Budget cuts

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown analyses the fall out from the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), with the Farming Minister telling MPs that farmers were not given notice on closure as it would have led to a 'further spike in applications'. The National Trust says Defra's decision to close SFI to new applications will leave farmers facing a 'four month funding gap'. And she takes a look at the NFU's farmer confidence survey which is reportedly at an 'all time low'

SFI24 now has more than 37,000 multi-year live agreements and has reached its ‘maximum limit' and can no longer accept new SFI applications from today

Victoria Atkins said the Chancellor's proposed changes to Inheritance Tax for farms was aimed at breaking a 'careful tax policy' which protected family farms

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

NFUS has called on the Scottish Government to guarantee the Budget will deliver increased and ringfenced funding for Scottish farmers and crofters

NFU deputy president David Exwood said it was ‘very clear that tenants will be impacted' by the Government's IHT proposals

This week from Farmers Guardian editor Olivia Midgley

The reforms to Agricultural Property Relief will be used to 'invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on'

Mr Bradshaw is expected to say: "I do not think I have ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned and this upset. And given what we have had to be angry about in recent years that is saying something"