Richard Felce

Is it even a good dead if you don't tell the world? Just saved this brood of ducklings from a watery grave!

@mometfisher Does anyone know what the 'trailer hunting ban' would actually look like? A ban on laying an artificial trail? A ban on dogs following a scent? A ban on riding with dogs? I dont see how an effective law could actually be drafted

New: government sneak out consultation to ban trail hunting “At a time when the countryside is on its knees as a result of misguided government policies and a cost of living crisis heightened by war, the government has again chosen to attack rural communities with another assault on rural life. A ban on trail hunting is unnecessary, unjustified and unfair.   This is nothing more than the government attempting to distract from the real problems facing British people. Voters care about the countryside, the food on their table and cheaper energy bills; not toxic culture wars.   With two in three voters believing that the government does not care about the countryside, Sir Keir Starmer is running the very real risk of causing a permanent schism between Labour and the countryside.   If the government continues down this path, it will do nothing but confirm to rural people that Labour has warped priorities and a fundamental dislike of the countryside.” @CA_TimB

@lesbashford So much food about this year they dont need to flock up and all feed on one field of rape/turnips/clover like most years

Where are the wood pigeons? 🤷🏼‍♂️everyone I speak to right across the country are saying the same.

@cat_frampton @JLewisStempel Won't most species rich grasslands already be in higher tier schemes anyway? Always though SFI was for the basic stuff and higher tier CS was for the special and complicated habitats like species rich grassland

@JLewisStempel Wrote a bit about it, and how utterly ridiculous the reasons behind its removal are… It would have been a good deal more honest if they had said ‘we can’t afford this, even on the small amount of species rich habitats we have left, so, it’s got to go’! scribehound.com/countryside/sh…

Defra SFI overhaul a blow for species-rich grasslands - Farmers Weekly fwi.co.uk/news/farm-poli…

I keep seeing this meme being used as a response to criticisms of the Green Party. It’s actually very fitting, as in this Simpsons episode, the alien bringing love turns out to be a drug-addled Mr Burns, who admits he actually brings “famine, fear, and pestilence.”

@ShepherdWales @StuartMaggs Aren't you worried that all his potential successors look even worse?

@StuartMaggs I hope so…

Starmer: ‘Morgan McSweeney is an essential part of my team. He helped me change the Labour party and win an election. Of course I have confidence in him.’ That’s McSweeney out. The question is how long does he have?

@TrooperSnooks @scribehound_ctr I can't see how they can actually draft functioning legislation to stop trail hunting. Without effectively banning commercial dog walkers or domestic dog owners. Any idea what the 'ban' will actually state?

It seems a nailed on cert that rail hunting will be banned. In the tired old narrative of country v town, why did farmers win their PR battle but the hunters didn't? My latest for @scribehound_ctr scribehound.com/countryside/li…

@TWBFarms I saw it on TFF but can't do that day. I would be interested in another event or an online one

Only 30 places out of 80 taken on this free event so far Interesting to see how uninterested in using Ai in their business farmers clearly are, I can't help but think this will inevitability result in our industry getting left even further behind ☹️ Without doubts its already become the most powerful tool in my farm tool box eventbrite.co.uk/e/unlocking-ai…

@deane_ag @PhillipsRhino @CammockSalers @1GarethWynJones It's interpretation has done in some UK slaughterhouses. A big problem is that there just isn't enough reliable data on stun vs non-stun. So stunned & non stunned halal often get grouped together in the public narrative. We need a ban on non-stun slaughter, not stunned Halal

@PhillipsRhino @CammockSalers @1GarethWynJones Exemptions? Halal does not prevent stunning.

It’s religious slaughter, horse meat on my podcast . shows.acast.com/mud-sweat-and-…

@StuartMaggs So your saying the £1m relief is actually only £500k if being passed onto the next generation? Or is this only specific to there the couple have equal ownership of the farm?

In the proposed changes to APR and BPR for inheritance tax, the Chartered Institute of Taxation has spotted a problem in the draft legislation. Consider a married couple owning a £4m farm with £1m of other assets, split equally between them. On the first death, they leave £1m of relievable assets to the kids, with the balance to the survivor to avoid triggering immediate inheritance tax charges. Under the current draft legislation, in fact only half of the £1m band is available to the kids. The other half is automatically apportioned to the spouse, where it is effectively lost. In the example above, this would cost the family an extra £100,000 of tax payable on the first death. The higher the total value of the farm, the higher this additional tax bill will be. Deeds of variation could not be used to improve this situation. This seems to contradict statements made by ministers and so may be a drafting error. If it isn’t changed, the only solution I can see is for farmers to sign deeds of gift on their deathbed. In other areas HMRC has accepted this is not an acceptable outcome, and so hopefully the Government will accept the point amend their proposals according.

