012- Opportunities for Farmers time for less "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" and more "Oh Jeremy Clarkson!"

Introduction

A couple of years ago, I made the move from a suburban London borough to the countryside in a Home County, seeking a better quality of life while still maintaining proximity to transport links for work. The move opened my eyes to rural life. I’ve become increasingly aware that 70% of the country’s land area is used for farming, with a significant portion protected under agricultural designations. These protections make it challenging and almost near impossible to repurpose land for development, even amidst a housing crisis that demands innovative solutions. (Message from Labour “watch that space”.

With substantial economic and housing demands and an eager new government, the perspective many take is to target rich “Tory” farmers suggesting they turn farmland into housing and are taxed more. Whilst my expertise is property and building I personally feel that in a world of uncertainty, being an island is a blessing, and self-sufficiency offers great benefits—it allows control over food quality and cost. Basic supply and demand principles suggest that losing supply will drive costs. Farmland may be vast, but its value, particularly for farmers, is limited and doesn’t always equate to money in the pocket. The land may be worth a lot (to some), but ultimately, it needs to be worked by farmers—an occupation that is in gradual decline. 

I believe it is never beneficial to encourage farmers to sell or develop their land or, worse, to convert lush green fields into the red-brick developments of Taylor Wimpey new-builds but there may be more modest opportunities to make an extra buck and support regional economies. Yet maintain the farming culture.

What opportunities currently exist for farmers to diversify their land, ensures financial stability, yet avoid the temptation to turn to new-build developments, which seem to be the most obvious solution to the housing crisis?

This blog has been written in light of recent changes in inheritance exemptions for farmers, which may create significant challenges for those who feed the nation.

Personal note:
I recently become interested in the topic of the farming industry when I watched a TV series which opened my eyes and may have even been a factor into where I moved to. The series Clarkson’s Farm saw former Top Gear host (and public disappointment) Jeremy Clarkson attempt to show the difficulties of running a farm. Of course, there were plenty of innuendos and a few instances of tractors reversing into hedgerows, but the show did open the nation’s eyes to some of the difficulties. In particular the challenges of securing planning permission for developments that would enhance a farm’s financial stability. I found this aspect of the show to be sensationalising town planning, but it made me realise there is some merit in assisting farmers, as we’ve started to see. It’s put farming in the public eye and may even be a substantial contributing factor in why recent taxation announcements and protests have made the 6 o’clock news. It is important to note that Clarkson did buy the land to avoid tax and as a result there may be some merit in better executed tax changes with further exemptions.  Furthermore most farmers do not have millions of followers who would happily turned a portion of the Cotswolds in to a weird kind of motor enthusiast Mecca or queue in the rain for a pint of “cow juice”.

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