A new independent review has published its recommendations on how landlords, tenants and government can work together to improve prospects for tenant farmers.

The Rock Review was commissioned by Defra in January to look at how to provide better support to tenant farmers and tenancies as the government seeks to drive growth and sustainability across the farming sector and rural communities.

The Tenancy Working Group, who produced the report, consisted of stakeholders from all parts of the tenanted sector including tenants, landlords and agents.

Published last week, Defra says the review is clear on the essential role of tenant farmers in delivering its environmental targets, food security, and a growing rural economy.

The review makes a series of recommendations to government to enable the tenanted sector to deliver sustainable food production, meet the challenges of climate change, and improve and enhance biodiversity. The recommendations cover a range of areas, including public schemes, landlord-tenant relationships and new entrants.

‘Clear vision’

“This review provides a clear vision for the agricultural tenanted sector in England that Defra can and should adopt,” said Baroness Kate Rock, who chaired the review. “The recommendations, when taken together, actively move the sector towards a position where tenant farmers operate resilient, successful, and thriving businesses.

“Some recommendations can be more immediately delivered by Defra such as changes to scheme design that would expand the opportunities for tenant farmers to access support for improving the environment alongside producing food.

“Other recommendations are more structural. These will put the tenanted sector on a more resilient footing as we move through the agricultural transition. They will encourage tenant farmers and landlords to collaborate and invest in productivity, improve the environment and drive growth in the rural economy.”

Working together

Responding to the review, NFU tenants forum chair Chris Cardell said: “Agricultural tenants and tenanted land have a vital role in delivering this government’s food production and environmental ambitions, and in growing our rural economies. As the review stresses, and as the NFU has long argued, landlords and tenants should be working together as equal partners to achieve this.

“With over 60% of England’s farmed area being farmed by tenants, they play a pivotal role in producing food for the nation and looking after our environment. That is why it is important that agricultural land in the tenanted sector is protected and any loss minimised by ensuring that the ELMs is accessible and relevant to both tenants and landlords.

“The NFU agrees with Baroness Rock’s Review that county council farm estates should be a key entry point for next generation farmers. The report is also right to urge Defra and regulators to ‘tenant-proof’ their schemes, policies and processes, ensuring they are a benefit to all farmers, including tenant farmers, and therefore wider food production and environmental protection.

“Any comprehensive review will throw up differences of opinion and the NFU tenants forum will now examine the recommendations in detail. The NFU urges Ministers to respond swiftly so that together we can grow a more vibrant, accessible and resilient tenanted farming sector.”

Next steps

The Tenancy Working Group was formed to provide tenant farmers and associated stakeholders a further opportunity to make sure the new environmental schemes work within agricultural tenancies.

The government says it will publish a formal response to the review in due course.