The 2025 National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Conference saw Defra Secretary Steve Reed make a number of farming announcements, while Defra stood firm on inheritance tax measures.
Despite the family farm tax being a major topic at the 2025 NFU Conference in London, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) remained firm on the inheritance tax announcements made in the Autumn Budget.
Opening the conference NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “Our conference this year is framed around the foundations for the future. However hard things are, we must meet the challenges ahead.
“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.
“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.
“This policy is morally wrong. I have received hundreds of desperate messages, taken hundreds of panicked calls.”
He continued: “And it’s not just the NFU that thinks the Government’s figures are wrong. All major opposition parties have said so. The agricultural valuers say so. The CBI says so. Even Labour’s own tax advisers say so. All of the UK’s major supermarkets have called for the Government to pause and consult.
“This Government needs a reset with farmers, where they face up to the reality of how much the industry is struggling. Bad policy, geopolitics, unprecedented weather have left some sectors of UK farming in the worst cashflow crisis for generations. Many farmers are genuinely worried about how they’ll make it to the end of 2025.
“With the geopolitical situation and climate change, the Government should be prioritising food security, as they promised to do before the election. It has the opportunity to set a new course.”
Government response
In his address, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, responded: “Now, I can’t give the answer I know many of you want on inheritance tax. But I want you to know that I understand the strength of feeling in the room and in the sector, we can see and example of that right in front of me right now. And I am sorry it’s a decision that we’ve had to take.
“This sector is facing high input costs, tight margins, and unfairness in the supply chain. You’ve struggled to get enough workers to pick your fruit and veg. Frankly, you’ve been sold out in past trade deals.
“I will consider my time as Secretary of State a failure if I do not improve profitability for farmers up and down this country.”
Reed went on to announce a number of measures:
- A 5-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route
- Another window of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, with around £46 million available
- New Farming Innovation Programme grants worth more than £42.5 million
- The appointment of a Commissioner for Tenant Farming Sector
- The laying of legislation needed to implement the Precision Breeding Act (2023)
- Government catering contracts will favour “high quality, high welfare” local produce
- New pig sector regulations to ensure supply chain fairness.
He also announced that capital grants submitted before November would be taken forward, as well as highlighting a £30 million investment towards increasing Higher Level Stewardship payment rates.
Farming in Protected Landscapes will be extended to 2026, Government will invest £200 million in a new National Biosecurity Centre to improve animal disease resilience and keepers of cattle, sheep and pigs in England will now have greater access to fully funded vet visits.
Reed concluded: “There’s a lot to be done to make British farming profitable and viable for the long term. I know we can only get there if we build the future together.
“We will work with Tom, the NFU and farmers around the country to support farmers to keep producing the food we love to eat. This requires a new approach that recognises farms are businesses, and businesses need to turn a fair profit.
“I’ll play my part in creating the conditions for that to happen. I know you’ll play your part in building resilient businesses that will innovate and succeed. Together, we will overcome the challenges this sector faces and give British farming the bright future this country knows you deserve.”
A Q&A session after Reed had given his speech as part of the political session that opened the event was dominated by the planned changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief and the impact on farming family businesses.
Asked by session chair Charlotte Smith what he thought about the tax policy and its impact on his ability to deliver his agenda, Reed said he was genuinely sorry about the shock the decision had created.
