Dairy farmer Rob Warnock says he’ll vote for Britain to leave the EU despite the likely loss of $60,000 a year in EU subsidies, says The Associated Press. While Warnock believes the referendum will be a wake-up call to the national government on the matter of better agricultural policies, his father is skeptical that will happen, so he says he will vote to stay.
Britain’s dairy industry is under stress from a two-year slide in milk prices, Russia’s ban on EU food imports, rising milk production in other EU countries and large Chinese stockpiles of dry milk, says the AP. A dairy analyst for the National Farmers Union says many producers regard the referendum on Thursday as a vote for change. Besides financial pressures, British farmers gripe about EU paperwork and regulations that limit their use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The “Leave” campaign says the government will step in to help agriculture in the days after leaving the EU. The British policy for years has embraced the free market with little interference in trade. The “Remain” campaign doubts that aid will be forthcoming. Agriculture is a more prominent part of the economy in Europe than in Britain and has more power when the budget is written.