Budget 2024 is a blow to British farmers and could lead to food price rises, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned.
The Budget will add to the cost of producing food at a time when hard-pressed British farmers cannot absorb it, meaning either the supply chain or consumers will end up bearing the brunt.
The impact on British family farms which, already stretched to breaking point after a decade of tightening margins, cost inflation and extreme weather events, could be the final straw for many.
Changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), despite repeated assurances from ministers that this wouldn’t happen, put the futures of many family farms and the people who farm them at risk.
Farmers are also reeling from the announcement of a speeding up of the phasing out of old support schemes, which amounts to a significant cut to farm incomes, at a time when their replacement schemes still leave many farm businesses locked out.
Together with wage rises and added costs to businesses that apply across the economy, these policies raise serious questions about the future of British food security and the impact on food supply and prices.
Budget 2024
Reacting to the announcements, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said:
“This Budget not only threatens family farms but will also make producing food more expensive. This means more cost for farmers who simply cannot absorb it, and it will have to be borne by someone. Farmers are down to the bone and gristle, who is going to carry these costs?
“It’s been a bad Budget for farm confidence, which is already at an all-time low. Farmers, including tenants, have more uncertainty and more worry, not less.
“When you look farmers in the eye and make them a promise, keep it. The shameless breaking of those promises on Agricultural Property Relief will snatch away much of the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food, plan for the future and shepherd the environment.
“It’s clear the government does not understand that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is a valuable asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.
“Let’s not sugar-coat this, every penny the chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break-up their family farm.”
There is some good news within the Budget, as those hit by devastating rainfall earlier this year will ‘immediately’ have access to the £60 million Farm Recovery Fund, an increase of £10 million.
The agricultural budget for England has also been maintained, with Defra confirming this year’s budget to be £2.6 billion to reflect the underspend from the previous government.
