Defra Secretary Steve Reed has pledged to make farming 'more profitable' as concern continues over the impact of the government's farm inheritance tax plans.
Speaking to a packed audience at the CLA Rural Business Conference, Mr Reed said the government would work to make supply chains fairer.
He also announced a 25-year farming roadmap at the annual event, which took place on Thursday evening (21 November).
The Defra Secretary also said to the audience of farmers and landowners that "we need to agree on what British farming looks like in 25 years’ time".
It comes as anger continues over the government's recent autumn budget, which contained controversial farm inheritance tax proposals.
From April 2026, agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) will be capped at £1m in total per owner.
The measure triggered a mass protest of thousands of farmers in central London earlier this week.
At the conference, CLA President Victoria Vyvyan highlighted the 'significant and detrimental' impact the autumn budget would have on farming businesses.
She said: “We are embroiled in a row about numbers which is a mere distraction from the problem.
“All CLA modelling shows that farmers cannot afford this change. There is not the profitability in the farm or the diversified business to pay this tax.
“The simple truth is that APR and BPR are not loopholes, they are necessary tax reliefs for multi-generational rural businesses. The government is behaving as if we don’t already pay taxes – believe me, we pay tax.”
She then called on Mr Reed to engage in open and constructive dialogue with the industry to find solutions to the problems that the government faced.
"Secretary of state – we need to act – you need to act. Last year, I asked you, if you were to be elected, if we could count on you to go in and bat for us. You said yes.
“Tell us the problems you are trying to fix and the CLA will work with you to find solutions," Ms Vyvyan said.
Mr Reed acknowledged the strength of feeling among rural business owners: "I recognise the frustration and anxiety that many of you are feeling about the reforms to APR."
During his speech, he also acknowledged the promise he made at the 2023 CLA Rural Business Conference that Labour wouldn’t touch APR if the party was elected.
"I gave that answer because we did not know the full extent of the country's economic crisis," he admitted.
"There’s no way to turn our broken national finances around without plugging that £22bn financial gap.
"The government took tough decisions across the board on tax, welfare and spending – and yes, that included APR.
"The budget marks the turning point for national renewal to help the nation thrive again.”
In pledging to help make farming 'more profitable', he said that the government would work to make supply chains fairer.
He also announced a 25-year farming roadmap. “We need to agree on what British farming looks like in 25 years’ time," Mr Reed said.
“The roadmap will be a forward-looking plan for farming. It will make farming and food production more profitable in the years to come.
"It will not tell farmers what to do. It will be farmer-led, so they can tell government what they need to make a success of this vital transition."
