A new report by Family Business UK shows that the government’s plans to change inheritance tax, will in fact cost them money. This is a wakeup call to the government as the report states that according to its calculations, the Treasury will lose £1.9 billion.

The new research carried out by CBI economics has found that agriculture and horticulture sectors will be the worst affected by the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief (APR and BPR) in terms of turnover, with an average reduction of 12% due to APR and 11% due to BPR predicted.

Agriculture and Horticulture are also predicted to have the steepest drop in investment, projected to be averaging a 17% decline. Furthermore, the prediction is that capping the APR at £1 million, will result in around 28,000 job losses in the farming sector and the supply chain. It is reported that some are considering selling the farm business, whilst others are looking to sell assets outside the family whilst others are considering closing the business or farm in response to the changes to BPR and APR. Extreme measures.

Should this happen, then there would be further disruption and less money in rural communities and economy. The NFU are keen to point out the catastrophic impact on farm businesses across the UK, and the decline in economic growth as farmers withdraw capital investments. Neil Davy the CEO of farm Business UK said that no industry, sector, region or parliamentary constituency will be immune from the changes as business owners tear up long-term plans to invest in their businesses, employees and the communities in which they are based.

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Whilst parts of this government are looking at how to boost regional growth and create opportunities in every sector, this research shows how changes to BPR and APR will achieve the exact opposite. Tom Bradshaw at the NFU states that it is not too late for Ministers to change their minds and noted that Family Business UK is “the latest in a long line of respected organisations and bodies to call out this tax for what it is; flawed, badly thought-out, and destructive”.

There is no sign of that happening as government departments (apart from the few protected depts) are squeezed once again as the financial review takes place. There is simply no money for anything at Defra now, and it will get a lot worse when the review kicks in post 2026. The added pressure of increasing defence spending in the coming years and greater NHS demands will keep the economy in a dire state unless some miraculous growth can be engineered. That is not looking likely in the short to medium term, as the Chancellor puts the pressure on business, and invests billions on capital projects in order to kick start the economy.

Given that the government is putting agriculture and farmers under such intense pressure, it is not perhaps surprising that Professor Tim Lang is warning that this country is woefully unprepared for shocks to the supply chain. He warns that should a cyber attack or Russian assault knock out our vulnerable food chain, ration packs will be needed and if people were in psychological shock, then they will need food that is familiar to them.

However, Tim Lang commented that government departments have given little thought to such problems. This might not be a surprise given all the other things they struggle with, but Germany and Sweden are already working at this, getting into the minutiae on different diets and different ethnicities. Tim Lang is constantly telling Defra to take food security and food shocks more seriously, commenting that intelligence gathering is low.

Our biggest problem is that we think food comes from supermarkets, shunning agriculture whilst the UK has excellent soils and capabilities. Margins are thin for those producing the raw ingredients for our ‘just in time’ food supply and Tim Lang thinks we should move to ‘just in case’. Nine companies control 95% of all the food purchases which includes the catering sector, which have long supply chains, all managed and integrated in order to get rid of storage and cost. This, according to experts has left our food supply highly vulnerable to cyber-attack.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed is to decide whether two reservoirs, big enough to supply about 750,000 homes will go ahead. One site is near Sleaford in Lincolnshire and the second is near March in Cambridgeshire. These two projects which are seen as nationally significant have been taken out of the hands of local planners. I look forward with interest to see if they go ahead and what the timescale for such crucial infrastructure will be.

We are in France for 10 days or so and it has been wet here since February. We seemed to have enjoyed typical Dordogne weather at home this spring, whilst the French have also enjoyed ours. I have never seen it so green, and crops look well. Things are changing here in France, sadly as the younger generation are tempted by multinational fast-food companies, to the detriment of excellent family French restaurants.

Now the young are unenthusiastic about pungent cheeses which the French have always been so proud of. Indeed, when surveyed, 9% claimed not to eat any cheese at all! The traditional French shake their heads, commenting that young people are being brought up with totally sanitised things. Right wing voters who back Marine le Pen the populist candidate, eat a great deal more cheese that those who back President Macron according to surveys. Cheese is a great tradition in France, and it is no surprise to see that radical left supporters eat little or no cheese.

Comte’ is one of the most popular artisan cheeses in France, and it now finds itself at the centre of a row as an ecologist calls for his compatriots to stop eating it. Pierre Rigaux, founder of Nos Viventia, an association that campaigns for animal rights and biodiversity admitted that it was a real pleasure to eat Compte with its delicious nutty flavour, but that it was far outweighed by the damage to the animals and the ecology. This infuriated traditionalists accused him of attacking a gastronomic monument and the local ministry office waded in, urging people to eat the cheese without feeling guilty about it.

This is a success story, where the sales of Comte’ have increased in recent years, prompting dairy farmers in the Jura to increase cow numbers and yields, using more intensive methods (their words) to produce milk for the cheese. Whilst supporters have launched the TouchePasAuCompte hashtag, Le Figaro’s political correspondent has been on the TV stating that we have here the synthesis of ecological thought. If anything is bad for the environment, not only must it be banned, but anyone who consumes it should be held responsible for causing a disaster.

It does seem that agriculture is under attack in all countries, not just for producing the basic food which feeds the nation, but even some specialised high value produce, if environmental fanatics decide its out of kilter with their stated aims and beliefs. This is what happens when food is plentiful and undervalued, goodness knows what the reaction would be if there was a shortage, I think a few of the more extreme eco warriors would actually welcome it. However, I think if it should happen, their views and utterances would not be tolerated by ordinary people with families to feed.