James Buckle presides over a £60 turnover multi-faceted business employing around 400 people called Heathpatch – which is based at Manor Farm, Semer, near Hadleigh.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves controversially decided to place a £1m threshold on Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) from this year.
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The figure was later increased to £2.5m after an outcry and widespread farmer protests over the measure.
Mr Buckle has three children – Charlie, 32, Thomas, 25, and Emma, 23.
“I didn’t think I could afford to wait for the next election,” he explained. “Hopefully my children will be able to carry on from where I get to.”
Had he not acted he feared that the business would have been burdened with too big a tax bill, he said.
“It’s ridiculous. We don’t know what anyone wants to do but we have had to make decisions earlier than we would have wanted to,” he added.
“I think the current government are making it ridiculous.”
He feels the chancellor doesn’t understand the nature of businesses like his.
“It’s just incredible that a generational business like agriculture or any business – the longevity of that is generational – but she just doesn’t get it.”
Mr Buckle said the business did have a turnover of £85m but he has recently sold various businesses including an anaerobic digestion firm – sold two years ago – which has brought the figure down.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Suffolk branch of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), he described how the business has grown.
His father bought 120 acres at Semer in 1973. James’s business now owns about 5,000 acres. He has 1350ha of arable land, 416ha of grass and 256ha of woodland.
About 10 years ago, he contracted out the livestock operation after a sheep farmer bought his stock.
The arable company – Brett Vale Farming – is paid by Heathpatch to carry out the work.
The landholding includes around 100ha at Raydon Wood where they are about to start producing charcoal .
“Our real aim is to make our woodland really break even which would be a fantastic achievement,” he explained.
The farm hosts an equestrian centre with around 60 horses.
The estate has recently become home to about 1ha of turf containing precious wax cap mushrooms from a West Suffolk Hospital building project at Bury St Edmunds.
This needed to be moved as part of a mitigation project related to the work – which involves building on ancient parkland, he explained.
In total around 200 artic loads were transferred to his land.
The business’s hospitality arm – Nedging Hall Estate Ltd – is run by James’ son, Charlie.
This includes the Bildeston Crown, the Red Rose at Lindsey, and The Tap and Mauldons Brewery in Sudbury.
Nedging Hall itself is rented out as a holiday home.
The business recently acquired the Angel at Lavenham – a purchase he is “really excited about”, he said.
Other businesses in the group include SMS Shredding, Cogent Technology, Global Machinery Solutions Ltd and Camden Boss Ltd.