The 2024 General Election brought a change of government that farming groups had genuinely high hopes for. Labour's manifesto promised a Land Use Framework and pledged to make environmental land management schemes work for farmers and nature, alongside a headline commitment that food security is national security. Two Budgets, one major protest movement and several policy reversals later, it's worth asking how much of that has actually materialised.
Some of it followed the manifesto closely. A lot of it didn't. And for anyone hiring or building a career in agriculture, the gap between promise and policy has mattered just as much as the policy itself.
The family farm tax that dominated the debate
The single biggest flashpoint came just months after the election. Labour's first Budget, in October 2024, announced that Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief would be capped at £1 million per person, with an effective 20% inheritance tax rate applying above that threshold from April 2026. Farming groups branded it the 'family farm tax', and thousands of farmers descended on Westminster that November in protest, with more tractor demonstrations rolling through central London and onto major roads that December.
The National Farmers' Union kept up sustained pressure through 2025, and the government eventually moved. In December 2025, Defra confirmed the individual threshold would rise from £1 million to £2.5 million when the policy takes effect, meaning couples can pass on up to £5 million before paying anything at all. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said the change would mean “fewer families facing impossible choices, and greater certainty that farms can continue to operate, invest, and contribute to our rural economy”.
The House of Commons Library confirms the number of estates expected to be affected has fallen from an original estimate of around 2,000 to roughly 1,100, with 185 involving an APR claim. It's a genuine climbdown, even if the row itself cost the sector well over a year of uncertainty.
SFI's rocky return, and a Land Use Framework at last
Environmental land management schemes had an equally bumpy run. Defra closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applications in March 2025 once its budget was exhausted, leaving farm businesses stuck waiting if they’d not yet applied. The CLA called it a blow delivered with no warning.
The revised scheme, SFI26, is now reopening in two windows:
June 2026 for small farms (3 to 50 hectares) and those without an existing agreement
September 2026 for everyone else, with the number of available actions cut from 102 to 71
Alongside that, England finally got its first Land Use Framework in March 2026, more than a year after the government first promised one and after an extensive public consultation. It sets out how farming, nature recovery, housing and energy will compete for the same finite land through to 2050. It also confirms the government still intends to maintain overall food production, which will be a relief to a sector that spent much of 2025 unsure whether it was even a priority.
What it means for hiring and careers
Prolonged policy uncertainty has made plenty of farm businesses cautious. Recruitment decisions that would once have been straightforward got delayed while owners waited to see what their income and their tax position would actually look like.
That caution has been real, and it has shown up in hiring conversations right across the sector. This is something we touched on in our piece on why farms are struggling to attract talent.
But settled policy, even imperfect policy, tends to unlock activity that uncertainty holds back. With SFI reopening and the Land Use Framework giving businesses a clearer sense of direction, we're already seeing renewed appetite for roles in land management, environmental compliance and data-led farm planning. If you're exploring what that looks like practically, our guide to the Sustainable Farming Incentive's return is worth a read.
A 25-year plan, and a clearer road ahead
The clearest sign that the dust is settling came in June 2026, when Defra published the Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England’s Future. It pulls the family farm tax settlement, the reopened SFI and the Land Use Framework into a single 25-year plan, and the government has described it as the most significant moment for English agriculture since the Second World War. Whether it delivers is another question, but for the first time in this parliament, farm businesses have a long-term direction to plan against rather than the next Budget to brace for.
The 2024 election was always going to reshape farming policy. What it actually delivered was messier, slower and more contested than any manifesto let on, but the picture today is a good deal clearer than it was on polling day.
Frequently asked questions
Is the family farm tax still happening in 2026?
Yes, but in a softened form. The changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief take effect from April 2026, capping full relief at £2.5 million per person rather than the £1 million originally announced. Because the allowance transfers between spouses, a couple can pass on up to £5 million before any inheritance tax applies. Anything above that is taxed at an effective rate of 20%. The government estimates around 1,100 estates a year will be affected, down from the 2,000 first projected.
When does the Sustainable Farming Incentive reopen?
SFI is reopening in two windows during 2026. The first, in June, is for small farms and those without an existing environmental land management agreement. The second, in September, opens to everyone else. The revised scheme, SFI26, offers 71 actions rather than the previous 102, with the budget capped, so applications are worth preparing early. If you want the detail, our guide to the Sustainable Farming Incentive's return covers it in full.
What is the Land Use Framework and why does it matter?
The Land Use Framework, published in March 2026, is the first national plan setting out how England's finite land will be shared between food production, nature recovery, housing and energy through to 2050. It matters because it gives farmers and land managers a clearer sense of long-term direction, and it confirms the government's intention to maintain domestic food production. For a sector that spent much of 2025 unsure of its priorities, that clarity is starting to feed through into hiring confidence.
How has government policy affected agricultural jobs since the election?
Prolonged uncertainty made a lot of farm businesses cautious about recruitment, with decisions delayed while owners waited to see how their income and tax position would settle. Now that policy is clearer, we're seeing renewed appetite for roles in land management, environmental compliance and data-led farm planning. Settled policy, even imperfect policy, tends to unlock hiring that uncertainty holds back. You can read more in our piece on why farms are struggling to attract talent.
