I would love to try the experience of living off the Grid - It is the ideal form of escapism. Foraging, managing livestock, living off the land.
I used to drive past a family in Worcester - 3 generations. They had 2 old style caravans and moved only to provide grazing for their horses. You would see them sitting round a fire as a family or carving something out of wood to sell.
The children attended the local school and I assume the parents had jobs. I must say that I envied them with a fair amount of respect.
Sorry, me again.
You state the above and yet your posting history is often unfavourable to Farmers. The most recent issue being the changes around Inheritance Tax.
As it is a big issue for you can you please clarify your stance.
Thanks in advance
We were without a fridge for a couple of days a few years back. It was a fucking nightmare. Be careful what you wish for.
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That tickled me.
I know I am guilty of looking at it with the perception of their lifestyle being care/hassle free. In all honesty I would probably survive a week which is 6 days, 23hrs and 59 minutes more than my beautiful GF
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you could start small and work your way upā¦
maybe try going without the internet for a while?
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Sorry was that a little āDer Dumā drum beat I heard there? Are you here all week?
not if you areā¦
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That is a shame. Your opening material was really goodā¦
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Agreed but immigration is not the reason services are struggling. Privatisation and gross underfunding, under resourcing are.
And of course immigration should be controlled. Use it to help areas where you are struggling resource wise for example but also to bring in those that offer high end skills not readily available in numbers.
I have zero experience or knowledge on this at all. In my town we donāt have any other than super market deliveries and one from the local chippy. We only use the super market delivery.
I guess people like them and use them elsewhere or they wouldnāt exist.
Another shyster selling snake oil
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Yes, no problem.
Iām not opposed to farmers.
Thanks.
When it comes to farming specifically, inheritance tax is actually quite damaging, as itās a sector where it is more critical that people inherits and continues the job. At the same time it is a sector where most of the wealth is bound up in expensive equipment that is otherwise useless, as well as land that must be worked to yield money. At the same time, if that land and that expensive equipment is used as scale on what you must pay to inherit, well, obviously there are issues.
Should there or should there not be exceptions for farmers. Many think there should. Many think there shouldnāt be. Some think there should be no inheritance tax at all.
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Old saying, āyou never see a farmer on a pushbikeā
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There still are fairly generous inheritance arrangements for farmers. The problem is that many rich people were taking the piss, buying vast swathes of farmland and letting farm managers look after it for them. This was pushing the price of land up so that people who actually work the land couldnāt afford to own their own farm.
I suspect that many people imagine farmers to be the equivalent of Scottish crofts, but in reality, it is a large corporate affair with a dwindling number of family owned farms.
They definitely needed to deal with the abuse of tax arrangements, but I donāt think they have chosen a particularly workable way of dealing with it.
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Yeah, I was extrapolating to Norwegian conditions, because our issue regarding farmers is primarily the Wealth Tax (inheritance tax was abolished specifically for farmers in 2014), which is maybe more problematic for farmers than others. Mostly a problem for small farmers though due to how their wealth is usually not liquid (often so much debt that they end up paying no wealth tax, I note).
Probably very different conditions.
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I agree completely with the points you raise.
My opinion is that we are maybe guilty of stereotyping the average Farmer as a Clarkson type character. There will undoubtedly be some wealthy, cash rich farmers, but the majority are probably only rich on paper, as you say through Land and Machinery.
The Industry has become more regulated (and rightly so) in areas such as Animal Welfare, land management and pollution, for example of the water courses.
But other challenges, like increasingly becoming victims of organised crime, the risk of their produce being wiped out by disease, the changing of the climate and its reliability and like with most British sectors, the importing of cheaper, less controlled product.
As you highlighted, it is a sector that relies on being inherited by people who know the land, have the skills but equally as important is that they Care about the land and often there are local communities built around these Farms.
I would also question the value of the Land. Who would buy it? Would another family pay a lot of money for little return and then face the same inheritance problem. Would a Food producing company pay alot of money for land that would need a lot of investment on the production and logistic side, which could face additional restrictions and cost on planning, likewise real estate companies.
As much as it is annoying getting stuck behind a Tractor on a narrow country road, there is also something romantic about it.
I personally would hate to see the UK manage out another sector.
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I agree with some of your sentiments. A quick search suggests 54% are family owned. 14% tenanted but that 14% likely corporate and owning more land per farm.
If the land is corporately owned then there will be no inheritance tax. Additionally, if they are pushing up land prices then surely the family farms are being penalised because it makes their land more valuable on paper - as well as the point you raise.
I am all for controlling the abuse of Tax arrangements, I just question the value of targeting family owned Farms. Where the Government is only making money on a Tax that only occurs when the owner(s) dies and the estate passes.
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Why am I not surprised that you have answered like a true future Politician, you really have nailed their media trainingā¦.
Donāt react, I am just winding you up.
In Wigan last night Labour won not a single council seat. All their seats went to Reform. Let that sink in. This is Wigan we are talking about.
Rather lends the lie to the slightly comforting thought for some that Reform mainly takes votes from the Tories. You couldnāt even buy a Tory vote in Wigan..
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How much of that was down to votes going directly to Reform and how much due to votes for Labour Lib Dem and Green splitting the vote?
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