Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Farmer Richard Watts said: "Rising costs in wages, National Insurance, and energy are putting immense pressure on small and family-run farms"

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown looks back at the top news stories of the week, including the Chancellor's Spring Statement, the Defra Secretary facing criticism for visiting only four farms since Labour's General Election win, concerns around the end of funding for Producer Organisations within the soft fruit sector, and King Charles and the Prince of Wales out and about supporting British farming. She also looks ahead to next week, when the Farming Minister will make his first appearance before the Efra Committee to answer questions on the SFI suspension and ongoing industry concerns

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown unpicks the Chancellor's Spring Statement after she stood firm on the family farm tax, Defra Secretary has only visited 4 farms since Labour's General Election, with his ministers for flood and nature not visiting any, and livestock farmers are being encouraged to sign up for free vet visits through the TB Advisory Service (TBAS) before the service’s funding ends

While Ms Reeves was quick to quell any rumoured tax rises, she did not back down on the measures introduced in the Autumn Budget, including the family farm tax

n today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown analyses the results from a Farmers Guardian survey looking at how farmers' mental health has been impacted by the Autumn Budget, Red Tractor promises to implement all 56 recommendations from the farm assurance review and ensure farmers are the 'absolute priority', and the Government's new Food Strategy Advisory Board is criticised for its lack of farmer representation.

It has been rumoured Defra's budget could be on the ‘chopping block' in the Comprehensive Spending Review

With the family farm tax hanging over the agricultural industry and the policy continuing to dominate headlines across national and farming press, Farmers Guardian puts readers’ questions directly to industry experts

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on yesterday's emergency roundtable meeting on SFI, with the Farming Minister criticised for providing lack of clarity on the what the future redesign of SFI will look like, and for showing a lack of empathy for those farmers who missed out on SFI. She also reports on farmers defending Scottish Minister Mairi Gougeon and criticising the level abuse she received online, as she announced she is stepping down from her post after more that half of her life in politics. And don't forget to sign up to our free webinar on Inheritance Tax ( March 27), where an expert panel will be unpicking any updates from the Spring Statement the day before

TFA representative George Renner said despite indication from Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner at an ‘emergency' industry roundtable that a ‘stripped back version' of SFI would be available this summer, commitments from the Minister were still ‘very woolly'