According to Jeremy Moody, Secretary and Adviser to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, much of the practical detail of the new Land Reform (Scotland) Act waits on work to be done in the new Parliament before we can know how it will work.
Speaking at the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters Valuers Association (SAAVA) Annual Field Day near Kelso, Mr Moody said: "There are some two-dozen regulations to be developed, agreed and implemented over the next couple of years. In particular, the rules for rent review and relinquishment of tenancies will take much work.
"While waiting for these important details, people are naturally jumping to conclusions which may prove to be wrong. There is no rule that says relinquishment will be for a quarter of vacant value. "Productive capacity" will simply identify the farm's likely physical output; it will then be for the Land Court to find a rent that is fair in all the circumstances of the case.
"However, one early step in that process will be the amnesty for tenant's improvements. Both tenants and landlords will find it useful to gather their information on buildings, drainage and other works to help understand who did them and whether they might be recognised as tenant's improvements or not. Very often the history has become obscure but will need to be proven to help with rent reviews as well as end-of-tenancy claims."
Market round-up
United Auctions sold 258 store heifers at Stirling on Wednesday to a top of 273.3p per kg and an average of 217.9p (+12.3p on the week), while 342 store, beef-bred bullocks peaked at 289.3p and levelled at 227.4p (+2.3p). Twenty-one store B&W bullocks sold to 160p and averaged 147.1p (+4.4p), while 44 store bulls peaked at 213.1p and levelled at 183.9p (+41.8p).
In the rough ring 149 beef cows averaged 124.6p and 8 dairy cows levelled at 87.8p.
C&D Auction Marts Ltd sold 16 prime heifers in Dumfries on Wednesday to a top of 213.5p and an average of 206.5p.
There were 56 OTM cattle presented in the rough ring when beef cows averaged 124.5p and dairy cows levelled at 86.3p.
The firm also sold 515 prime lambs to a top of £94 per head and 226p per kg to average 193.3p (-6.7p).
The 183 cast sheep forward saw heavy ewes sell to £99.50 for Texels and average £70.04, while light ewes peaked at £62.50 for Cheviots and levelled at £51.55.
Messrs Craig Wilson Ltd sold 429 prime lambs in Newton Stewart on Wednesday to a top of £100 and 221.8p to average 199.1p (+3.1p).
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here