The next generation of farmers and growers gave a stark warning about their future in the industry and the survival of family farms in London on Monday, following the inheritance tax changes announced during the Autumn Budget.
A number of young farmers and growers voiced their concerns to MPs at a drop-in event ahead of a Westminster Hall debate on an inheritance tax petition.
The event was an opportunity for MPs to hear from 14 young farmers and growers about how the family farm tax will impact them. Representatives from the south, north, midlands, east and Wales attended.
The NFU says that the removal of vital reliefs means that they will be the generation burdened with unaffordable tax bills. This could force them out of the industry and will reduce their ability to invest in their own future, leading to the potential contraction of UK food production.
This is on the same day as hundreds of tractors descended on Whitehall – the third time since the budget that the farming industry has come en masse to show the strength of feeling against inheritance tax.
Mike Wilkins, from Wiltshire, attended the drop-in session. He said, “Farming is an incredible job and I feel so lucky to be able to spend my days trying to produce the most sustainable food possible for the country, but that has now all been cast into doubt. On my family’s farm, my dad is still the primary owner as this was the best tax advice given ahead of the budget. Now, my sister and I face a possibly crippling tax bill that we just don’t have the funds to cover and could impact our ability to produce food for the nation. It also means we won’t be able to invest in our agriculture systems to meet our climate ambitions.”
Beef and sheep farmer from North Yorkshire, Amanda Watson, said, “our land is everything – it’s not just an asset on paper, it’s the foundation of our entire business”. She said that if her family are made to pay the tax they won’t be able to continue farming. “Selling off parts of our land isn’t an option without destroying the farm,” she explained. “The government’s inheritance tax policy fails to protect family farms like ours, ones that produce food, care for the environment and maintain biodiversity. It shows a complete disconnect from the realities of British farming. For the sake of families like mine, who are custodians of the land, looking after it for future generations to come, the government must listen to our concerns.”
Warwickshire farmer, George Cowper, said his farm is “a proper family affair”, as he farms alongside his two brothers and parents. He said, “We produce high welfare, nutritious poultry meat for the country as well as arable crops and some lambs. My parents spent years building the business and I feel terrible that it may be lost. We recently built a new state-of-the-art poultry shed to improve welfare and production, and we had scope to build another, but with the tax bill we face we can no longer take on the risk of investing money into the business. We’re not alone, there are many other businesses in the same boat.”
NFU President, Tom Bradshaw, said, “This badly constructed policy affects so many people. It is morally wrong the elderly feel targeted, and we face turning away the next generation, who are excited to drive forward the sustainable production of the country’s food, because the family farm they have worked on could be wiped out by huge inheritance tax bills.”