Farmers took part in a go-slow tractor protest on the A30 last Friday (January 10).

The national day of protest organised by campaign group Farmers to Action saw thousands of tractors take to the roads around the country.

A procession of tractors drove from Mole Avon in Okehampton up to Exeter and back again to protest against what those who work the land see as the Government’s anti-farming agenda.

Sarah June Neville, of Hardhill Farm, Okehampton, was driving one of the tractors along the A30 accompanied by her partner.

She said: “We met near Mole Avon in Okehampton drove up to Exeter and then back. I wanted to join to show my support with the farmers with the inheritance tax. I believe there was roughly 50 of us.”

Some of the protesting tractors on the A30 travelled drove through Sainsbury’s and Lidl at Alphington on the outskirts of Exeter, in line with similar action around the country after two similar days of action in Oxford and Yorkshire.

In some parts of the country including Somerset this included blocking supermarket distribution centres such as Morrisons.

The day of protest coincided with Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed speaking to the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference on January 9.

He said: “Farms deserve to be successful, profitable businesses. The prize is long-term food security, resilient farm businesses, healthy ecosystems, beautiful countryside, and nutritious food on our plates.

“Change is coming. It won’t always be easy but it brings real opportunity. There’s a place for every farmer in that future. Farmers will lead us along the road that gets us there.”

The NFU is planning a Farming Day of Unity for January 25 which they hope will bring farmers from across the UK together to participate in events in public spaces. Demonstrations in public areas such as town centres and retail parks are planned to raise awareness of the NFU StopTheFamilyFarmTax campaign.

A spokesperson for the organisation said: “It will show MPs and ministers clearly that agriculture across the whole of the UK is united in rejecting this awful policy – a policy we were promised would never happen.

“The Government consulted with nobody on this, and its data is wrong. Up to 75 per cent of farms will be affected, and for many it will be the final straw.”