Lincolnshire family fear they will have to sell to pay ‘farm tax’

David described the situation as “soul destroying”, and said it would lead to a reduction in UK-grown food.

He told the BBC he had recently decided not to invest in a new project to produce more potatoes.

From April 2026, inherited farms worth more than £1m will be liable to be taxed at 20% – half the standard IHT rate. They were previously exempt from the tax.

The government says it wants to discourage the rich from buying land solely to dodge tax.

The prime minister previously told the BBC he understood farmers’ concerns and “wants to support” them, and “the vast majority” of them would be unaffected by the change to the tax rule.

The government said the payments “can be spread over 10 years, interest-free”.

David’s daughter Kate, who is Archie’s mum, hopes to take over the farm in the future.

She said: “It’s not that we don’t pay tax. We pay our fair share of tax as a business.

“We pay a good chunk of corporation tax. The biggest problem is that there is a lot of value within land and the assets of machinery, but the value of that land is only that value if it is sold.

“The ability to earn money from that land is quite disproportionate to the value of that land.”