Farmers from Lincolnshire and Newark heading down to Westminster over inheritance tax
The National Farmers' Union are going to voice their concerns over the recent autumn budget in Parliament
Farmers from across the country - including here in Lincolnshire and Newark - tell us they're feeling 'disappointed' at the government - with hundreds heading to Westminster this morning.
Large demonstrations are expected in the capital as they fight to alter "absolutely unacceptable" changes to inheritance tax.
The National Farmers' Union is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members - three times as many people as originally planned, to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government's plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.
Henry Moreton who farms on the outskirts of Lincoln will be attending the meeting in London. He'd also there as the County Chair of Lincolnshire's NFU. He says this change will have such an impact here:
"Farmers are quite good at sort of taking a lot of nonsense lying down and they just take it, and accept it. But this is a bridge too far for us. We need to stand up and say this is wrong.
"We're cutting farming generations off of at the knees.
"Farming isn't a job you can pick up and walk with when you're 18, and then stop when you're 55, it's a multi generational thing to build a farm. It takes a lot of generations to do. Also, any proper family farm, that's, you know, big enough to make money - that's over 500 acres to 1000 acres - is well worth more than £1,000,000 you're looking at sort of six to eight million, then she's going to tax you 20% over your first million.
"So, when I die, my son will have to find roughly about £1,000,000 maybe a bit more, which means selling land off to pay the tax man, and then he's going to have a farm that's half the size, and you're not going to make any money at it. It's just going to cut the next generation off."
He also expressed how in Lincolnshire specifically, it will affect most:
"I think it will affect a good 75% to 85% here. The majority of farms in this country, are family farms and while there are also a lot of very, very small farms, where people have got a couple of pony paddocks and a couple of sheep, and a llama, they've got a holding number, which the government have based this on.
"So they think 75% of farmers aren't going to be affected. The numbers are wrong. 75% of farmers are going to be affected.
"It would just need a bit of mediation here to get the numbers right. So that's what we're aiming to do."
Henry believes the solution would be to raise the cap on the tax to 8 million, to meet the aims of the Chancellor while saving local family farms.
Also taking place in London today is a separate rally in Whitehall, also against last month's Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.
The procession that's planned through the city is being spearheaded by children on toy tractors, as a symbol of the industry's future generation.
It is thought to be the largest show of anger to date over the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the 100% relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.
For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate, rather than the standard 40% rate of inheritance tax applied to other land and property.
Ahead of the protests, Environment Secretary Steve Reed - who was meeting with NFU president Tom Bradshaw on Monday evening - defended the changes as "fair and balanced", saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit.
While, Mr Bradshaw said the mass lobby aimed to get MPs to push the Government to reverse the changes, which had left older farmers in particular, in the "cruellest of predicaments", unable, for example, to take advantage of the seven-year exemption for gifting assets.
"It's absolutely unacceptable, the human impact of this, the pressures they have put on these people who have given everything to this country."
The NFU president added: "There's a complete disillusionment and distrust, and feeling of betrayal, that (the Government) doesn't understand food production or even want to understand food production.
"Farmers are cross, they're worried, they feel they've nothing to lose, I don't know where this ends," he said, adding it was within the power of the Government to take the next step.
"I don't believe the Government have any choice but to rethink this policy," he said.
Mr Bradshaw also said he expected Tuesday's events to be a "great demonstration of the very best traditions of the countryside", with people being respectful but passionate.
Speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir Starmer said it was important to support farmers, pointing to £5 billion over two years for farming in England, and said he was "absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected" by the tax changes.
Transport Secretary - Louise Haigh - who's also the Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley - recently said 'shelves will not be left empty this winter' if farmers go on strike over tax changes.