Overview
- Baroness Minette Batters’ government‑commissioned report lists 57 recommendations for a new deal to restore profitability, from simpler support schemes to stronger supply‑chain rules and targeted planning reform.
- The review identifies the planned inheritance tax change—a 20% charge on farm assets above £1 million from next April—as the single biggest issue for viability, with widespread protests including tractor demonstrations in Westminster.
- Defra announced a Farming and Food Partnership Board to bring together leaders from agriculture, retail, finance and government, with a full response promised in next year’s 25‑year Farming Roadmap.
- Uncertainty over the Sustainable Farming Incentive persists after applications were closed in March, with ministers indicating a possible reopening as late as the end of June next year.
- Rising costs and labour pressures are squeezing margins, with new machinery prices up about 31%, wage and national insurance bills higher, and overall farm costs projected to be roughly 30% above 2020 levels by 2026.