A knock at the door. Great excitement. It is the postman with the newly published third edition of Professor Christopher Rodgers’ Agricultural Law. Just the thing for an easy summer read on the beach. It is what Private Eye would describe as a rattling good yarn. The reviewer read the book from cover to cover and there constantly came to mind the lines from Oliver Goldsmith’s The Deserted Village

"And still they gaz’d, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew."

It must be rare for an academic, or a practising lawyer, to be an expert in such a range of agricultural topics: land tenure, nature conservation, pollution control, the single farm payment and dairy quotas. Here they are all clearly explained, with background information on the history and policy objectives and examples of how these different areas of law impinge on one another.

The book is up to date, practical and relevant. It is divided into three sections.

Section 1 Introduction

Chapter 1 gives an historical introduction of the development of agricultural tenancies from the origins of statutory intervention to the implementation of the TRIG reform proposals in 2006.

Chapter 2 gives an historical introduction to the controls on land use , both domestic and European and describes the effect EC environmental law has on agriculture.

Section 2 Land tenure

Chapters 3 and 4 give a succinct and clear account of farm business tenancies. The differences in the provisions between tenancies under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 and tenancies governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 are highlighted. It is reassuring to find no significant case law on the 1995 statutory provisions.

The amendments (and the reasons for them), relating to the termination of farm business tenancies, rent reviews and compensation, made by the Regulatory Reform (Agricultural Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2006 to the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 are discussed under the appropriate headings.

Particularly useful is the section on the implications of the single farm payment on the drafting of clauses in tenancy agreements to protect the interests of landlords and tenants.

Chapters 5 to 9 deal with tenancies under Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 .Although most of the law will be familiar to agricultural practitioners these Chapters include new case law and the TRIG amendments relating to the application of the 1986 Act to new tenancies, rent reviews, succession tenancies, end of term compensation and arbitration.

Chapter 10 covers the esoteric subject of market gardens, allotments and smallholdings.

Chapter 11 is concerned with the complex area of housing law insofar as it relates to tied cottages . These may be held as a protected agricultural occupancy, an assured agricultural occupancy or an assured shorthold tenancy. The different rules and terminology are described with admirable clarity.

Section 3 Land use

For many practitioners it is these Chapters which will be of most use. Agricultural lawyers tend to be somewhat hazy on planning and environmental matters . Although there are books on planning and environmental law they are seldom directed to the specific needs of those whose task is advising farmers and rural landowners.

Chapter 12 describes how planning law relates to agriculture use and development, including permitted development rights and the need, in certain circumstances, for an environmental impact assessment.

Chapter 13 deals with nature conservation, the designation of sites, management agreements , and development control . The relationship between planning and conservation is explored.

Pollution control, water , aerial pollution and agricultural waste is the subject of Chapter14. The different effects of the good Agricultural Practice Guidance on the Protection of Water, Air and Soil are discussed.

Chapters 15 and 16 set out the rules governing the single farm payment and dairy quotas and show the impact of these EC regulations on the use and transfer of agricultural land.

Conclusion

The Appendix deals with dispute resolution and in itself illustrates the merits of this book. The Appendix is (1) up to date in that it includes the Agricultural Land Tribunals (Rules) Order 2007 which came into effect as recently as 15 January 2008 with the new prescribed forms (2) practical, giving a table of time limits for notices and applications under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 , failure to comply with which can result in negligence claims against professional advisers (3) relevant. The Arbitration Act 1996 is included which now covers not only arbitrations for farm business tenancies but also arbitrations under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and those relating to milk quotas.

Agricultural Law should be bought by all agricultural lawyers, land agents and those concerned with land management. As well as being comprehensive and understandable it is an invaluable source of reference for domestic law, (cases, statutes, statutory instruments, policy guidance ) and European law ( cases, directives and regulations) relating to agriculture tenancies, subsidy payments, dairy quotas and rural environmental issues.



Angela Sydenham

Consultant, Birketts
Agricultural Law Association Bulletin

For many property lawyers and property litigation lawyers, agricultural law is a specialist and often confusing topic. To overcome this problem, lawyers can either rely upon specialist counsel or become familiar with this area of law. Agricultural Law is designed for lawyers falling into this latter category and provides a clear and coherent explanation of the law, principles and practice.

Written by an experienced academic and practitioner lawyer, Agricultural Law is split into three sections: introduction; the law of land tenure; and the law of land use. Each section is then sub-divided down into a number of specialist chapters. In addition to the sections, Agricultural Law includes a fantastic appendix headed "dispute resolution" which includes a useful table of time limits, material for arbitration claims and material for claims in the Agricultural Lands Tribunal (together with a number of superb forms).

