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Farmer protests with ploughed message in field

Katie Waple and Joe Campbell
BBC News
BBC A green field in Berkshire with the words "No farmers, no future, food for thought" carved by farmer George BrownBBC
Berkshire farmer George Brown took four hours to plough the slogan in his field

A farmer has ploughed a message into his field as a protest against changes to inheritance tax.

George Brown, from Newbury, Berkshire spelt out the words "no farmers, no future, food for thought" in his field below the Heathrow flight path.

From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20%, which is half the usual rate.

A government spokesperson said its £5bn investment in farming was "the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country's history".

George Brown looking at the camera has blue eyes, ginger hair and beard is wearing a checkered shirt and fleece.
George Brown is the fourth generation of his family to farm near Newbury

The changes to inheritance tax were announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of the budget in the autumn.

The move prompted anger among farmers and led to national protests.

Mr Brown said he hoped his message would allow the public to "hopefully realise just how important their food is."

"My family have been farming for 170 years. My great-grandparents had it and I'm fourth generation and it's looking like the last at this rate.

"The long and short of it is, if there is no food there is no future, it's as simple as that. So that's the message and I've left it open to interpretation for people."

Thousands have already watched an online video of Mr Brown spelling out his message.

A small child, wearing a green jacket and red hat holding a sign which reads "with our farmers #together"
Thousands of protestors gathered in London for protests planned changes to inheritance tax rules for farms.

Mr Brown has already joined in protests against the tax changes.

"At the end of the day if you tax it on the land sale, rather than taxing it on death, then your family who want to continue farming can do so.

"It will protect the genuine farmer and it would also stop sheltering the investor who wants to buy into farmland to hide £3m," he said.

He said the slogan in the field should remain visible for about 18 months.

A government spokesperson said: "Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will mean three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all.

"While the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.

"This is a fair and balanced approach which helps fix the public services we all rely on."

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