Agriculture FAQs

In 2005, the government brought into force various provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to do with high hedges. The legislation only applies to hedges which:

• are 2+ metres high;
• contain 2 or more evergreens;
• create a barrier to light or access; and,
• affect the enjoyment of a neighbouring house.

In response to a complaint from a neighbour affected by such a high hedge, the local council has the power to issue a notice requiring the hedge be reduced in height. Failure to comply with the notice is a criminal offence; however, the notice is not an ASBO.

As well as keeping an eye on the height of any evergreen hedges, it is also important that you look after any trees on your land particularly if they are situated near a public highway or footpath. If a landowner (or occupier if the land is let) does not take reasonable steps to identify potential defects in his trees (such as rot or dead branches) and then also take steps to address any such defects identified, they may be liable to pay compensation to any person injured by a tree or branch falling from their land.

It has been suggested that “reasonable steps” will involve the landowner undertaking routine tree inspections. In some circumstances, for example after a severe storm or on small domestic properties, an inspection by the landowner himself may be sufficient. In other circumstances, for example on large estates, only inspection by a professional will do. The British Standards Institute has produced a draft standard (BS8516) which when finalised will provide guidance for landowners.

Finally, be aware that your neighbour is entitled to cut down any branches which overhang his land - provided, of course, he offers to return the trimmings to you!

Whilst your solicitor will carry out a number of searches and enquiries, you should also make sure that you know exactly what restrictions and schemes etc may affect the farm land so you are able to use this land as paddock land.
Points to consider:

• Planning Permission –you may need to change the use of the land from agricultural use to paddock land. You should check with the relevant Council to see whether or not planning permission for change of use is. It may also be needed for any stables and storerooms you might wish to construct on the land. In addition planning permission may also be needed if you intend to put in a new access to the field from a classified road.
• Entitlements – if the land is being actively farmed it is likely that the landowner is claiming Single Farm Payment Entitlements. Depending upon the acreage of the land and other conditions, it may be possible for you to claim the Single Farm Payment Entitlements. Even if the land is not sold with Entitlements it may still be subject to what are known as the “cross-compliance” rules which oblige the land to be kept in good agricultural and environmental condition. Usually the seller will require you to continue to comply with this requirement until the end of the year in which you buy the land.
• Environmental Schemes – it may be that the land has been entered into Environmental Schemes. Sometimes land can be removed from Environmental Schemes but penalties may be incurred. You should therefore ask your solicitor to check whether there are penalties and if they would fall to you or the seller.
• Vacant possession – You need to make sure that you know who is farming the land as it may not be the landowner. If there is a tenant farmer , clearly steps will need to be taken to make sure that the tenant has agreed to vacate the land. You should also confirm with the seller that you are not obliged to make any payments to the tenant in addition to the purchase price upon the tenant leaving the land.

Special care needs to be taken when buying paddock land which has been used for commercial farming. It is recommended that you seek specialist agricultural legal advice.

The Japanese Knotweed plant has become a major problem but superweed scientists have recently identified a Japanese insect which they believe will bring it under control.

James Lloyd, partner and head of Agriculture at leading Lincolnshire law firm, Wilkin Chapman said, “an insect called Aphalara Itadori is a type of psyllid that sucks out the weeds sap is going to be used to keep it under control. It could be introduced to the British countryside next summer if DEFRA authorise it.”

If the proposal goes ahead, the plant louse would be the first biocontrol deliberately imported into Britain.

James said, “For landowners, developers and even tenants, the chance of a remedy cannot come too soon as dealing with it can prove a very unwelcome expense. However, the introduction of the insect raises fears that releasing a predator into our ecosystem might cause more harm than good.”

Even if the insects are successful, they are not expected to completely eradicate the knotweed so developers and landowners should still bear it in mind not only to prevent damage to their own property, but to prevent it becoming a legally actionable nuisance to neighbours. Farmers should be aware that they are obliged to control it under the cross compliance requirements and tenants may also be liable to remove knotweed under the terms of their leases. If in doubt, you should take advice as soon as you can.

