With the Autumn budget fast approaching, there are continuing concerns about measures affecting farmers and landowners. Chief bogey is the removal of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) from all but farms worth under £1m and the levy of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the rest. This is already in train, but there is speculation that reliefs will be further tightened, increasing tax challenges. As well, Stamp Duty Land Tax could be replaced by a new property sales tax, a flat percentage rumoured to apply to sales above £500,000, affecting many in the rural sector. The VAT threshold could be lowered, bringing smaller farms into the system. Meanwhile many stewardship schemes expire in December with no guarantee of replacement.
All this will impact the next generation, so we asked young farmers about their hopes and fears for the upcoming budget.
‘I have never been more aware or more worried about a budget,’ admits Jenny Taylor, 45, who runs her 400 acre family farm at Hook Norton in Oxfordshire with her husband. Under her father, the farm was in intensive arable and broiler production.
‘We have completely changed in the past five years with mid-tier Countryside Stewardship, put in hundreds of acres of herbal leys, 3.5 miles of hedging, adopted agroforestry and acquired a suckler beef herd.
‘The Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) was world class; it propelled us to do something so different and that’s what government should be all about, right? I hope they will stick with it, but they are creating incredible uncertainty.
‘Nothing in farming happens overnight, you have to plan, it’s generational. The government says it’s given the older generation time to plan, but our farm is in a wealthy area, Porsche and Ferrari garages are opening up, and that increases the value of our land and assets. It could be whipped from under us if we have to get rid of half of it to pay an eyewatering bill in IHT.’
'The government is giving with one hand to farmers to do great things for the environment and with the other they plan to take money away for IHT. There is no guarantee that whoever takes on this farm will be able to carry on the good work'
Matthew Izod, 31, farms 550 acres with his father in Lyneham, near Chipping Norton. ‘Environmental schemes have delivered hugely; our farm has never looked so good, soil is better, wildlife is here, it’s a lovely place to be,’ he says. ‘We’ve had an extension to our Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) till December 2026, but as all the schemes are closed there is nothing else to apply for. I’ve got 12 months to work out how to survive.
‘My hope for the Autumn budget is that it will set the DEFRA budget and that will enable us to look forward, but at the minute I’m planning for the worst.
‘The day the new IHT rules were announced I was sitting on the tractor with my five- year-old son Finley and it broke my heart. If we have to pay it, the only option will be to sell parts of the farm. It has at least triggered us to start talking about succession; the tax isn’t good for farming, but it’s good for conversation.’
Amy Chapple, 24, farms 300 acres in mid Devon with her parents. She is on the steering group for the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), which wants the government to commit to multi-year budgets and long-term goals so farmers can plan effectively.
‘There has been so much uncertainty; we have put in a bid for planting hedgerows and trees under the SFI — some payment is guaranteed, although it’s not clear how much we will get.
‘The government is giving with one hand to farmers to do great things for the environment and with the other they plan to take money away for IHT. There is no guarantee that whoever takes on this farm will be able to carry on the good work. Our situation is complicated: the farm is mostly owned by my grandparents and my grandfather has had a stroke. It means we can’t do anything about succession planning.’
'Everyone needs to eat so at least we have that to hang our hat on'
Frank Carr, 34, at Lee Gate Farm in North Yorkshire runs cattle and sheep on over 2000 acres of moorland in partnership with his father.
‘Farmers have generally kept the farm in their name relying on APR as their get-out-of-jail card. But the planned change in IHT means succession planning is vital and we are having those conversations, putting some assets in my name for example. The threshold is too low at £1m; £5m would be better.’
'Our Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) expires at the end of 2027; I’m doing a lot on social media to expand our sales and get up to speed to manage without it. There is no point in relying on future support with the government chopping and changing all the time. The more we stand on our own feet the better.
'I hope for more clarity from the budget but then it could all change in three or four years. By the sounds of it taxes will be going up; there’s rumours the VAT threshold will be lowered which means our farm workers would become registered.
'Everyone needs to eat so at least we have that to hang our hat on.’
William Walker, 17, is currently doing A levels and plans to join the family farm in Swinbrook near Burford.
‘With this change in IHT I’ll probably end up having to sell some land. Grampy is trying to sort things out with solicitors and accountants but I think, crikey, I’m going to be the first in over 100 years to sell anything off.
'Maybe I’ll have to diversify: you see farms going in for building, but we want to look after the countryside and feed the nation. We really care for our land and feel privileged to have it.’
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