United Kingdom-Farming not an easy business.
SCOTLAND-FARMING IN GENERAL.
GETTING that first foot on the farming ladder has never been easy for aspiring young industry entrants, but it is more difficult in the current era than ever before.
It is not just the question of having enough capital to run a viable business, but also of finding a farm to rent under reasonable terms. The Scottish Executive attempted to remedy matters with the passing of the Agricultural Holdings Act of 2003, but with limited success.
This legislation introduced two new forms of lease: the Short Limited Duration Tenancy (SLDT) with a maximum term of five years and the Limited Duration Tenancy (LDT) with a minimum term of 15 years. The industry broadly welcomed the new regulations, but the fact remains that relatively few farms have been let under the 2003 act.
Landlords generally feared that the pre-emptive right to buy a farm when a landlord decided to sell up would be extended into an absolute right to buy. This would have had the effect of greatly reducing the capital value of a farm or estate and lawyers have consistently advised their clients to be wary of letting farms under the new legislation. Many legal specialists in the field of agricultural law feared that giving inappropriate advice would leave them liable to claims for compensation.
However, last year Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, gave an assurance that the Scottish Government had no intention of allowing an absolute right to buy. He said he hoped this announcement would lead to more farms becoming available for rent.
This simply has not happened. The Tenant Farmers Forum (TFF), which encompasses a wide range of industry organisations, yesterday issued a statement following a lengthy meeting in Inverness.
Professor Jeff Maxwell, chairman of the TFF, said: "We have agreed that some modifications to the legislation would remove some of the concerns of both landlords and tenants.
"These modifications relate to the ’fixed equipment provision’ that would allow landlords and tenants to freely negotiate acceptable terms for its provision and renewal; the ’two man rule’, by replacing it with reference to a ’viable unit’, and making such amendments with respect to the annulment of post-lease agreements so as to allow parties to consider annulment and rent adjustments to take place at the same time.
"In addition, the TFF is committed to working with all sectors to develop the means of phased opportunities for new entrants. Our conclusions will be published in the very near future."
Few individuals have a better grasp of the complexities of current and past legislation than Angus McCall, chairman of the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA). He is clearly of the view that the 2003 act should be given time to be tested.
He said: "SFTA carried out an extensive survey of our members which showed conclusively that tenants, with all their experience of renting land, believe that agreements must be based on realistic minimum terms.
"The 2003 act has attracted some criticism as there has been a continuing resistance to release land on to the letting market with landowners preferring to use informal or contract arrangements.
"However, this is as much to do with economics, fiscal restraints and uncertainty over the future of the single farm payment as to the suitability of letting arrangements. It is certainly no basis on which to rewrite the legislation.
"With the realisation that there will be no quick fix solution, landowners should look to the long-term prosperity and well-being of the rural economy and use the existing legislation to afford opportunities to new tenants by making more land available to let on proper tenancy arrangements."
Alex Salmond told The Scotsman just before the SNP government came to power that he was totally committed to helping new entrants into the industry. He pledged to make £1 million available each year towards this end, but very little has since happened.
