Laurie Hill is one of five partners in accountancy firm Larking Gowen’s Farms and Rural Business division, which has around 50 staff across the firm’s Norwich, Fakenham, Diss and Ipswich offices.

The 34-year-old is also the fourth generation of his family’s farm at Bradenham, near Dereham, alongside brother Alastair, 38, who is an insurance broker, and their parents David and Christine.

The two brothers’ professional careers are part of the diversification strategy for the family business, which grows and processes specialist crops as well as owning and contract farming about 850ha of arable land.

And Mr Hill's experience of working within a family farm while giving financial advice to many others has given him a unique perspective on a looming "generational shift" in the tax and succession challenges facing the sector.

Farmers voiced relief in December when the government's controversial farm inheritance tax plans were watered down following months of industry pressure and protests.

Ministers announced that the £1m threshold for inheritance tax relief, set in the October 2024 budget, would be raised to £2.5m to protect smaller farms, with the allowance transferrable between spouses or civil partners, meaning farming couples will be able to pass on up to £5m in qualifying agricultural or business assets before inheritance tax is applied.

But with the........

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