Fellow Somerset farmer Holly Purdey, who is vice-chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network England, said “longevity and generational thinking” were often key motivators for farmers to care for the land – and that could be lost.
But, she added, any forced sale of land from larger farms as a result of the tax relief changes could help more newcomers get into farming.
On X, many farmers said the decision would mean the end of smaller family farms.
Jeremy Clarkson, who presents the TV programme Clarkson’s Farm, posted – telling farmers not to despair but “just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone”.
Broadcaster Kirstie Allsopp said the Chancellor had destroyed farmers’ “ability to pass farms onto their children, and broken the future of all our great estates”.
“It’s an appalling decision which shows the government has zero understanding of what matters to rural voters,” she added.
Shadow secretary of state for rural affairs, Steve Barclay, said on X that Labour had “broken a clear promise they made to our farmers” by changing the tax relief.
Victoria Vyvyan, president of the Country Land and Business Association, said the change was “nothing short of a betrayal”, as Secretary of State Steve Reed had last year said: “We have no intention of changing APR.”
She added that it was estimated 70,000 farms could be adversely affected by the £1m cap: “This puts dynamite beneath the livelihoods of British farming, and flies in the face of growth and investment.”
Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, said: “It’s been a disastrous budget for family farmers.
“The shameless breaking of clear promises on agricultural property relief will snatch away the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food, plan for the future and shepherd the environment.”
But the government said the change was only expected to affect around 2,000 estates each year.
Following Wednesday’s budget announcement, the government said it would be maintaining the £2.4bn farming budget for England in 2025/26.
Food Security Minister Daniel Zeichner said: “Our commitment to farmers and the vital role they play to feed our nation remains steadfast.”
