Farming’s Future in Crisis: Shortsighted Labour Leaves Mid Sussex Farmers Struggling

Last Friday, I spent the afternoon with Mid Sussex farmers, listening to their concerns and discussing the many challenges they face. Farming is the backbone of our rural communities, yet recent government decisions have left many feeling uncertain about the future.

Family farms have long been protected by reliefs on Inheritance Tax (IHT). Last October, there was uproar when the government announced that they were going to cut back on these reliefs. This was devastating to many farmers who have inherited the farm from their parents and hope to one day pass the farm on to their kids. This matters because farming is a business where assets are high in value but incomes are often modest. This means many farmers do not have the cash reserves to cover large tax bills when passing their farms down to the next generation. Without sufficient reliefs, some families will be forced to sell off land to meet tax obligations, threatening both their livelihoods and the long-term sustainability of British agriculture.

We also discussed a major concern over the transition in the system of subsidies that farmers receive. Post Brexit there has been a transition from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). While the new approach aims to reward sustainable practices, the complex application process has made it difficult for many farmers to access funding. In March, DEFRA abruptly halted new SFI applications, leaving local farmers who had spent months preparing applications without vital financial support. This sudden decision has resulted in a waste of time and money in preparing those SFI applications. What’s worse, it will also result in significant cash flow shortages in the years ahead. As farmers look to try to balance the books, land that might otherwise have been given over to encouraging nature and wildlife is more likely to be intensively farmed.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. British farmers are also grappling with rural crime, climate change, and volatile global markets. Theft of machinery and livestock adds financial strain, extreme weather disrupts food production, and fluctuating global markets can both drive up essential costs and drive down the price of crops. These issues highlight the urgent need for long-term strategies to keep British farming resilient.

Supporting UK farming is not just about helping farmers—it is about ensuring food security, protecting rural jobs, preserving our environment, and maintaining the high-quality food standards we all rely on. By backing British farms, we safeguard our countryside, economy, and future generations.