Driving through the Mendips in a Range Rover, Tim Mead is keen to show off his family farm. The Yeo Valley owner gestures to a grazing herd of cows and their calves – and a new cross-country walking route that runs over the land – while chatting excitedly about two new brand projects. One is a tree planting scheme, the other a pub he’s taken over in the local village of Blagdon.

Mead’s enthusiasm comes to an abrupt halt, however, when he talks about the wider politics of farming. Like the government’s proposed Inheritance Tax reform, first laid out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her October 2024 budget. Set to cut the 100% Inheritance Tax relief to 50% for farms worth over £1m, it’s “mean and punitive”, Mead insists.