Treasury

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

Jason Hollands, of wealth management firm Evelyn Partner, said another area that could be subject to an 'overhaul' was the lifetime gifting regime

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'

With the family farm tax hanging over the agricultural industry and the policy continuing to dominate headlines, Jeremy Moody answers readers' questions on inheritance planning

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on the latest from the fallout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive closure. Defra is under scrutiny over its failure to give farmers' notice as the industry questions whether all the budget has been spent. She also looks ahead to next week, a special podcast on Donald Trump, tariffs and what this means for machinery markets and UK farming going forward and the livestock team are heading to Borderway UK Dairy Expo at Carlisle this week, the first dairy show of the year