Agricultural assets rose in number across some parts of Scotland during 2024 but official figures show a sharp decline over a longer term.
When compared with 2022, the drop is as much as 14%.
According to Gordon and Buchan Tory MP Harriet Cross, this adds to major concerns over Labour’s so-called “family farm tax”.
The figures for agricultural holdings were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through a Freedom of Information request.
Where was the biggest plunge?
They show a 14% drop over two years in the Highlands, to 8,567 units.
In Angus the number of assets fell by nearly 3.5%, to 1,190.
Aberdeenshire and Moray saw falls of 6.3% to 6,505 and 10.5% to 1,198 respectively over the two years.
Farms in ‘precarious’ situation
Ms Cross said the numbers underlined the need for the “family farm tax” – the UK Government’s planned cuts to valuable inheritance tax reliefs in the agriculture industry – to be scrapped.
The MP added: “These figures are an illustration of the precarious situation farms already find themselves in.
“For many, passing on the family farm is not merely a matter of inheritance but ensures food security, local employment and a way of life that has shaped our rural communities and economies across Scotland for generations.
“This tax is another barrier to an industry which is already facing huge challenges.”
She continued: “Farms do not have liquid wealth.
“Farmers rely on land as their primary business asset to produce food and only turn a small, often miniscule, profit with a very constrained cash flow.”
200,000 names now on tax petition
About 200,000 people have signed a Tory petition to “stop Labour’s family farm tax”.
Under Labour’s plans, from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million will be subject to a 20% inheritance tax rate.
The government claims the changes will affect just over one-quarter of farmers.
All four UK farming unions – NFU Scotland, NFU, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers’ Union – will take part in a day of action on January 25 to highlight their concerns.
Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan said he had received a “disappointing” response from the UK Treasury to his letter to the chancellor asking for a review of the changes to agricultural property relief and inheritance tax.
Mr Logan said: “It did not address the concerns of the farming community but simply maintained the extant Treasury position.
“There have been large protests at Westminster and my colleagues and I have received numerous emails from worried constituents. The Treasury just don’t seem to want to hear these concerns.”
He added: “I wrote to the chancellor (Rachel Reeves) back in November to raise these concerns and asked her to revise her reforms.
“The reply from the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and UK Minister for Taxation James Murray is inadequate in addressing the worries for farmers in my constituency.”
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