"Ill fares the land, to hastening ill a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay:
..a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
When once destroyed, can never be supplied". [end]

What we need now is an old farmer appreciation society and tell each and every one of them their decades of experience of nature and food security is worth more than the tax bill.
(while written in a different context) I think it is fair to say:

Finally and most importantly there are around 70,000 farmers sat thinking if I die before April 6th 2026 the family will be better off than if I live past then, if the Treasury had done an impact analysis maybe they would have realised this.

What DEFRA does know now is their budget and "£5 bn over 2 years" is a mislead way to say it is £2.6bn this year and £2.4bn next. We don't know the next number in the sequence but unlikely to be the £4bn needed to meet their promises.

It is rumoured that DEFRA knew nothing about the changes until the day before the budget (though given Rachael's husband's seniority at the department I'd be surprised if he didn't have an inkling)

Keir has spoken at two NFU conferences since he became leader and said all the right things - not least how disrespectful no serving Prime Minister had been to speak there since Gordon Brown. I hope he accepts an invitation to come again next year but doubt he will.

To be honest a similar event was planned four years ago but cancelled due to Covid. Then main issue was Australian trade deal, not a big issue in itself but of the precedent it set and despite all the promises Johnson, Gove and Truss sold us down the river at first opportunity.

Thirdly to those who have not yet got onboard please look at the big picture rather than the detail. Farmers have varying opinions but Guy Watson apart (whom I respect) most seem to realise if we don't push back now they may well be back for another 20%.

Secondly Tom Bradshaw it absolutely the right person to be leading this campaign, he is a negotiator, 'let's sit down and talk about this' his default setting though can be ruthless when required, he got to the top of NFU at a younger age than most and has energy and resolve.

Firstly beware far right infiltration. Organic farming had a particular problem with this in early days and some still harp on about it 60 years after the last Nazi sympathiser left the building (we got over it before most of our detractors were born and I wish they would too).