The government will announce a series of policy sweeteners for farmers who remain angry over the decision to impose inheritance tax on farms.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed will address the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference on Tuesday where he will unveil a raft of measures – including a long-called-for extension of the seasonal worker visa programme – to boost profits for farmers.
Tom Bradshaw, the NFU’s president, is set to accuse the government of driving through “morally wrong” policies and of breaking its promises over inheritance tax on farms.
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The policy change means farmers will have to pay 20% inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m from April 2026 when they were previously exempt.
Those in favour of the change say it will significantly reduce the use of agricultural property for large-scale tax avoidance, ensure a closer relationship between the agricultural and market values of land, and create a greater diversity of land ownership.
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But the move has been condemned by farmers who have staged a series of protests in Westminster over the policy, which they fear will put small farms out of business.
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As well as extending the seasonal workers’ visa programme – which the NFU welcomed as providing “much-needed certainty” for farmers – Mr Reed is also expected to announce new requirements for government catering contracts to back British produce, a multimillion-pound investment in technology strengthening controls on animal disease and protecting farmers in trade deals.
A shortfall in the number of season worker visas granted by the Home Office since the UK left the European Union has been blamed for leaving tonnes of food unpicked, costing the agriculture industry millions.
Under the government’s plans, the seasonal workers’ visa route will be extended for five years, with annual reviews for numbers.
Mr Bradshaw said the extension had been a “key ask of ours for many years, and its introduction will help safeguard the future of UK food production”.
“It is encouraging that the government recognises the importance of seasonal labour, and we welcome the commitment to explore options to support the sector, including innovation, agri-technology and local workforce opportunities,” he said.
Government catering contracts will also be required to favour high-quality and high-welfare products from local farms under the new reforms, as the government aims for at least 50% of food supplied into the £5bn public sector catering industry to be from British producers or those certified to higher environmental standards.
The environment secretary will also announce a £110m investment in developing and supplying new technology by helping farmers purchase electric weeders that cut chemical use.
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He is expected to say: “The underlying problem is that farmers do not make enough money for the hard work and commitment they put in.
“I will consider my time as secretary of state a failure if I do not improve profitability for farmers across the country.
“My focus is on ensuring farming becomes more profitable because that’s how we make your businesses viable for the future. And that’s how we ensure the long-term food security this country needs.”
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However, despite welcoming the extension to the seasonal workers’ visa route, Mr Bradshaw will call for a “reset” of the government’s relationship with farmers and urge Mr Reed to “do the right thing” and reverse the tax policy.
“There were only 87 words in Labour’s manifesto about farming, but some of those words gave us hope for the future; policies on imports, binding targets for British food for the public sector, a recognition that food security is national security,” Mr Bradshaw is expected to say.
“We recognise these are still early days for a new government, but new ministers had hardly found their way to their offices when they broke their first promise.
“And it’s one which overshadows all else, wiping out our ability to plan, to invest and, often, to hope. It hangs over our farms, our families, our futures: the family farm tax.”
