The NFU has launched its Farmer Confidence Survey for 2026, calling on farmers to have a voice as businesses continue to face policy confusion, rising costs and continued uncertainty.
Trade unions said the research plays an important role in shaping policy development and lobbying, and feeds directly into discussions with government and other industry decision-makers.
The online survey, which takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete, asks farmers about their confidence in the year ahead, as well as their views on broader pressures affecting farm operations.
These include the government’s changes to inheritance tax and the reinstatement of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), and the responses will be used to inform the NFU’s position in the future.
The survey is open until Tuesday 20 January 2026 and the NFU is encouraging farmers to participate to ensure their experiences are fully reflected.
The importance of participation was underlined by shocking findings last year that highlighted the scale of the challenges facing the sector.
Business confidence among agricultural companies has fallen below the record low set for 2024, reaching the weakest level since the Farm Confidence Survey began 15 years ago.
The result follows what the NFU described as “another hammer blow to farmers” after Defra abruptly ended SFI applications in March.
More than 900 farmers from all major UK farming sectors took part in the survey, which revealed increasing financial and policy pressures.
Approximately 85% of landowners responded that their inheritance tax burden would increase due to reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. Of those affected, 32% said they planned to reduce investment to cope with the impact. This rose to 42% for mixed arable and livestock operations and 49% for arable farms.
Meanwhile, 88% of respondents said phasing out direct payments would have a negative impact on their business.
Cost pressures are also a major concern, with 76% of employers expecting to be affected by an increase in their employer’s National Insurance contributions. As a result, 65% said they expected profits to decline, and 43% said they would cut back on investments.
The NFU said its participation in the 2026 inquiry was critical to setting priorities for the year ahead and strengthening its case to government, as confidence across the industry remained fragile.
