The NFU is calling on the government to renew its relationship with farmers and growers ahead of this month’s Budget. NFU president Tom Bradshaw has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to introduce measures that will ignite investment and growth in the industry, saying rock-bottom confidence has left farm investment as bone-dry as this year’s summer drought.
Investment
Confidence has been severely knocked by last autumn’s decision to impose 20% inheritance tax on farm assets worth more than £1m, said Mr Bradshaw. That decision is due to take effect next April.
The NFU says farming families across the country have spent the past year trying to decide where to cut on-farm investment so they can save up to pay for a tax liability they’d been promised wouldn’t be introduced by the Labour government. Mr Bradshaw said farmers and growers across the country were holding back. “Farmers and growers either choosing not to or being unable to invest in their businesses should worry us all,” he added.
Rural economy
“These are the businesses that produce the nation’s food, underpin the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – which is worth £153 billion to the economy and supports 4.2 million jobs – and manage and protect our iconic countryside and its landscapes.
“This is the same farmed countryside that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet stood in front of on stage at the Labour Party conference with the slogan Renew Britain emblazoned on top of sunny rural landscapes. The reality is far from sunny in those communities, with confidence levels at an all-time low. This matters because without investment in farming today, we risk food supplies for tomorrow.”
Still time
Defra secretary Emma Reynolds said at this autumn’s Labour conference that she wanted to make sure the government “renewed its relationship” with the NFU and the farming community.
“Even at this late stage, there is still time for the government to do that,” said Mr Bradshaw. The budget is due to take place on 26 November – amid a backdrop of tightening public finances. Ahead of the Budget, I have urged the Chancellor again to take the handbrake off of Britain’s farmers, look at the alternatives on offer to the family farm tax and work with us to unlock the investment British food production so desperately needs.”