This is a talking point published in the Hereford Times on November 28.

Dan Powell, deputy mayor of Hereford

NO Farmers No Food is a simple slogan, because it’s true. Perhaps a slogan Rachel Reeves should listen to.

Because without farmers going out in all weathers and all hours for ever diminishing returns we wouldn’t have any food on our plates.

The farming protests in London last week came about after the Chancellor struck a blow in the side of family farms across Herefordshire by announcing that APR (agricultural property relief) will now be taxed at 20 per cent for agriculture assets over one million pounds.

APR is currently a tax relief mechanism that allows farms and land to be passed down the generations tax free regardless of the amount.

This move now places an ever growing burden on farmers and landowners, leaving farms of all sizes seriously contemplating their next move.

Farmers across Herefordshire are rightfully angry and worried with this move, many will have worked their entire life on their family farm, with the dream of passing it down a generation.

Now the new APR cap will force them to put more money aside just to pay the tax to continue the job they and their family have loved for generations.

The Chancellor’s decision to change the rules on APR comes at a hard time for the farming sector after the previous Conservative government started looking for ‘cheap meat’ on the international markets with trade deals with Australia as well as their clumsy transition to ELM(environmental land management).

Trade deals like these and the irresponsible policies placed on farmers seriously threaten food production in our country.

The naysayers are already saying ‘Why not sell part of the farm to pay the tax’ or in some cases ‘Just sell the whole farm’, a simple conclusion on paper, but often the only people who can afford to buy farmland are large corporations.

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Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

Corporations who are not often bothered about farming or producing food, they simply will use the land for carbon offsetting.

If many family farms are sold off just to pay the bill, there is no doubt, our national food security will be severely impacted.

We must back British farming, as a rural county, much of our self-identity comes from our longstanding farming communities. After all the old saying goes, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.