Ulster Unionist Agriculture Spokesperson and AERA Committee Chair Diana Armstrong MLA has backed the Ulster Farmers’ Union’s campaign for the 2026 Autumn Budget to be a “Budget to Back Farming”, calling on the Chancellor to reverse changes to Agricultural Property Relief and to give farm businesses the certainty they need to invest.

Diana Armstrong said:

“I fully support the Ulster Farmers’ Union in calling for this to be a Budget to Back Farming.

“Farmers across my constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and right across Northern Ireland, want to invest in their livelihoods. They want to improve productivity, support the next generation of young farmers and continue producing the high-quality food our communities depend on.

“As the UFU rightly says, that investment depends on confidence, and confidence depends on a funding and regulatory environment that reflects the reality of running a farm business. Our farmers have faced a barrage of challenges in recent years, including substantial increases in energy costs, labour costs and taxation, alongside ever increasing environmental demands.

“Farming is being asked to invest in environmental improvement more than any other sector in Northern Ireland, and at the same time the tax treatment of the land and machinery they need to do it has been made worse. You cannot ask an industry to modernise while taking away the means to pay for it.

“I share the UFU’s concerns about the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief and I support calls for these to be reversed. My colleague Robin Swann MP has fought these changes at Westminster from the outset and will continue to do so. Alongside that, improvements to capital allowances, protection of agricultural funding, and stronger support on fuel and labour costs would give farm businesses the certainty they urgently need.

“The Prime Minister and the Chancellor should use this Budget to show farmers they are being listened to. I speak to farmers constantly who feel conditions are getting worse rather than better. This is the chance to reset that relationship and deliver a Budget that supports farming communities rather than leaving them behind yet again.”