To wonder why agricultural land is worth so much?

Because it's in demand for building. We have a lot of farmland in the family & you would not believe the offers we have had to sell. I wonder if FIL actually negotiated to sell what he would get..

So you’d be happy to have let’s say 30% less on your plate?

It’s not 100%. Shouldn’t we be aiming for that?

I can see farmers struggling, particularly smaller ones and those who rent the farm.

Answer to the OP’s original question: in 1984 death duties were abolished on farmland. Up until that time it had been included in the deceased’s estate. Between the years 1992 and 2012 the value of agricultural land rose 4 fold, far outstripping inflation Meanwhile farmers’ margins were being squeezed by the power of the supermarkets. Thus wealth and income massively diverged…..

Yes, but same with manufacturing, we used to produce a huge proportion of our goods PLUS exported a huge proportion too. Now we're dependant on foreign countries for so much it's a real worry. Just look at the shortages during covid and the Suez blockage. Not just "natural" problems like that, but it puts us at political risk if other countries simply decide not to sell to us or but up prices. Really worrying times ahead.

You have no idea

Consider also that we only grown 50% of our food. We import the rest. Remember how Spain just experienced terrible floods?

this isn't correct though, we grow 62% and export, so 50% is left on our plate

We used to grow 75% of our food. What does that tell you about farming? It’s contracting. The government doesn’t give a shit about food security which I find really worrying.

we used to supply 78% of our own food in 1988 - that was up from 1960 when it was 52%

I think the old saying that there is no such thing as a poor farmer still stands true.

I also think there is no farmer who won’t plead poverty when it suits them.

Obviously this is for the land owner. Tenant farmers is a different matter.

We are smalltime farmers. Where we live (N.I) land is very hard come by to buy. If there's even a sniff land is coming up for sale it never actually makes it onto open market because someone will have approached the vendor with a very generous offer.

I found it! Countryfile, but a good years back.

No, I have not watch him in the farm. I am assuming is something on the lines of top gear. Trying lots of things and messing more than half.
I will not watch it. I cannot stand him.
I have watched other farming programs, I am sure they had one where students learnt farming. I loved them so much!
And I do appreciate farmers, but not Clarkson.

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/property-talk-why-the-price-of-farmland-is-set-to-climb-again-in-2023-252126#:~:text=Farmland%20has%20long%20been%20seen,of%20pasture%20to%20record%20levels.

@MauveCrow
The whole attack on farmers has nothing to do with tax, money or fairness, it's simply to stop independent farming in the UK. Other countries are trying to the same thing in different ways, the Netherlands for example with the nitrogen nonsense.

I agree I think some of this is down to moving food production to poorer countries for NetZero and forcing people off the land so the housing targets and new towns can be implemented.

@MushMonster

I can't stand Monty Don personally and he knows fuck all about farming, I've heard him talk about it. I wanted to shout he should bend over more so we can hear him better, its too muffled through his trousers.

JC knows nothing about farming either but he has been employng the right people and has given farmers more media time than they ordinarily get thanks to his show. He might have bought the farm for tax purposes, he might have decided to make money from having a show where he is crap at farming, but my goodness he has sparked an interest in an industry that has become almost invisible in recent decades.

Whatever you think of JC, he has at least done some good in highlighting the plight of a lot of farmers in the UK.

Yes, I rather have Monty Don.

Monty Don does flowers and dogs!

I agree! Not the right person!

Have you watched Clarkson’s Farm?

Evil and good can co-exist. We are not one dimensional beings.

He has done a lot for farmers. I dislike him very much for everything else but for this, regardless of his motivation he has doe something good.

Also, the nitrogen thing in the EU is to protect your beloved countryside of intensive farming, which releases too much nitrogen and phosphorous into water streams, severely affecting life in them. It also negatively affects underground water.This is against the farmers own interest. A sustainable balance between production and quality of land and water preservation is needed.
That is all. Change is always tough, but we need to look past today and into whether it will better our tomorrow.

Monty Don? 😳

Get Monty Don to talk for farmers. The whole nation loves him.
Why Jeremy Clarkson?
But that is not the main topic. That is to keep farm land as farms and make the business sustainable.
I have read a bit more about it, and if you add the business relief to it, does it not mean no payment needed for estates below 4 million pounds?

I cannot believe anyone can possibly be defending Jeremy Clarkson!

Attacking farmers and taxing them off their land, will not make land any cheaper. It will entrench land ownership as something only the super wealthy or dodgy corporations will be able to afford.

The whole attack on farmers has nothing to do with tax, money or fairness, it's simply to stop independent farming in the UK. Other countries are trying to the same thing in different ways, the Netherlands for example with the nitrogen nonsense.

It is the same mindset as attacking landlords. Tax and regulation changes forcing small landlords out of the industry. If you think renting your flat from a small time buy to let investor is bad, wait until your landlord is Blackrock. Same for the farms. The land will be bought by Blackrock and others to fiddle the subsidies for solar panels, or windmills, or concreted over for housing.

None of you grasping jealous fools will ever see a sniff of that land, or any revenue from it, but your food will cost more, with less choice, and you'll be indirectly stuffing money in the pockets of people you should despise....but yeah, you hate Clarkson so fuck the farmers eh. Shortsighted idiots.

My MIL sold hers for close on £1million with no planning although did have some agricultural buildings on it which did make some difference. They had it for years and bought very cheaply. A really good investment for her.

It's because of the potential alternative uses such as property developments, renewable energy (wind and solar farms), etc., certainly not for it's value as farmland. That's why land that can't be used for building and unsuitable for wind/solar energy remains stubbornly cheap.

Land is a finate resource so it's value will always remain high ultimately

Labour have woefully misrepresented to the public the impact this will have. £1million in assets isn't very hard to achieve for a farm. The barns, land, animals and equipment stack up fairly quickly.

We farm around 100ha, fairly small by farming standards And will be affected. If we'll be affected so will most farms. Our income will not be able to pay for the IHT. I make more as a reasonably paid professional then 100ha dairy farm does.

@plopsofa is right about JC. He might be a vile misogynist but farmers love him for what he's done to show the realities of farming. At the end of season 1 when he said that his average wage for the ag work was something like 46p/hour.... that's the realities farmers face. Remember the working time directive doesn't cover ag workers

I say this as someone who has voted Labour and as a staunch anti tory. I can see the need for reform but this is not it. This will have huge long term repercussions for our food security.

And IHT brings in approx £7b.

its tiny.

A wealth tax is what we need. Fortunately that idea is gaining ground globally. Finally.