British farmers face conundrum: the hearts says ‘Leave’ the EU but the head says ‘Remain’
Rob Warnock is a proud British farmer and the son of a proud British farmer, and he hopes his son will follow in his footsteps one day.
He’s also a European Union farmer, but that is not a legacy Warnock wants to pass on to his six-year-old son. Warnock plans to vote this week for Britain to leave the European Union, even though it could cost his struggling dairy business dear.
“As soon as I heard there would be a referendum, I knew I’d be ‘out’ without even thinking about it,” he said, as sheep and calves grazed in a field on his family farm. “It’s just what my heart says.”
Many British farmers feel the same emotional tug. But while their hearts tell them to leave, their heads urge caution. The EU is helping farmers stay afloat at a time when many are struggling.
As soon as I heard there would be a referendum, I knew I’d be ‘out’ without even thinking about it. It’s just what my heart says
The benefits of membership in the 28-nation EU may seem intangible to many Britons, who view it as a distant body of Byzantine bureaucracy and obscure regulations. But farmers know exactly how much they get from the bloc. In Warnock’s case it’s £40,000 (US$60,000) a year – his share of the subsidy millions of farmers across the continent receive under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
