New figures show that subsidies for farmers have fallen by 20% in real terms since 2015, as fears continue to grow over the future direction of the industry.
The figures, from the House of Commons Library, show that between 2015 and 2023, farmers saw the equivalent of a £722m cut in real terms to their subsidies, with no increase since 2017.
This equates to a 20% real terms cut in just eight years, with the total direct public payments to farmers now standing at less than £3 billion.
As a result, each farm has suffered a real terms loss of £3,000 in funding from the government, the equivalent of a 17.5% cut per agricultural holding, the figures show.
The Labour government also announced in the recent budget an acceleration of the end to the direct payments to farmers under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
As part of this, farmers in England will see their direct payments reduced by a significant 76%.
The research was commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, which said these losses were 'only the beginning' following the controversial autumn budget.
Specifically, it has called on the government to scrap the 'family farm tax’, as inherited agricultural assets worth over £1m will have to pay inheritance tax at 20% from 2026.
The party said ditching this would save farms from "even greater financial pressures at a time when many are on the brink of collapse already".
Last year alone 8,100 UK farms closed their doors, equal to one in 25 of all farms in the country, it warned.
Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Tim Farron MP said the chancellor’s budget "completely failed to understand how rural communities work".
He said: "Their family farm tax will be yet another hammer blow to farmers in this country and risk ringing the death knell for farming in the UK.
"She must urgently rethink, scrap this disastrous family farm tax and finally get farmers the support they deserve, not place more burdens upon them.”
It comes as thousands of farmers across the UK are protesting in London as anger brews over the government's 20% inheritance tax and the direction of future policy.
The mass rally is taking place today (19 November) at 11am, as more than 70,000 farms across the country will be hit by new inheritance tax laws from April 2026.
