June 9, 2025 • 6 mins
Our UK farming correspondent comments on the driest spring in 132 years, and NFU warns that farms face financial ruin unless the Treasury rethinks its “destructive” inheritance tax.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's a UK farm and correspondent. His name is farmer
Tom Martin, social media influencer and arable farmer Tom. Farmers
in the UK are suffering, or have suffered through the
drier spring in one hundred and thirty two years. You've
got to go back to eighteen ninety three for a
dryer one. How are you fearing well.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
So, I'm told, I mean, we obviously have had an
incredibly dry time, but we've had kind of three of
the last five years we've had incredibly dry times in
the spring, and I certainly remember the Covid spring, so
March April May of twenty twenty, most of the people
of the UK were on lockdown, but they were thoroughly
enjoying in their confinement beautiful weather. So we've had some
(00:44):
very dry years of late, but this one's been particularly sharp,
so yield limiting for a number of people, particularly on
light ground, and there's been a lot of springtone crops
that haven't had the moisture they need to grow. But
by large, actually we seem to be doing okay, which
is why it kind of it kind of surprised me
that it was the driest in over a century.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Mind you I'm reading also, Tom, because I've done my
homework for your slot. You're such a prestigious correspondent. That
arable income fell by one point two billion pounds, driven
by a twenty percent drop and wheat output following months
of water logged fields. And I'm assuming this is what
the autumn sown.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Weet. Yeah, of course we had. I mean, we're just
we're just knocking records down all the time, and they're
not the kind of records you want to break. We
had an incredibly wet September and that was right at
the beginning of our planting. Yeah, we're just it's it's
definitely been a challenge. And obviously, with world week prices
as they are, the little we're getting back again in
(01:48):
the in the back of the combine, or we all
get in the back of the combine, isn't going to
be worth very much. So it's a it's a pretty
grim time on the top of all the all the
efforts that the government are making to to inconvenience us
and make it as hard as possible to make a living.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Well, we'll come back to that in just to tick
there is the cavalry on the horizon. You realize this
and the shape of a sporting event. Wimbledon's coming. We've
just finished the French Open, so Wimbledon's around the corner.
That's always a drought breaker.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, well, we've had to drop a rain across the country.
Mostly we've got some rain. It's probably too late for many,
particularly on that light aground, but it's good enough for us.
It's pert the grass up and we're just kind of
approaching grainfill for our weeks, so the sunshine and shows
is not a bad thing.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
The NFU, which is the National Farmers' Union, you're equivalent
of our Federated Farmers and this is carrying on from
what you've been talking about for the past few months,
has warned that farms face financial ruin unless the Treasury
rethinks it's destructive inheritance tax changes following stark findings and
(02:56):
a new report. I haven't bothered to read the report,
but as we know, this Andherison's text could be the
death now for farming. Do you think Sir Kiir and
as buddies in the Labor Party are going to do
an about turn on this one.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I'm not confident, but frankly, if they don't wake up
and pay attention. Then we're really really going to be struggling.
We're looking at profit margins of around zero point five percent,
and then when you add on a twenty percent inheritance
tax bill, even if that's paid over ten years, it's crippling.
(03:31):
It will break businesses up, We break up family businesses.
And of course when you reduce the size of a
business that's only making zero point five percent profit margin,
you take it from barely profitable to completely unprofitable. So
it's a hugely challenging time. It feels like the government
don't know or don't care. And with the spending review
due to be published on Wednesday, I'm not particularly confident
(03:55):
they'll be much allocated either to agriculture or to the
environ of course, with a with a main vehicle for
delivering for the environment as well, so I'm almost disappointed
that the environmental groups haven't been more up in arms
as the as the farmers have been.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Mind you, the Government of the U turn on the
winter energy payments for the pensioners.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
They did. They've basically had a shoeing since the October budget.
Quite rightly, they've come out with all kinds of kind
of one liners about black holes and they've now they've
now done this U turn or a larger U turn
on the on the winter fel payments for pensioners. They
basically ruled it out for anyone unless you were receiving
(04:42):
level of benefits, which which was largely quite difficult to implement,
quite difficult to differentiate, and a lot of people haven't
signed up and registered that were qualified, so it wasn't
particularly well thought through a bit of a knee jerk,
a knee jerk thing. But you know, now, you know,
maybe they maybe they get in the mood of new
(05:02):
turning or even actually, as the key farming unions have suggested,
looking at an alternative which would net the net the
treasury just as much money but would actually probably have
a much better impact at reducing people who are avoiding
tax and supporting those who are simply wanting to farm,
look after the countryside and produce food.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yep, well got to look after the farm as much
as you're going back to the winter energy payments here
in New Zealand, they're not means tested. You could be
a billionaire pensioner and still get the twenty bucks a
week is your old age pension or whatever you call
it over there, superannuation. What age are you eligible to
get it from? And I might be asking the wrong
person because she's such a youthful man and B isn't
(05:45):
means tested.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Do you know? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
You see, you haven't got to worry about it, Tom,
I'll tell you. And the other thing is you won't
have to worry about it because it won't be there
by the time you get there.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Well, you're right the age of kept being pushed back.
I'm sure. No, I'm your UK Farming Corrispond and not
your UK Pension Garrison. I'd love to hand that question
on someone else.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Farmer, Tom Martin, thanks as always for your contribution. I
think you've earned a personally signed copy of Jacinda's new book,
A Different kind of Power. I think that's what it's called.
Because you are you, you remain ainda pan boy.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well I am and I heard her on the rest
of his politics podcast the other the other day. So
which is which is very good? And if it could
be signed, if possible, Jamie, not by justinder, but by
somebody who just want a lifetime achievement award, that would
be That would be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And now I know you're taking the mickey. Hey Tom,
I'll catch you again next month. We'll talk about Wimbledon.
