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'It’s desperate' - farming anger over tax change

David Gregory-Kumar
BBC Midlands Today rural affairs correspondent
BBC A woman in a green jacket and jumper stands in front of a large pile of yellow apples and green containers. She has blonde hair past her ears, a slight open-mouthed smile on her face and wears a light green jumper under a green wax-style jacket.BBC
The recent inheritance tax changes are a worry for farmers like Jo Hilditch

The trees are golden and the autumn air hangs misty over Next End Farm in Herefordshire.

In the yard, piles of freshly washed apples are ready to be sent off for cider.

After a rocky farming year, things appear to be back on track.

Yet for farmer Jo Hilditch, like so many of her neighbours, her mind is drifting, from apples and cider, to money and death.

In the week since the Labour government reintroduced inheritance tax for farmers, Ms Hilditch’s phone has been blowing up.

She said: “I think people are really worried. On WhatsApp, I’ve just got endless things coming in saying 'it’s desperate, what can we do"The front of Herefordshire Council's building. It is brown with several large glass windows. There are metal handrails outside the front doors and green grass " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/>

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