Do you need your parent/s to die before April 2026? *MNHQ adding content warning mentions suicide*

[Spatulation]

Absolutely reeling that we're losing the farm that my grandfather bought, my father expanded and my son hoped to takeover.

The budget today means that we'll owe £1000000 in tax and we won't be able to get a mortgage as that's 5 times our annual income and over 35000 times bigger than last year's profit.

We own soil. That's it.

Agriculture has the highest suicide rate in any profession - sadly I can see it hitting an all time high in the next 18 months. My father (83) is already talking about it.

It's not the farm's monetary value being lost/reduced that's the issue, it's the potential loss of the farm itself ....why can't people see that? OP there are ways to provide for future inheritance tax,to prevent property needing to be sold to pay it. A financial advisor can advise on this.

Those who are are looking only at the value, the farm is currently an asset being used for farming, it is not cash lying around. If farmers decide to sell the land, they may make money that they hadn't planned to as actually want to farm and carry on a family legacy.

In lots of cases the land will become housing, there will then be less land for farming which in turn will mean food will cost more.

Then they'll lose the family farm. And you're assuming that another farmer will be able to buy it.

This. Other family businesses manage to pass down the generations without paying out huge amounts in inheritance tax, why is farming so different?

The OP is allowed to feel devastated about losing the farm which has been in his family for generations

Well, two partial generations anyway.

It’s amazing how clueless the general public are as to farming as an industry. This will decimate it. Farms owned and tended to for generations will be sold to the highest bidder (often overseas based firms) who have no interest in retaining any wildlife or securing longevity in terms of use of the land. People will only realise when food security becomes an issue. So very sad.

I have also worried about this Op the amount of farmers who commit suicide is high enough without this worry and unfortunately people only see farmers as asset rich rather than the majority just scraping by earning less than minimum wage due to the long hours l

Do people know nothing about the practicalities of small farming? I’m not a farmer, but I’m educated enough to understand that the investment required each year is high both for equipment and either seed or stock, the labor is never ending, the risk is high, and the profit margins are small. Most of the money made has to be put back in to next year’s operations.

These small farms may no longer feed an entire country, but they are an essential component of the food supply. They are also essential for national security. Without local farms, an interruption in the supply chain could be catastrophic.

the assets of a farm include the land value and the equipment. Both of these things are required to run the farm. They might be valued over 6million, but if you shave off a portion of them, the farm becomes smaller and is likely simply no longer financially viable. The people working the farm need it to be large enough to earn a living.

Someone with a tiny parcel of land isn’t going to survive long enough to become a farmer. That’s the problem with breaking up farms and selling land. You need economies of scale to supply supermarkets with the cheap food consumers demand.

The main barrier to entry is the low margins vs high cost of inputs, expensive (and scarce) labour, huge risk and cashflow concerns.

The reality is that smaller farms will be bought up by bigger industrial farms and land ownership will be more concentrated.

Or option 2, farmers sell the land for development.

Either way, John Smith from down the road isn’t getting a look in.

I get it OP. Mind boggling that people think inheriting farmland equals cash. This has the potential to make the notion of a family farm a thing of the past. Farmland will eventually all be bought up by huge landowners who only care about max profits. Well done Labour.

@Spatulation Awful situation, OP. Be prepared for journalists hunting you down tomorrow.

Ah it's fine though, all the sneering 'fuck em over, how dare they have anything' posters will he so happy when British farming is fucked and ends because 'as long as people don't inherit anything ' they're happy!

Your dad could sell the farm now and redistribute some of the wealth while he is still alive.

So sorry OP. I have family that are farmers and understand how devastating this must be. Hopefully there will be a way round it as others have suggested. Some ignorant replies here, try to ignore them x

Read the room, seriously.

Land only has high figure values if you sell it. It doesn’t yield that much money to the farmer. You may have the golden goose, but it’s only if you work the farm to its capacity, rearing animals or crops will you gain the golden eggs. Farms take time and effort and risky bank loans to develop, and turn into profitable incomes. Sell land -no income. People like to pass on farms to families as they hope their visions will be enacted in the future. They

Let's reframe this: Your son will be carrying on a family business that contributes to food security in the UK. The govt. demands £1m+ from the family if they want to do this. Madness.

Exactly. Beautifully explained.

If you're right, that needs to be addressed.

Exactly so.

I'm sorry for the cruel, ignorant posts you've had on this thread OP.

I do struggle with farmers claiming poverty when every farmer I have come across and know (many) send multiple children to private education. Can't pay as poorly as they make out

The way your father is feeling is very sad, and I hope he is able to get some support for his mental health but, as someone who has lost a parent, I find the title of your thread quite offensive.

Would I trade any amount of inheritance for another day with my parent: yes.

Are you really asking this?

Agriculture runs the world. It's different from other 'family businesses' and home food production needs to be protected.

You're jealous of my (non existent) monetary inheritance without thinking how it impacts you. Yes I can sell the land to any of the big overseas companies - they can choose to grow nothing and force you to pay for expensive imports or export everything and you pay for expensive imports .. or they just decide not to import ...

Not only do you need farmers to feed you, you need them to provide food security on a global scale and economy.

Lose farmers and you lose control of the country.

Yes. But possibly not that large.

There are many people trying to build a herd of cattle on rented land, working another job and trying to get a foot in the door.

Hilarious that anyone thinks a wannabe farmer straight out of college has £6m lying around to buy a farm.
This will just mean a loss of food security as land is sold to development companies, and a generation of farmers with no livelihoods left.
I really hope that there is some tax planning / estate planning loopholes that will become apparent.
For the posters saying read the room, I really don’t think you understand that the loss of national food security is an issue that will affect everyone’s pockets further down the line. The impact of having to sell 20% of your farm assets to pay inheritance tax & CGT will likely mean that an already tight profit margin will be impossible to maintain.