Gavin Lane said he was "extremely proud" to be appointed the 57th president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

He said the rural economy faced an unprecedented combination of challenges ranging from climate change, market volatility, water shortages, subsidy withdrawals and policy upheavals.

But the most immediate priorities for his two-year tenure will be campaigning against the government’s planned cuts to inheritance tax relief for farms valued over £1m, and working to secure certainty around agri-environmental payment schemes, following the abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) earlier this year.

"Long-term family businesses are a force for good, and I believe the rural economy has vast potential," said Mr Lane.

But he added: "I have been farming for 30 years and I don’t think there has been a more challenging time in the rural economy than now.

"We have got a lot of very despondent - and in some cases actually quite terrified - members who have very little optimism, but also, more worryingly, very little hope. The biggest challenge we have for our organisation is to show a way forward.

"It is about trying to make sure our members are fully informed as to what their options are for mitigating the changes to inheritance tax, and it is really important that we try to get them in a place where they can be ready to take on the SFI and any other [environmental]........

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