daniel zeichner

Farmers Guardian's Chief Reporter Rachael Brown discusses the Farming Minister's latest appearance as a guest speaker on a webinar hosted by Tenant Farmers Association

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said a key theme from the debate around Agricultural Property Relief (APR) reform was the ‘low level of returns' among farm businesses

Amid growing unrest from farmers over a proposed Inheritance Tax announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget, the Defra Secretary has faced pressure for the number of farms he has visited since July 5

"57% say they trust Labour less as a result of the Inheritance Tax decision and nearly a quarter of Labour voters say they are now unhappy about the way they voted at the General Election"

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said there are sheep farmers who have 'wholeheartedly thrown themselves into the SFI pilot', whose agreements have now ended with no certainty over continuation into SFI and fears over budget cutbacks

According to Defra, around 13,000 farmers were impacted by severe wet weather, including Storms Henk and Babet, between October and March last year

Defra confirmed 76 grant items have been impacted. For farmers who have applied for a grant that is temporarily withdrawn, their application will be put on hold and will be contacted early next year

"It's a brilliant idea, and I think we can go wider than this by getting the message across to workplaces too"

Defra Secretary Steve Reed said ‘the vast majority of farmers would not be affected at all by the changes', and urged farmers ‘not to believe every alarming claim or headline'