NEXT week, members of the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) are to meet officials from the  Scottish Government to put forward their ideas for  improving the workings of the Agricultural Holdings legislation and opening up viable long-term opportunities for new entrants to the sector.

STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson said: "It is clear that for existing tenants the main problem areas are rent reviews, compensation for tenant's improvements at way-go, and the restrictions on succession to secure tenancies.

"These areas need addressing to ensure the future of family farms in the tenanted sector."

The STFA is also working on proposals to generate opportunities for new entrants to farming.

There are a number of initiatives and methods the STFA is looking at and considering.

It believes that mechanisms should be developed to allow new entrants to be matched up with existing retiring tenants who have no interested successors.

According to Mr Nicholson, one possible idea being considered is to ring fence the tenanted area so that when a tenancy comes to an end it must be re-let to a new entrant.

Another option on the drawing board is to allow assignation of tenancies to third parties, which would mean that a retiring tenant without successors could hand his tenancy on to a suitable new entrant.

Mr Nicholson suggested there is a clearly identifiable route to pick out new land for potential tenant farmers but questions remain over exactly how those plots should be let and how long tenancies should run for.

He said: "Looking at recent Scottish Government statistics there is a significant area of land being lost to the tenanted sector each year as secure tenancies come to an end, and this is the most obvious source of land which could be made available to new entrants.

"Having identified the source of land for new entrants, the next question is, how that land should be let?

"It is clear from recent experience north and south of the border that while limited duration tenancies have allowed existing farm businesses to expand, they have been of little help to new entrants who require the security of a longer lease on which to base their business."

Market round-up

The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart sold 4235 prime lambs in Longtown on Thursday to a top of £135 per head and 244p per kg to average 185p (no change on the week).

A smaller show of 3700 cast sheep saw heavy ewes sell to £107 for Texels and average £62.56 (-46p), while light ewes peaked at £67 for Cheviots and levelled at £35.90 (+£7.13).

Rams sold to £128 for a Texel and averaged £58.28 (-£15.69).