See you later, yeah,
He's a UK farm and correspondent. His name is farmer
Tom Martin, social media influencer and arable farmer Tom. Farmers
in the UK are suffering, or have suffered through the
drier spring in one hundred and thirty two years. You've
got to go back to eighteen ninety three for a
dryer one. How are you fearing well.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
So, I'm told, I mean, we obviously have had an
incredibly dry time, but we've had kind of three of
the last five years we've had incredibly dry times in
the spring, and I certainly remember the Covid spring, so
March April May of twenty twenty, most of the people
of the UK were on lockdown, but they were thoroughly
enjoying in their confinement beautiful weather. So we've had some
(00:44):
very dry years of late, but this one's been particularly sharp,
so yield limiting for a number of people, particularly on
light ground, and there's been a lot of springtone crops
that haven't had the moisture they need to grow. But
by large, actually we seem to be doing okay, which
is why it kind of it kind of surprised me
that it was the driest in over a century.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Mind you I'm reading also, Tom, because I've done my
homework for your slot. You're such a prestigious correspondent. That
arable income fell by one point two billion pounds, driven
by a twenty percent drop and wheat output following months
of water logged fields. And I'm assuming this is what
the autumn sown.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Weet. Yeah, of course we had. I mean, we're just
we're just knocking records down all the time, and they're
not the kind of records you want to break. We
had an incredibly wet September and that was right at
the beginning of our planting. Yeah, we're just it's it's
definitely been a challenge. And obviously, with world week prices
as they are, the little we're getting back again in
(01:48):
the in the back of the combine, or we all
get in the back of the combine, isn't going to
be worth very much. So it's a it's a pretty
grim time on the top of all the all the
efforts that the government are making to to inconvenience us
and make it as hard as possible to make a living.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Well, we'll come back to that in just to tick
there is the cavalry on the horizon. You realize this
and the shape of a sporting event. Wimbledon's coming. We've
just finished the French Open, so Wimbledon's around the corner.
That's always a drought breaker.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, well, we've had to drop a rain across the country.
Mostly we've got some rain. It's probably too late for many,
particularly on that light aground, but it's good enough for us.
It's pert the grass up and we're just kind of
approaching grainfill for our weeks, so the sunshine and shows
is not a bad thing.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
The NFU, which is the National Farmers' Union, you're equivalent
of our Federated Farmers and this is carrying on from
what you've been talking about for the past few months,
has warned that farms face financial ruin unless the Treasury
rethinks it's destructive inheritance tax changes following stark findings and
(02:56):
a new report. I haven't bothered to read the report,
but as we know, this Andherison's text could be the
death now for farming. Do you think Sir Kiir and
as buddies in the Labor Party are going to do
an about turn on this one.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I'm not confident, but frankly, if they don't wake up
and pay attention. Then we're really really going to be struggling.
We're looking at profit margins of around zero point five percent,
and then when you add on a twenty percent inheritance
tax bill, even if that's paid over ten years, it's crippling.
(03:31):
It will break businesses up, We break up family businesses.
And of course when you reduce the size of a
business that's only making zero point five percent profit margin,
you take it from barely profitable to completely unprofitable. So
it's a hugely challenging time. It feels like the government
don't know or don't care. And with the spending review
due to be published on Wednesday, I'm not particularly confident
(03:55):
they'll be much allocated either to agriculture or to the
environ of course, with a with a main vehicle for
delivering for the environment as well, so I'm almost disappointed
that the environmental groups haven't been more up in arms
as the as the farmers have been.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Mind you, the Government of the U turn on the
winter energy payments for the pensioners.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
They did. They've basically had a shoeing since the October budget.
Quite rightly, they've come out with all kinds of kind
of one liners about black holes and they've now they've
now done this U turn or a larger U turn
on the on the winter fel payments for pensioners. They
basically ruled it out for anyone unless you were receiving
(04:42):
level of benefits, which which was largely quite difficult to implement,
quite difficult to differentiate, and a lot of people haven't
signed up and registered that were qualified, so it wasn't
particularly well thought through a bit of a knee jerk,
a knee jerk thing. But you know, now, you know,
maybe they maybe they get in the mood of new
(05:02):
turning or even actually, as the key farming unions have suggested,
looking at an alternative which would net the net the
treasury just as much money but would actually probably have
a much better impact at reducing people who are avoiding
tax and supporting those who are simply wanting to farm,
look after the countryside and produce food.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yep, well got to look after the farm as much
as you're going back to the winter energy payments here
in New Zealand, they're not means tested. You could be
a billionaire pensioner and still get the twenty bucks a
week is your old age pension or whatever you call
it over there, superannuation. What age are you eligible to
get it from? And I might be asking the wrong
person because she's such a youthful man and B isn't
(05:45):
means tested.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Do you know? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
You see, you haven't got to worry about it, Tom,
I'll tell you. And the other thing is you won't
have to worry about it because it won't be there
by the time you get there.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Well, you're right the age of kept being pushed back.
I'm sure. No, I'm your UK Farming Corrispond and not
your UK Pension Garrison. I'd love to hand that question
on someone else.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Farmer, Tom Martin, thanks as always for your contribution. I
think you've earned a personally signed copy of Jacinda's new book,
A Different kind of Power. I think that's what it's called.
Because you are you, you remain ainda pan boy.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well I am and I heard her on the rest
of his politics podcast the other the other day. So
which is which is very good? And if it could
be signed, if possible, Jamie, not by justinder, but by
somebody who just want a lifetime achievement award, that would
be That would be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And now I know you're taking the mickey. Hey Tom,
I'll catch you again next month. We'll talk about Wimbledon.
See you later, yeah,
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.