This blog is based on the transcript of Baroness Kate Rock’s Speech at the farming rally in London on 19 November 2024.
Hello, my name is Kate Rock, and I am a tenant farmer.
Two years ago, I had the privilege of authoring an independent Government review focused on the future of tenant farmers, known as the Rock Review. The core message of the review was clear: landowners and tenant farmers must work together to do what we all do here today – produce food and deliver for nature recovery. Every farmer in this country is a custodian of the land for future generations.
But today, I want to speak specifically about tenant farmers—I farm with my dad, who is 85, in the West Country. Tenant Farmers care for over a third of the country’s farmland but don’t own the land themselves. Many tenant farmers are deeply worried about their futures, especially the unintended and devastating consequences that the recent budget will have on them.
Less than two years ago, Sir Keir Starmer, as Leader of the Opposition, spoke to farmers and acknowledged the challenges facing our farm businesses. He pledged to “quickly implement a fair deal for tenant farmers, building on the work of the Rock Review.” This included reforms to Inheritance Tax, which would have encouraged longer-term farm tenancies and supported farm businesses to thrive.
Unfortunately, I fear that Rachel Reeves and Steve Reed, with their recent budget measures, may not fully appreciate the devastating impact these budget measures will have on hard-working family farmers and tenant farmers in particular.
There are three key measures that threaten to undermine our farming future:
1. Delinked Farm Payments
The first is the changes to delinked farm payments. Many tenant farmers are deeply concerned about how they will pay their rent when, next year, these farm payments are capped at just £7,200. For many, this is simply not enough to cover their costs.
2. Employer’s National Insurance Contributions
The second is the increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions, which will make it more expensive for farmers to hire and retain workers. As we all know, the success of any farm depends on the dedication and skill of its workers—this change will make it harder to afford and retain that talent.
3. Inheritance Tax and Agricultural Property Relief
And third, the changes to Inheritance Tax and Agricultural Property Relief are particularly concerning for tenant farmers. These changes could mean that landlords may be forced to sell land to pay for inheritance tax and tenant farmers could face eviction as a result. In fact, this could create a situation where landlords are simply unwilling to invest in their tenant’s farms, fearing they may increase the farm’s value for tax purposes.
Together, these measures could destroy any incentive for landowners to rent out land or to invest in existing tenanted land. The consequences would be devastating for tenant farmers who rely on long-term tenancies to plan for the future and invest in their farms.
It’s critical that we encourage new entrants into farming—young farmers, forward-thinking and progressive farmers—and becoming a tenant farmer is often a first step into the farming industry.
These budget changes, however, will neither fill the Government’s tax coffers nor drive meaningful change for food security or the environment to support resilience within farming communities.
They will only create uncertainty and instability.
The Government needs to think again.
It is not too late to correct these measures.
We need the Government to listen to the united voice of farming and support our nation’s farmers.
________________________________________
Thank you for reading. To hear Baroness Kate Rocks speech in full, click here and scroll to 6 mins, 07 seconds into the video.
