EXCLUSIVE - Robbie Moore on the NFYFC grant: "The stories coming to me from YFC members are heartbreaking"

Labour's decision to cut support for Young Farmers is a message of betrayal to our next generation.

Life on a farm teaches you lessons early.

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I grew up in rural Lincolnshire as a third generation member of my farming family, alongside my dad and grandad.

Whether it was the early mornings before school feeding the livestock, long days working in the wind and rain or helping out during harvest, all of these experiences undoubtedly shaped my life and everything I do today. 

Farming is hard work, and especially so for our young farmers.

Yet this week, our next generation will sadly be learning another hard truth about how they are perceived by this Government.

Inheritance Tax uncertainty

Because up and down the UK, Labour are not just going after their parents' farming businesses, or those older farmers fearing Inheritance Tax.

Now, they are coming for our next generation as well. 

This week, according to NFYFC, the Government has axed its long-running grant to young farmers - a claim officials within Defra are still refusing to deny.

READ NOW: Defra says no decision yet made after NFYFC told discretionary grant funding would end

Let's remember, this was in the same week the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to work with our young farmers during PMQs, and on the same day it was revealed Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is having to pay an additional £40,000 in underpaid stamp duty.

In the grand scheme of things, the grant costs Government a tiny sum, but this is a grant that has been given for 30 years and makes a massive difference not just for young farmers, but all young people interested in agriculture and the countryside.

This small grant has supported training schemes, farm visits, innovation challenges, and mental health support for our next generation of food-producers, land managers and family farmers.

It has provided resources to thousands of young people looking to build a future in farming and the countryside.

'This would be another betrayal to farming families' 

Cutting it is a message of betrayal of our next generation and will take away opportunities at a time when farming families already face rising costs and a complete lack of support from Government.

To make matters worse, the stories coming to me from YFC members are heartbreaking.

One long-standing member wrote the following: "I have been a member of YFC for the last 15 years.

"It has shaped me into the person I am, boosted my confidence, helped my mental health in tough times, encouraged me to do things that I would never have done without it, provided me with a social life away from the farm and working life, given me a reason to leave the farm once a week."

Another said: "YFCs are vital for providing social connections and must be supported.

"Apart from offering opportunities to make friends and share farming practices, they are bound to help in the reduction of suicides in the farming communities."

What is clear from this weeks' news is that any short-term small cost savings made by the Government will cause long term damage, much like the Government's vindictive family farm tax.  

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The Government now has a choice.

It can either help with efforts to encourage the next generation to see agriculture as a career with a future, or hinder them and risk the future our nation's food security.

The future of farming is clearly at a crossroads and as Shadow Farming Minister, I will continue to fight this decision alongside the Shadow Defra Secretary Victoria Atkins to push for this funding to be restored.

Supporting our young farmers should be a no-brainer.

It is vital for the future of food production and the ongoing custodianship of our countryside. 

Our young farmers deserve a lot more than the complete lack of respect that they are currently being shown by this Government.

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