Members stopped to share a moment outside the display of pre-loved toys at the NFU’s Conference.
Featuring a range of new and old machinery, the display represents the importance of farming through the generations, and all that is at stake if the family farm tax goes ahead.
Members can be seen reading the messages attached to each toy, explaining how the Chancellor's proposed changes to inheritance tax will affect them.
“Our boys loved to play with this toy combine, hoping to drive the real one when they grew up”
Message to the Chancellor attached to donated toy
Future hangs in the balance
NFU President Tom Bradshaw delivered a thank you message, acknowledging the “incredible role” members have played in the NFU’s pre-loved toy donation ask.
“We can’t ignore the symbolic donation of pre-loved farm toys being delivered to Rachel Reeves, or the huge collection on display donated by farmers from all over the UK which all represent a farm that could be lost, and the generation which could lose it.
“Each toy represents a child who, until this family farm tax was announced, planned a future as one of the nation’s food producers. That future now hangs in the balance.
“Our message is very clear. We will keep fighting this battle until the government starts to listen, considers our alternative proposals and ultimately takes action.”
Photograph: Pre-loved tractor toys greet NFU Conference delegates outside the QEII centre
“I have worked all my life caring for the same land that my father and grandfather worked before me. I want my son and grandsons to have that same bond with farming.”
Message to the Chancellor attached to donated toy
In a personal thank you message to members, Tom said: “This effort has been about more than just collecting toys: it has been a statement. A statement that when the farming community stands together, we are impossible to ignore.
“A statement that we will not allow these damaging tax proposals to go unchallenged. A statement that the future of British farming matters, not just to us today but to the generations that follow.
"None of this would have been possible without you. The power of our community lies in our unity, and this campaign has proven once again that together, we are stronger.”
“'Honkey donkey’ is 50 he has been played with by generations of our family and others. Our farm has been in the family for over 100 years. This tax would be the end.”
Message to the Chancellor attached to donated toy
During his opening address at Conference, Tom relayed the power of this message to delegates, calling the donations “a poignant reminder of the awful impact this policy will have”.
“These toys are very important to us, we’ve played with them since we were small children – we were hoping that one day we’d be able to swap them for real ones.”
Message to the Chancellor attached to donated toy
Photograph: A message from Henry Albutt reads “I was hoping to be a fifth generation farmer, but now looking doubtful!”
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Members gather in a moment of unity for the Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign
Pre-loved toy display outside NFU Conference 2025
Toy tractors on a crate in pre-loved farm toy display
Close-up of pre-loved farm toys
L-R NFU Cymru President Aled Jones and Deputy President Abi Reader and NFU President Tom Bradshaw, NFU Deputy President David Exwood and NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos at the pre-loved farm toy display
Photographs: Miranda Parry/Simon Hadley