You must check that the employee is entitled to live and work in the UK. Individuals from countries within the European Union (EU) will generally be entitled to do so. However, you need to verify this by:

1. seeing and taking a copy of the original of the employee's passport and documentation issued by the Home Office detailing their right to work within the UK. These copies must be stored safely so you can refer to them if you need to.
2. checking these documents to ensure

• they are original,
• that the photograph is the employee,
• that the other details such as name, address, date of birth are consistent in all the documents,
• the details fit with any other information you have (eg how old the employee looks),
• they are still valid.

As your employee comes from one of the 8 countries recently to have joined the EU (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) then you also need to ensure they register with the Home office within one month of working. You will need to provide your employee with a letter confirming their employment and should ensure that you keep a copy of this letter and the application.

Failure to properly comply will mean a fine of up to £5,000, so you are quite right to be cautious.

It is also worth noting that if you take on any employee via an employment agency, rather than employing them directly, you must ensure that the agency are legitimate and properly registered with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Failure to do so could result in a prison sentence and fine.

As of 15 May 2006 you will not be allowed to burn anything in the open on your farm unless it is naturally occurring plant or crop residue. If you have a drum incinerator you can use this for burning cleaned plastic containers until 15 May 2007.
If you want to burn plant matter after 15 May 2007 you will need to register an 'exemption' by that date with the Environment Agency. This will be free, but you must remember to do it otherwise you will be in breach of the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 which could lead to a fine of up to £5,000 or more in serious cases.
However, you can not merely leave the waste you would normally burn on a farm tip or dump. Any waste can now only be stored on your farm for 12 months. Even when doing this you must ensure that it is properly stored so that it does not cause pollution or blow away.
After 12 months you must dispose of it properly, either by taking it to a registered recycling or waste disposal firm or having someone take it away. Nevertheless, the regulations require you to keep a note of the waste you have given them, signed by you both. You are also obliged to ensure that whoever is responsible for taking it is authorised by the Environment Agency to dispose of waste. If you are not sure if a firm is authorised contact the Environment Agency.
Lastly, it should be noted that although there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of waste you have, these may well require you to register an exemption.

The Entry Level Scheme is a legally binding agreement between the applicant and the Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The agreement runs for a period of five years and the applicant is legally required to fulfil the obligations of the agreement for the full term. DEFRA will impose penalties for early withdrawal from the ELS or if the applicant breaches any of its terms.

Either you or your landlord can make the application. If you are making the application you should obtain your landlords consent in writing and obtain an agreement that he will take over the terms if you were to end your tenancy within the five years.

Applicants must have management control of the land which is being entered for the entire five year period. Therefore, you should check the term of your tenancy to ensure that it does not expire within the five years. If you are unsure of this but are still keen to enter the scheme then you can make a counter signed application with another person, who agrees to carry on your ELS agreement if your management control ends. This person may be the freehold owner or if known, future incoming tenant.

If within the five years you decide to sell your tenancy interest you should inform the new occupier about the ELS agreement before transferring your interest. It is crucial for the new occupier to honour the agreement until its end. If this is not done, you and not the new occupier will be in breach of the ELS agreement and you will be forced to repay the grant received from DEFRA.

This will depend upon the type of tenancy and what your Tenancy Agreement says. Undoubtedly the Tenancy Agreement will have a clause which prohibits you from using the land for anything other than agriculture. If it is a Farm Business Tenancy Agreement and a notice was served before the start of the tenancy then it may be possible to obtain the Landlord's consent and the tenancy could still remain a farm business tenancy. If the tenancy is an agricultural holding created before 1995 then again you would undoubtedly require your landlord's consent. However in this case the tenancy could lose its character as an agricultural holding and you could lose the security which you currently enjoy. In a recent case, the court decided that a tenant farmer who had converted his farm to be used for educational purposes had in effect ceased agricultural operations on the holding notwithstanding the fact that the educational facilities were linked to agriculture. As a result the tenancy ceased to be an agricultural holding and thereby lost the security provided by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. In addition any use which is not for the purposes of agriculture will require Planning Permission and will affect your liability to pay rates. Before taking this step therefore you should seek professional advice on the implications.

