ON FRIDAY Green Party MEP  Molly Scott Cato met with the Biodynamic Land Trust on a farm in Stroud. 

Molly Scott Cato, who sits on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, wants to end the use of agricultural land as a tax haven in the UK with a land value tax.

Dr Scott Cato also intends to keep the environment secretary Michael Gove to his promise of a green Brexit.

The Right Honourable MP, Michael Gove, promised last week at the Oxford Real Farming Conference that farmers would no longer be paid subsidies for owning land, but for delivering public goods.

The current payment system of £3bn a year to UK farmers is based on the amount of land that farmers own.

Commenting on the issue Molly Scott Cato said: “Taxes and subsidies must be treated as a package; in economic terms they are two sides of the same coin.

"The generous tax breaks that agricultural land receives, through for example, being exempt from inheritance tax after two years, must be ended if we are to create a truly just farming system.

"So, it is vital that Michael Gove consider both taxes and subsidies when developing his new plan for farming.”

The 41-acre Oakbrook Farm in Gloucestershire adjoining Hawkwood College was purchased by the Biodynamic Land Trust with public investment in community shares in 2015.

Now farmed by Stroud Micro Dairy and a student farmer supported by Stroud Community Agriculture, the community farm hosts volunteering and community events.

Stroud-based charity, the Biodynamic Land Trust has several parcels of land around the UK tenanted by farmers producing local food.

These farms capture carbon to reduce climate change by building soil’s optimum fertility with biodynamic organic farming methods.

Director of the Biodynamic Land Trust, Gabriel Kaye, said: “We were delighted to welcome Molly to the land.

"Oakbrook Farm is an excellent example of the kind of farm which delivers public benefit, protects nature, and provides job opportunities as well as delicious local food.”

Gabriel continued: “We welcome Gove’s promise to reward small farms such as ours for delivering public benefit.

"A Land Value Tax would help level the playing field by making farmland more affordable.

"Currently, the cost of land is prohibitive for ordinary farmers.

"The Biodynamic Land Trust is breaking the land-as-bank trend by encouraging the public to invest in land through our not-for-profit community shares to secure it for biodynamic organic farming for generations to come.”