The NFU has told the government that there has been a 'clear miscalculation' of the impact that inheritance tax changes will have on farming businesses.
The government had said that just 27% of farmers would be affected by the new agricultural property relief (APR) rules, which were outlined in last week's budget.
But in an urgent meeting with Defra Secretary Steve Reed and Treasury officials on Monday evening (4 November), the NFU said that the government had 'got its figures wrong'.
The union pointed to Defra’s own figures, which show that only 34% of farms are under £1m net worth, with the average UK farm being more than 250 acres.
It added that very few viable farms were worth under £1 million, as that would 'buy 50 acres and a house today'.
In the meeting, NFU President Tom Bradshaw outlined what the move would mean for family farms, as well as the knock-on impact on food production.
He said: “I’ve spoken to a huge number of our members in the past few days and heard some really upsetting accounts of what this tax would do to family farms.
“I’ve heard about distressed elderly parents who are having to apologise to their children in tears for something that isn’t their fault, telling them they’re sorry because they feel they’re now a burden on the family.
"I’ve heard from families who can’t see any way they can plan for a future which doesn’t result in losing their business.
"Men and women who’ve spent years building up farm businesses now wondering what’s the point in carrying on when it’s going to be ripped apart."
Following the autumn budget, the Treasury had said that 73% of APR claims were below £1 million and so would be unaffected by this policy.
But the NFU said these figures were based on past APR claims and did not consider farms that also claimed business property relief (BPR) for diversified aspects of their businesses.
They also include a substantial number of smallholdings, with 27% of those Treasury figures being for assets under £250,000, and another 23% under £500,000.
Mr Bradshaw said: “Treasury officials have assumed that all previous APR claims are working farms, which is not the case. Nor did these claims include those eligible for BPR.
"Far from protecting smaller family farms, which is what ministers say they’re doing, they’re actually protecting private houses in the country with a few acres let out for grazing.
"Even Defra’s own figures show this, which is why they’re so different to the Treasury data this policy is based on."
With Defra data showing two thirds of farms could be affected, Mr Bradshaw said that the Treasury would look at the discrepancy in the figures.
He also asked if there were plans for an impact assessment of this policy on homegrown food production, as British food 'will be hit' if it went ahead.
"There is a very real threat to our long-term food security because there is no incentive to invest for the future," Mr Bradshaw warned.
It comes as farmers across the UK are set to descend on central London later this month as part of a rally against the budget .
Organised by the NFU, the 'mass lobby of MPs' will take place at the Church House conference centre in Westminster, on Tuesday 19 November.