Agricultural Law is well-written and explains the law in a straight-forward and accessible way. It is also superbly referenced with many footnotes cross-referring the reader to other parts of the text. The author's experience as a consultant also means it is practically written with a number of hints and tips. For example, when discussing a failure to remedy a breach of the tenancy agreement, the author looks at the court's recent move to a more pragmatic approach.

For both experienced and inexperienced lawyers, Agricultural Law is a concise and comprehensive guide to this complex area of law. It is well written and explains even the most complex issues in an accessible way. Its combination of intelligent commentary, practitioner forms and its price also means it is a guide which should remain close to hand for any self-respecting property lawyer or property litigation lawyer.

Reviewed on 17 February 2009
Student Law Journal

In 1991 the Preface to the first edition of this now established book stated that its objective was to provide a general paperback textbook on the subject of the law of agricultural holdings aimed at the non-specialist practitioner. The third edition remains a paperback but it has developed considerably since the first edition.

Professor Rodgers' work is still a book primarily about agricultural land. It continues to fulfil the original objective in providing an excellent treatment of agricultural holdings governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and farm business tenancies governed by the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995. Agricultural Law does not seek to achieve the depth in these areas contained in the specialist practitioners' textbooks, such as Scammell & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings, the ninth edition of which was published at the end of 2007. For example, Agricultural Law no longer has a separate section of text dealing with dispute resolution.

The principal structural change in this edition of Agricultural Law is in the revised Appendix. As previously, the Appendix includes checklists of procedural relevance for those dealing with farm tenancy disputes. Also, the Agricultural Land Tribunals (Rules) Order 2007 came into force in January 2008. This, and the new prescribed forms which have been published for tribunal applications, replies and associated matters, are helpfully included. The Appendix has also been enlarged to include the text of the Arbitration Act 1996 which now applies to all arbitrations, whether under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1996 or the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

The part of Agricultural Law covering agricultural holdings and farm business tenancies does not limit itself to providing a guide to this arcane area of law. Professor Rodgers' analysis of, for example, the issues concerning diversification is typical of the standard that he sets. This is one of many thought-provoking passages.

The chapter relating to farm business tenancies helps de-mystify an extraordinarily complicated set of provisions which were complex enough in their construction in the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 as originally enacted, but the more so following the amendments introduced by the Regulatory Reform (Agricultural Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2006. Professor Rodgers sheds light upon the convoluted exceptions to s. 4 of the Act and the now deregulated rent review provisions. This is not an easy task.

The 2006 Order not only affects farm business tenancies but it also introduces a raft of amendments to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. All of these are considered and analysed in Agricultural Law.

Agricultural Law is much more than a book about agricultural holdings and farm business tenancies. The second edition recognised that the concern of rural practitioners has expanded beyond the law of landlord and tenant. The extension of the Common Agricultural Policy, imposing individual subsidies and controls, and the ever increasing concern for environmental protection in the countryside are examples of the changes which practitioners have had to grapple with. It is in these areas that Agricultural Law is invaluable.

The third edition builds upon the foundations laid in the second edition in 1998. Since 1998 there has been a wholesale change in the application of the Common Agricultural Policy to agriculture as a consequence of the Mid-term Review. Although milk quota remains (despite the fact that its impact has diminished markedly), the system of subsidies and controls has changed entirely. Out go arable area payments and livestock premium payments. In come entitlements and single payments. Additionally, the Mid-term Review introduced cross-compliances as a tool of land use management. Professor Rodgers' treatment of this complicated area is first class, providing the practitioner, a specialist or otherwise, with a comprehensive analysis.

Where Agricultural Law differs from other agricultural law textbooks is in its inclusion of land use. The chapters on planning law and development controls; agriculture, nature conservation and land use; and pollution control and land use are essential material for the bookshelves of rural practitioners. What Professor Rodgers also docs is integrate the consideration of land use controls with the law of land tenure so that, for example, the chapters on farm business tenancies and agricultural holdings include discussion of the impact of the Mid-term Review, agri-environment schemes and pollution control measures in relation to the drafting and management of farm tenancies.

No other textbook provides such a clear guide to, for example, the myriad of nature conservation and land use schemes which affect fanning in England and Wales. Importantly, Agricultural Law considers these schemes in the context of their impact upon landlord and tenant relationships.

A review of this book would not be complete without a reference to farm cottages. Again, Agricultural Law differs from other agricultural law textbooks in its inclusion of a chapter dealing with the law relating to farm cottages. The guidance provided by this chapter will continue to be of considerable assistance to practitioners in this area.

Overall, the third edition of Agricultural Law has consolidated its position as an excellent work which is highly recommended.

Peter Williams
Burges Salmon LLP
Reviewed in:
Environmental Law Review, 2009

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