Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher writes for Stroud Times
There has been a lot of talk about farming since the budget, but I was struck by what one farmer said this week: “There is a massive difference between me, who gets up at 4am and finishes at 9pm, seven days a week, earning less than £20k a year, and somebody who has made their money outside farming, retired to the country at 45, bought a farm for £5m, has two horses, five sheep and a set of accounts that say they’re a farmer”.
Most of us understand that the former, working farmers, need support to do the job, and respect the fact that their land is not a conventional capital asset. But we would agree that the latter, big land owners, should be taxed appropriately for the increase in value of their land. The over-valuation of land in the UK, driven by such ‘buy ups’, has had a disastrous effect on farming overall.
We need farmers to produce good quality food, in sufficient quantity, at a reasonable price, and we expect them to do so in ways that are sustainable and encourage biodiversity. We expect them to do this in a market where there are a small number of extremely powerful customers (supermarkets). Most people know and care little about how farming works.
The budget was intended to help. Maintaining the annual £2.4bn for farming support (part of an overall £5bn package), was important. I know that inflation has significantly reduced the value of these payments over the last ten years, and understand that farmers have had to make up that shortfall. It would be a challenge to any sector. Serious trade deals will also help, as will a renewed emphasis on buying British, the creation of GB Energy to lower bills, and a focus on rural crime.
There has been a lot said about the impact of the changes to inheritance tax for farmers who own their land. It’s now clear that the threshold for most will be £3m, and the tax will be 20%, not the standard 40%, payable (interest free) over ten years. You can argue the figures, but this should be enough to keep most working farms in the hands of families who have owned them for generations.
We all need to know more about farming, food security, the environment, and the economy. The system currently only works for those looking to make easy money from land acquisitions while real farmers pay the cost. We could, for example, look at linking taxation to nature restoration, rather than inflated land prices. The way that most supermarkets treat producers is an utter disgrace.
I’m glad that we are talking about farmers and farming. We have to get this right – because if we get it wrong, the damage may be irreparable.
