In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown takes a look at the main news stories this week, with the family farm tax dominating the headlines from NFU conference, and the PM facing criticism for breaking his promise on ensuring solar farm developments would not be at the expense of tenant farmers following the appeal decision at Emma and Rob Sturdy's farm. She also looks ahead to next week, with another farmer rally in Westminster on Pancake Day over the impact of the family farm tax on the elderly and terminally ill
The TFA has urgently called for answers following a decision earlier this week to allow a major solar development on the Sturdy family's tenanted farm in North Yorkshire
Efra chair Alistair Carmichael said the Defra Secretary and the Farming Minister should be the ‘voice of farmers within Government but they are clearly not being listened to' over the family farm tax
When asked what political barriers there were to the Treasury adopting the clawback solution put to Treasury officials last week, Mr Bradshaw said the Government was looking for an ‘economic moment', referencing the Autumn Budget later this year
NFU vice president and tenant farmer Rachel Hallos said the tenanted sector was in a ‘very precarious' position in the current climate, and that the Tenant Farming Commissioner must be put in position imminently
Defra Secretary Steve Reed said farmers and land managers who had been the ‘pioneers of nature-friendly farming', would now ‘finally get a fair price for their work'
In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown gives a round up of the latest updates from Treasury and farming leaders on the family farm tax. She looks ahead to the NFU conference next week where the Defra Secretary will give a speech to farmers, but the Prime Minister is not expected to attend
This week from Íæż½ã½ã editor Olivia Midgley
In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on Arla’s soaring profits, giving its farmer-owners the highest dividend payout in the company’s history, how tenant farmers are being left ‘unprotected’ by the Chancellor’s changes to Inheritance Tax, and the UK's borders have been called into question once again after 600kg of illegal meat was seized in Northern Ireland.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said the Government believed it was 'right' and that the proposals were 'fair', with the farming industry offered ‘generous' exemptions