Comments from the industry were a mixture of disappointment over lack of brexit clarity and relief over the freeze in fuel duty.

NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “We are disappointed to see no meaningful measures to help prepare farming businesses for life outside the EU in today’s Budget statement. With most of the emphasis on urban growth, there is little in the way of measures to benefit rural communities.       

“We do, however, appreciate that this is a fairly stable Budget that does not appear to have any adverse impact on our industry.

“In these times of uncertainty, and ahead of significant upheaval, we need to have sustainable and viable businesses producing the nation’s food. Our calls to create the right environment for investing in farming, to mitigate risks, are yet to be answered.

“We will look with interest to next week’s Industrial Strategy launch and hope it will include specific measures to support the agri-food sector.         

“Farming meets 61% of the nation’s food needs and forms the bedrock of the UK food and drink sector which contributes £112bn¹ to the nation’s economy and provides 3.8 million jobs.  Farming makes a significant economic contribution as well as caring for our iconic British countryside and putting safe, affordable British food on tables across the country.

“British farmers perform a unique and irreplaceable role in delivering these contributions. Increasing the nation’s ability to produce food needs to be seen as a strategic goal for Government and we will work in partnership with Government departments to establish the best possible business environment for our members.”  

Andrew Fallows, Head of Rural Agency, Carter Jonas, commented:

“Many rural businesses depend on robust, long term plans to ensure their continued viability, and so the Chancellor’s decision that business rates will be revalued every three years is a welcome intervention.

“While there have been rumours of a reduction in Agricultural Property Relief (APR), this remained untouched in today’s announcement; the devil will be in the detail, once the bill is published in full, and the impact on the land market has yet to be assessed.

“The government’s commitment to the housing sector is commendable, but the continued pledge to protect the green belt raises more questions than it offers answers. We look forward to Mr Javid’s statement, for clarification on how this investment will impact the UK’s rural communities.

“Finally, we welcome the Government’s further investment in delivering superfast broadband to the regions, which will level the playing field between “more accessible” rural areas and those that are currently less connected, spreading economic prosperity and allowing farmers to engage in the rapidly growing technology that has until now been unavailable.”

 Tim Price, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said:

“At first glance, there was not a lot for farmers to get excited about – but a few measures which will ease tax bills – and a huge relief that the Chancellor avoided increases in duty on petrol and diesel which would have hit country people very hard.

“Those running small farms and rural businesses will heave a sigh of relief that they won‘t be faced with expensive accounting admin as the Chancellor has decided to keep the threshold for VAT registration at the current £85,000.”