Day of Unity shows farming at its best

Full praise to the hundreds of farmers who descended on supermarket car parks last month – telling shoppers about the impact inheritance tax will have on their families.

Farming’s Day of Unity showed our sector at its best – caring, compassionate and coming together to make a heartfelt plea for its future.

Survival

More than 75% of all farms will be affected by the government’s decision to impose 20% inheritance tax on farming assets worth more than £1 million from April 2026.

Family farms will find it tough to survive this change. Return on capital is so low in agriculture that many farms face having to sell off assets to pay the tax. Why? Because farming  simply doesn’t  generate enough revenue to do otherwise.

Most people outside the industry don’t realise this. Many think farmers are wealthy landowners who drive huge shiny tractors. But it’s not their fault they don’t understand. They have their own concerns to worry about.

Few people understand inheritance tax either. After all, most folk don’t pay it. And until the Budget, farmers weren’t due to pay it either.

Yet the more people learn about farming, the more they realise the disproportionate impact that inheritance tax will have on farming families. And by changing people’s minds, the hope is that we can change government policy.

Trickle effect

That is why the Day of Unity was so important. True, it didn’t generate many headlines – but it was another small but important step in changing the narrative around the public perception of farming.

The more hot-headed elements of the farming community need to realise this. Yes, tractor blockades and go-slow road protests do grab the media spotlight. But they also risk angering and frustrating the general public. And if we lose public support, we will lose the argument and inheritance tax will go ahead.

Recent Just Stop Oil protests are a good example of how not to do things. The cause is just – reducing emissions to combat climate change. But gluing yourself to a motorway gantry achieves little more than making commuters late for work and just annoys people.

Johann Tasker

Editor