@christopherhope And the farming budget has not “increased” it’s been cut by £100m. I wish the government would stop treating the public as fools

🚨The National Federation of Young Farmers has confirmed today that their grant has been pulled by the government. This is a grant that has been given for 30 years to benefit the next generation who will look after our countryside and produce food for the nation. Perhaps Angela Rayner could make her £40k Stamp Duty payment direct to the @NFYFC? Labour’s attack on our farming community continues. It’s simply vindictive and outrageous.

@Rosewood_Farm @DefraGovUK I've had thoughts along these lines, no one seems to be talking about how there is only 2 years of funding pledged over a 5 year parliament. With a government that has no interest in the countryside, these could be the last agri-environemtal agreements we ever have

Thought of the day; how can @DefraGovUK only have a 24 month budget when they are actively issuing 36 & 60 month ELMs agreements? 🤔

In doing a little U-turn on non-domiciles, Rachel Reeves has said: "We’re always interested in hearing ideas for making our tax regime more attractive to talented entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world to help create jobs and wealth in the UK." How about you consult on the #FamilyFarmTax rather than just imposing it without thinking about how it will impact the business and agricultural community? That will make the regime more attractive, create jobs and wealth. As people try to build up a fund to pay the tax, or pay life insurance payments, they are already starting to defer or cancel investments that would increase productivity, profitability and growth. Cancelling the tax and consulting would send a clear message that economic growth is important to you, and now you've show you can listen to non-doms in Davos, will you listen to farmers in the UK?

Only just got round to watching this video…. So Keir Starmer sold a 7 acre meadow for £400,000, but thinks the majority of farms are worth less than £1 million? 🤔

@alexhrbfc @tomallenstevens @UKLabour I think you'll struggle to find farmers sending their kids to such places. But for context if they were it would be still be a fraction of the annual IHT payment you would need to find on a medium- large food producing farm, hence why it's unaffordable

@tomallenstevens @UKLabour Tom, you seem to be the perfect person to answer this question. Can you help me understand why some farmers are telling us they cannot afford IHT while at the same time sending their children to schools such as Winchester College (£49,152 per year)?

If you’re a @UKLabour MP, with the briefing document about farmers you’ve been sent & sense an opportunity to make a name for yourself on national TV, just don’t do it. You do not understand the damage, the hurt, the sense of outrage. You NEED to stop talking & start listening

@turbotechdog @Keir_Starmer Has anyone come across a situation where they are in a position to get the full 3m relief? I haven't seen one

“In a typical family case the threshold is £3m, and therefore the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected” While @Keir_Starmer keeps saying this, we keep on fighting 💪 🚜

@sharkastic @AvisHG @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 Yes of course they are, its declared like any self employed tax return, so income tax & NI contributions

@TheFelce @AvisHG @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 And how are they being paid this "profit/loss share"? Are they paying income tax and NI contributions on it like most people?

Farmers are in Westminster today laying wreaths for every farm that’ll die due to Labour’s farm tax. Starmer is still refusing to listen to our farmers but Labour supporting tax expert Dan Neidle has reversed his support for the policy recognising the harm it’ll do to farming👇

@AvisHG @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 By making some changes you could structure it so they become employees. Not without problems of having the very elderly as official employees, who's ability to pay rent to their own kids depends on if they can do farm work. You could end up just creating a different problem

@TheFelce @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 Why wouldn’t they be considered just employees if they continue to work on the farm?

@AvisHG @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 It depends how the business is structured. Generally they would have been taking a profit/loss share rather than a wage. They might not be able to continue to take that share if they have gifted the land to their children as they would be benefiting from the gift again.

@TheFelce @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 And can the parents not draw a wage for still working on the farm?

@AvisHG @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 No, I don't think you've read the legislation Stuart shared. If they are living with the parents then the parents still own the property so are still liable for IHT. If they gift it to the children they cannot receive any benefit from the gift, including living there rent free

@TheFelce @StuartMaggs @pedigreemilk @EstherMcVey1 Do adult children have to pay a market rent to live with the parents?