let two people go before Christmas and take on the extra work ourselves. We don't want to be working every hour that God sends, just for the privilege of renting.
Over the past 20 years, every time a new government comes in, they tell farmers to do something else. It's just been change, change, change, change. And you can't run a business without some sort of certainty. In France we know we can run a profitable business with or without any subsidy.
Perhaps we have rose-tinted glasses. But we've done our due diligence. We've spoken to English farmers who have moved over there and they say farming in France is like stepping back in time, when people still cared and took pride in what they did. If we can find customers that value food, I know we'll be all right.