Scottish farmers are warning that the UK’s food security is under serious threat following a government decision to remove farm jobs from the Skilled Workers visa scheme, which has effectively blocked farms from recruiting skilled overseas labour.
The change was put into place on July 22, 2025 and has since left dairy, pig, poultry, and horticultural producers struggling to fill vital jobs.
It is reported that in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland alone, more than 25 dairy farms depend on staff from the Philippines and other nations to keep operations running.
While skilled builders remain eligible to help ease the UK housing shortage, Scottish farmers are arguing that blocking skilled farm workers – along with those working in food processing – risks creating a food shortage, meaning higher prices for consumers and greater reliance on imports.
Labour shortage
Rory Christie, who co-owns The Dourie Farming Company in Scotland and serves as chairperson for many dairy organisations, is seeking cross-sector assistance to bring this labour shortage to the attention of policymakers and consumers, who are set to face price rises if it continues.
Christie explained that his family-owned company has prioritised employing local people for over 70 years, but added that “with rural depopulation, there are insufficient skilled or indeed unskilled local people to fill the gap.”
He said: “This isn’t about uncontrolled migration; it’s about targeted, skilled people filling essential roles to keep food on our tables.
“The government is naive if it thinks its decision won’t have a huge negative effect on food security and food prices.
“Without access to overseas skills, the entire food supply chain — from farm to processor to retailer — is at risk,” Christie added,
Scotland
Other organisations, including National Farmers’ Union Scotland and the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, are calling for an immigration policy that enables the arrival of skilled, willing workers across agriculture and food processing.
It is reported that rising salary thresholds and the removal of farm roles from the Skilled Worker visa scheme are “already constraining recruitment, despite sustained efforts to recruit and train locally”.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) previously acknowledged that “domestic supply is insufficient to meet demands in key sectors with sustained vacancy pressures” and that employers have “undertaken significant efforts to recruit locally and upskill, but persistent shortages remain.”
The Scottish farming sector is urging the government to reinstate key farm roles for the Skilled Workers visa scheme, ensuring skilled farmers are returned to the shortage list and placed on the immigration salary list.
