For much of the past year, inheritance tax has dominated the conversation in farming. That was inevitable. Succession, land and the future of family businesses go to the heart of who we are as a sector. However, over time, it became a distraction, pulling attention away from the decisions that really matter.
The proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) would have had a significant impact on small family farm businesses across the country, and after months of engagement the changes that were announced just before Christmas were welcome. They weren’t perfect, but they better reflected the reality of working farms and gave family businesses more confidence to plan ahead.
Most importantly, they allow us to draw a line under a difficult debate and move on. This is because the pressures facing farming today go far beyond tax policy.
Climate volatility is no longer something farmers are preparing for - it’s something they’re dealing with every year. Fields that are too wet to plant, followed by springs that are too dry to recover. Tough calls about what to grow, what to prioritise and how much risk a farming business can carry. These pressures are hitting confidence and investment at exactly the moment farming is being asked to deliver more.
Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that food security has moved back up the political agenda. We have seen how quickly disruption elsewhere can translate into pressure at home on farm businesses and household budgets. Reliance on volatile, expensive inputs and fragile margins are forcing farmers to delay investing and rethink what they can realistically produce. For the UK, resilience depends on having farm businesses that are viable, confident and able to plan for the long term, with healthy soil and nature underpinning production.
That’s why this moment matters. When farmers are bogged down in uncertainty - around succession, future support or the direction of policy - delivery slows. When they have clarity and confidence, they invest and deliver growth. They engage with agri-environment schemes and outcomes for both nature and farming improve. Profitability, nature recovery and climate resilience are not separate goals; they depend on one another.
Over the past year, I’ve had more constructive conversations with ministers and officials than I have for some time. That doesn’t mean agreement on everything, but it does signal a shift. There is a clearer focus on partnership, stability and getting policy to work for the reality of farming businesses on the ground. The tone at the Oxford Farming Conferences reflected that change.
The real test now lies ahead. The Land Use Framework and the 25-year farming roadmap will shape agriculture for a generation, and they ensure farmers are confident to plan ahead and invest properly for the long term. Getting this right means providing clear signals about what land is expected to deliver, what is regulated, what is paid for, and how.
We need to see how the food strategy and the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) fit alongside investment from the private sector. Without this clear framework, long-term planning simply won’t happen.
Schemes alone won’t deliver what’s needed. Progress will come from the adoption of whole-farm approaches, good advice and stable policy signals that will allow businesses to look beyond the next funding window. Above all, we need to see an end to the continual chopping and changing of policy.
The recent inheritance tax changes should be seen in this wider context. By easing a major source of uncertainty, they create the space to move on and focus on delivery.
This is the moment to stop arguing and start building. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. If we get the structural support right and keep farmers engaged, we can build profitable businesses, restore our landscapes and strengthen the resilience of our food system for the future.
