In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on the farming unions' meeting with Treasury to discuss the family farm tax, where farming leaders felt the door had been 'slammed in their faces' once again. Unions now say their focus is on getting more Labour backbench MPs including those in the inner cities to pressurise the Government ahead of the Finance Bill in Autumn. And in other news, the UK's borders have been called into question once again after 600kg of illegal meat was seized in Northern Ireland, and growers are being urged to be extra vigilant amid warnings that organised crime gangs are targeting rural properties
In today's Farming In Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on the PM being pressurised by the Conservative party to show his face at NFU conference next week to address farmers' concerns over inheritance tax changes, farming unions are due to meet with Treasury officials tomorrow, where they hope to voice their members concerns and hear some solutions, and egg prices are soaring in the US as the impact of avian influenza is felt across the country.
It is understood NFU, TFA, CLA and the CAAV have been invited to a meeting next week (February 18) with Treasury officials. The devolved farming unions are also expected to meet in a separate meeting
CAAV secretary and adviser Jeremy Moody said: "Our calculations point to the first decade of the proposed policy ending with 89,500 farming taxpayers liable for Inheritance Tax on their farm assets"
Defra confirmed 76 grant items have been impacted. For farmers who have applied for a grant that is temporarily withdrawn, their application will be put on hold and will be contacted early next year
Jeremy Moody, secretary and advisor to Central Association of Agricultural Valuers said the Government's claim that only quarter of farms will be impacted by Inheritance Tax changes ‘misses half of the picture and so understates the effects of the change'
The annual conference for the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) recently took place with an overarching them of ‘More from Less – Land for Food and the Environment'