The farmers are protesting but at the wrong thing.
Or at least that seems how it is to me from the outside. I'll accept I don't really know the first thing about farming so you can take this all with a pinch of salt.
Farmers should be protesting but not because of the tax change.
Labour are closing the tax loophole that allows the wealthy to put their money into farm land and then avoid paying inheritance tax on it. When this law was introduced let us believe that it was intended to let farming families pass on their farms but what has changed is that farm land, that was once worth a small amount for the product it could produce, is now worth more for the tax it can avoid. So farm land has become yet another financial instrument and not a productive item. Small farmers won't be hit by this as for the most part the tax relief levels still allowed directly and from things like business assets relief will mean they are okay.
Should farmers get to avoid inheritance tax any more than a shoe maker or a bakery? These are all skilled jobs that can be handed down between the generations why should farmers get a free pass? It feels like there should be some point where it makes sense but how do we make it fair across the board and stop businesses being yet another place to avoid tax.
What should farmers be protesting then? Well the fact the the large manufacturing and supermarket chains have an effective cartel driving down the amount they pay for crops and the quality and diversity of the farming. If we want to help farmers then we need to change from a race to the bottom where we will end up with the dust bowls of the 1930's US and take care of our land. We should be putting protections in place that make it fairer across the board for the farmers to do the right thing, to preserve the land, to produce varied crops and to protect our countryside for the next generation. While subsidies are on way of help the farmers we have to be careful that, like parts of the benefit system which top up low wages for employers, that we don't end up subsidising the huge corporates like food manufactures and supermarkets. Putting in place protections for contracts and purchase agreements that mean that farmers can get paid on time, can get some protection for bad crops and can run a sustainable business all feel reasonable. If this requires subsidies then we can add tax to the processed food that is making people sick.
On a more positive note the Apricot Centre is proving that we an farm in a more sustainable way that strengthens the countryside and does not treat is as an infinite resource to be exploited for maximum profit. Creating robust ecosystems that encourage nature and biodiversity and a healthy soil.