Local Authorities have for many years been reluctant to grant planning permission for land which lies outside the normal village boundaries. However, in agricultural areas it is not uncommon for the Local Authority to grant permission that restricts the occupation of the dwelling to a person solely or mainly employed or last employed in the locality in agriculture. "Agriculture" includes horticulture, fruit grower, dairy farming, keeping and breeding livestock including any animal kept for the production of food, skins or fur and market gardens an nurseries.

The substantial reduction in recent years in persons employed in "agriculture" has meant that an increasing number of properties subject to the agricultural restriction are coming on the market. Most banks and building societies are reluctant to lend money to purchase properties subject to the restriction and this coupled with the fact that there are less and less people actually employed in agriculture means that the value of such a property is reduced by as much as 30% or 40% of its normal market value had the restriction not been in place. This means that even if the person now buying a property subject to the restriction is employed in agriculture he may have considerable difficulty in finding a suitable purchaser should he wish to sell at a later date.

You are correct. The payments will be made under the Rural Development Regulations. These constitute a further part of the common agricultural policy. The idea is to widen support for the agricultural industry away from direct support. The Regulations will come into force on 1st April 2001.

The Regulations continue and expand spending on three agri-environment schemes (ESAs, countryside stewardship and organic farming schemes), reintroduce the processing and marketing grant scheme and introduce three new schemes which are the rural enterprise scheme, an energy crops scheme and support for vocational training for people in farming and forestry.

The Ministry will be looking for applications which involve in particular diversification projects, added value, retraining and environmental projects.

Although the regulations do not come into force until 1st April 2001 it is not too soon to start considering their impact and deciding whether they could be of assistance to you. The ministry of Agriculture at its local office will have more information available to assist.

You are correct. The Ministry have recently announced the Rural Development Regulations. The idea is to widen the support for the agricultural industry. The funding for the new assistance is partly by a reduction in the direct support and partly through additional money from the Treasury.

Existing schemes will continue and will be expanded. They are the Countrywide Stewardship Scheme, the Organic Farming Scheme and the Woodland Scheme. There are however, three new Schemes introduced by the Regulations. They are the Rural Enterprise Scheme, an Energy Crops Scheme and Vocational Training for People in Farming and Forestry.

The Regulations do not come into force until 1st April 2001 and will last for seven years.

As an example in the East Midlands area covered by MAFF over the seven year period there will be £18,000.00 available under the new Rural Enterprise Scheme. That Scheme is intended to cover a diverse range of produce such as the marketing of quality agriculture products, diversification of agricultural activities and activities close to agriculture to provide multiple activities or alternative incomes, agricultural water resources management and the encouragement for tourist and craft activities.

With the continuing downward trend of the price of agricultural products, everyone involved in agriculture should be looking at these Regulations to see what assistance they can give and it is never too early to start planning.

You may have a common law right to plough the field if the right of way was dedicated subject to a right to plough. However, it is most likely that you will have to rely on the statutory right which is covered by the Rights of Way Act 1990.

This provides a right to plough or otherwise disturb a footpath or bridleway that runs across a field. It does not apply to a path that runs by the field edge.

Where the land is ploughed for the purpose of sowing a crop, you must restore the surface of the right of way within fourteen days. In all other cases it must be restored within twenty four hours of first being disturbed. If you are unable to comply with these time limits, you can seek an extension of time from the Local Highway Authority. They may grant an extension not exceeding an additional twenty eight days.

The surface of the right of way should be restored so that it is 'reasonably convenient' for any users. The right of way should also be indicated on the ground to no less than the minimum width (either the width recorded on the definitive map or one metre for cross field footpaths). Any prosecutions for non compliance may only be initiated by the Local Highway Authority or District Parish Council.

If you fail to restore the path. the Local Highway Authority may do the work themselves and recover their expenses from you. They cannot act until a specified time period has expired and they should normally give you twenty four hours notice before carrying out the work.