Farmers will never forgive Labour - and I’m not sure I blame them

19 November 2024, 07:28 | Updated: 19 November 2024, 09:47

Thousands of farmers are set to take to London’s streets today to protest the Government’s decision in the Autumn Budget to introduce a tax of 20% on inherited farming assets above £1million.

The NFU has warned the measure could signal the “death of the family farm” and, by extension, pose a serious threat to the UK’s food supply.

Let alone land, vital farm machinery and tools will be included as if personal, not commercial, assets adding hugely to the valuation amount taxable.

Farming friends and family have been left feeling blindsided and betrayed.

Taking on the family farm, an already daunting challenge, now feels impossible.

Fundamentally, farms are a business, and I have friends who have been in ongoing discussions with parents for years on how that business will feasibly keep going into the next generation. Many farms work on profit margins of close to 1%, are losing money annually.

They are asset rich but typically cash poor.

A theme running through conversations I’ve had has been a sense of confusion: why attack farmers, and why now? It ties into belief that there is a lack of understanding from the Government about farming and the pressures it faces.

Brexit, climate change and the cost of living crisis are all already making life increasingly difficult for farmers.

The rising cost of fuel, electricity, fertiliser and machinery is squeezing profit margins and a labour deficit, exacerbated by Brexit, is making it hard to find workers. Supermarkets dictate prices, and in their bid to provide the lowest cost to their consumers, leave farmers with the short straw. Milk is sold for less than some brands of water, and imported meat (with far lower welfare standards) threatens to make British livestock farming untenable.

Speak to any farmer about their work, and they will give you a wry smile - farming is not a job, but a vocation. It is not easy, but these people have dedicated their lives to the promise of the next generation, as custodians as well as business owners.

All of this leads to my question - who exactly is going to take generational farmers' place?

Younger generations set to inherit their family farms have grown up with agriculture, they know how it works, and they know the challenges. Despite this, many are still willing to take on the responsibility, to continue a family legacy which lends to a lifetime stewardship of the land.

If they have to sell land in order to pay tax dues, who is going to buy it and what will it become? Other existing, and would be farmers, cannot, they won’t be able to afford it.

So, although the changes to inheritance tax have been billed as a way of helping people break into farming for those who don’t stand to inherit, with tha profit margin of 1% making it economically unattractive, it’s more likely the land will be snapped up for other use; proving detrimental to our food security and biodiversity.

Farmers, young and old, must be supported, not trodden on.

Another significant concern is the existing prevalence of depression and anxiety in the agricultural sector.

A survey by the University of Exeter and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution conducted in 2021, found that more than a third of UK farmers could be depressed.

One of the organisers of today’s rally, Olly Harrison, spoke on LBC a few days ago, telling Rachel Johnson that he knows of four farmers who have taken their lives as a result of the Budget.

The ‘silent struggle’ is not a secret and I’m afraid this latest blow will only fuel the spiralling mental health crisis in farming.

Despite being the cornerstone on which our food production relies, farmers are taking the brunt for the industry. When it comes to an alternative, why not go for retailers, processors? That is where the money is, and where the Government can get their taxes without crippling an already broken industry.

So I say to the farmers on London’s streets - shout loud.

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Georgina Greer is social media content editor for LBC.

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