Farmers ‘worried about getting to next harvest’ stage protest over Budget plans

Farmers gathered outside the Northern Farming Conference in Northumberland warning that the proposals could ‘decimate the countryside’.

Farmers have staged a protest outside the Northern Farming Conference in Hexham in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

Farmers warned that Government plans would “decimate the countryside” and cause family farms to “disappear” as they staged a protest against changes announced in last week’s Budget.

About 50 farmers gathered outside the Northern Farming Conference in Hexham, Northumberland, on Wednesday, where speakers were due to include Environment Minister Daniel Zeichner.

One farmer said he was worried about “getting to the next harvest” after cuts to delinked payments, while another said his inheritance tax bill would be pushed “to an almighty level” with “massive repercussions for the next generation”.

Under plans announced in the Budget, inheritance tax will be charged at 20% on agricultural assets above £1 million, although Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that in some cases the threshold could in practice be about £3 million.

While the 20% figure still represents a relief of 50% compared to the standard rate, farming unions and opposition parties have criticised the move, arguing that it will make British farms uncompetitive.

Iain Brown, 50, whose farm is in north Northumberland, told the PA news agency: “The headline was obviously the change in inheritance tax for farms but it’s all the small detail behind that’s become apparent since.

“The delinked payments which we were banking on through ‘til 2027, they’ve gone overnight.

“We’ve already had a shocking harvest. I would say I’m about 1,000 tonnes down on normal and I won’t be unique.

“To take away the delinked payments over and above that, it’s a massive blow to my business.

“We’ve taken time out of our day to come here today, and I’m needed at home but we can’t take any more. It’s tax, tax, tax.

“The amount of capital you have to have tied up to make a living in farming, there’s no other business like it.

“I can only see family farms disappearing and it’ll be more of the big corporate companies.”

Mr Brown said he was concerned about “getting to the next harvest” because of the acceleration in cuts to delinked payments (formerly Basic Payment Scheme).

“Our cash flow will be seriously stretched going through next spring/summer, until we can get to next harvest and we have to hope.

“It’s bad enough farming with the weather. When you get politicians throwing bombs into the mix, taking away delinked payments overnight because they say that we’re wealthy and we just need to work harder. It’s ludicrous. They think we’re all wealthy, feather-bedded toffs, and we’re not.”

Mr Brown said his message to ministers was: “Don’t be frightened to row back because you’re going to have to, or you are going to decimate the countryside. It will change beyond belief and it will be going to big companies who won’t care.”

Rod Smith, 54, who farms Holy Island, Northumberland, said the Budget was “fundamentally wrong and flawed”.

He told PA: “We’ve just had probably two of the worst years weather-wise and the returns in farming has been at an all-time low.

“So the confidence is already low – to have this hammer blow now, the timing was wrong.

“I think the inheritance tax amount is far too low. These guys are working very hard to make minimal returns.

“You need to have confidence to invest and this will stifle investment going forward, and it’ll have massive repercussions for the next generation whether they want to go into the farm.

“I have three young children and I’ve diversified my business in such a way, that I have three separate businesses but they’re all lumped together.

“Unfortunately it’s increased my inheritance tax bill to an almighty level. They’re at a young age so they’re not ready to take on farming yet, or the diversified interests, but I’m going to have to try and bring them into the business to avoid this.

“That just puts more pressure on them. Kids these days, they’re trying to entice them into farming and diversify businesses and they’re just putting them off.”

Mr Smith added: “The dialogue between the farming community and ministers has broken down to an almost irreparable level.

“It doesn’t matter which party – the trust in Government is at an all-time low.

“Farmers are so disgruntled. It’s the highest suicide rate, this is going to push people even more.”

Pip Robson, 56, a northern area chairman for the National Farmers’ Union based near Chathill, Northumberland, said the protesters were there to “make our voices heard” after being “given a real kicking by the Government”.

Mr Robson told PA: “(Ministers) need to rethink this very quickly because they’re going to devastate agriculture, which will devastate all the rural economy, all the affiliated industries.

“It’s going to leave massive swathes of the country in a financial mess and they have hit a lot of people who probably voted for them.

“They say they’re not hitting the working man – they are, they’ve had a real go at the working man.

“Generally most farmers are hardworking, and all the affiliated industries, the knock-on effects are going to be catastrophic unless they rethink this.”

A Government spokesman said: “The Government’s commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. It’s why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, more money than ever for sustainable food production.

“We understand concerns about changes to agricultural property relief but the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes. They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done.

“This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on. We remain committed to working with the NFU and listening to farmers.”