Just before Christmas I attended a\u00a0farmers\u2019 conference near Penrith,\u00a0which included a presentation on the inheritance tax rules for agricultural land. An accountant worked through an example of a typical hill farm like ours: the bill worked out as \u00a359,000 every year for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Between the farm and our off\u2011farm jobs, we can\u2019t generate that kind of profit, so this terrified\u00a0me \u2013 we didn\u2019t know what would happen to the farm if we had to pay that bill. We sought advice from a solicitor, but, thank goodness, there was a surprise announcement from the government on 23 December that the threshold on land and assets was raised from \u00a31m to \u00a32.5m<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is such a relief. I feel I can breathe again as I go about my jobs. I didn\u2019t cry when I heard the news as my phone started beeping with messages as I walked up the fellside, but I felt as if the future had suddenly opened up again after being under a huge cloud.<\/p>\n Small hill businesses are vital to the local community here in Cumbria, and don\u2019t generate huge profits despite being very desirable properties. Farmhouses are often valued at high prices because of their commercial potential, not for farming, and they are often sold to become holiday lets or large \u201cparty houses\u201d. The farm across the river was nearly turned into a safari park, instead it\u2019s become holiday cottages and is for sale at \u00a32.35m.<\/p>\n Our farm could have had a similar fate. We care for this land, doing what we can to restore wildlife habitats and increase biodiversity. Three generations of\u00a0our family live here and we hope\u00a0to pass it on \u2013 keeping the land in good hands. The old \u00a31m threshold would have included small farms like ours and driven many out of business, replaced by new owners with very different priorities and no connection to the\u00a0community or rural life.<\/p>\n There are many wider issues in\u00a0farming finances that need sorting, and it\u2019s true that government payments or tax breaks sometimes go to landowners who don\u2019t contribute to the community or work with local farmers. But my family farm and others like it do contribute, and we need help to survive \u2013\u00a0public money for public goods.<\/p>\n It\u2019s bitterly cold today. My next job is to check on the sheep. Thank goodness I can go about it without feeling dread for the future.<\/p>\n