Suffolk farmer fearful of son's future due to rising costs

A fourth generation farmer whose fuel costs have doubled in the past 12 months said he felt guilty to pass on a farm to his son that would not give him the income he deserved. Chris Suckling runs Woodlands Farm in Holbrook, Suffolk, and said his costs this year had risen to £40,800 from fuel and fertiliser alone. He blamed the Iran war and said he had tried to diversify his products but said it cost more money. Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, said the government was working to protect the farming sector from global pressures. Suckling, who grows potatoes among other crops, explained he was previously spending £27,000 a year on red diesel which had now doubled to £54,000. He added that hauliers were also putting surcharges on their mileage and the cost of his fertilisers had risen from £53,200 to £67,200 a year. The farm has been running at a loss, he added, with next year's crops also not projected to earn Suckling much. "Farmers are voting, they are packing it in," he said. "Increasingly we are seeing land left bare. We are seeing land turned into solar farms and renewables and housing, because farming doesn't pay. "I'm the fourth generat