Plight of loughs and rivers dominates environment news

The new chancellor’s budget in October brought uncertainty for farmers.

Since 1984, they have mostly not had to pay inheritance tax thanks to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

The shock announcement of a £1 million cap on Agricultural Property Relief led to the Northern Ireland farming community coming out in their thousands to protest at Balmoral Park.

The department’s figures suggested a third of all farms in Northern Ireland would be affected by the change.

Farmers told BBC News NI of their concerns.

“Whatever the farm value is, it is well known that the return on that is 0.5% net profit per year – which is peanuts,” said Dungiven farmer Ian Buchanan.

“60-80% of all farm income over the last 10 years in Northern Ireland comes from subsidies.

“Farms are like parcels that are passed down; you don’t open it, but you just pass it on – farms are not generally sold unless a [family] line dies out.

“This is incredibly tough for a lot of farmers and I do feel there is a lot of mental stress within the community.”