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The future loss of family farms like him, he adds, would not only be in the country, but also in traditional skills and experience. Every winter, three generations of Robinsons lay hedges on the farm: James, his father Henry and his son Robert.
“In twenty years it will be me, Robert, and his son or daughter – the knowledge will be passed on slowly.”
What is the government trying to achieve with this policy? Is it maliciously intended to destroy the family farm – or is it intended to catch those who use farmland as a tax haven?
If it’s the latter, says Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, “come forward with it, tell us what you want to do about it, and we’ll find a solution.”
He met Darren Jones, principal secretary of the Treasury, after the Budget. “I looked him in the eye and said, ‘What is the question you’ve been asking yourself? If you ask me the question, I can tell you.’ But he doesn’t know the question.”
If, as suspected, the government intends to crack down on those who do so have parked their wealth in land purely as a way of avoiding tax then it won’t even be very successful at that as there is still a 50% exemption for land values over £1 million.
In her budget speech, Reeves said her reforms would “continue to protect small family farms” and claimed three-quarters of estates “will remain unaffected by these changes”.
But farmers are convinced the government got its calculations wrong.
According to the Country Land and Business Association, almost one in five (17%) of UK farms failed to make a profit in 2022-2023, while 59% made a profit of less than £50,000.
Simon Gadd is one of thousands of farmers across the country panicking about what the future holds. He has been taking advantage of the unseasonably warm November weather to drill winter wheat and beans.
The view across his fields in Lincolnshire is idyllic, but Gadd is trying to figure out how his family could make that happen pay an inheritance tax assessment under Reeves’ reforms.