What drew you to working in this area of the law? 

I have always had a strong interest in the natural environment. I have also taught property law for over forty years and have a strong research interest in both environmental law and land tenure. Agricultural Law is unique in addressing both the property law relevant to land tenure and farm tenancies, and also the law relating to land use (including environmental regulation and land use planning). This combines my two principal interests and also draws on my experience in legal practice advising landowners, farmers and land managers.

What has been the biggest development in this area since the publication of the last edition of Agricultural Law?  

There have been important changes to farm tenancy law since 2016. These have included the introduction of reforms recommended by the Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG). TRIG  identified the need to increase productivity as a key priority and recommended: (i) new powers to enable tenants to seek a variation of their tenancy to enable them to obtain financial assistance to deliver, for example, environmental outcomes or business development; (ii) abolition of the ‘commercial unit test’ restricting farm succession in cases where a tenant already has a viable agricultural unit and (iii) the introduction of a new test of business competency for applicants for succession to a farm tenancy. These recommendations were implemented by the Agriculture Act 2020.

Another priority identified by TRIG was the need to ensure that tenant farmers can participate in public funding schemes for promoting environmentally beneficial farm management. This is important following the introduction of the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) in England from 2024, and the Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales, which replaced the public funding provided formerly through the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The TRIG recommended that tenants be given power to request a change in their tenancy to enable them to enter an environmental management scheme. These recommendations were implemented in the 2020 Act. This is a significant development, as it is the first time a tenant has been empowered to compel their landlord to change the terms of their tenancy agreement.

Perhaps more far reaching than these developments were changes proposed by the review of agricultural land tenure undertaken by the Tenancy Review Group chaired by Baroness Rock (the ‘Rock Review’). This made several important recommendations in its 2022 report. The Rock Review found that the collaborative approach between landlord and tenant needed to provide improved farm productivity and deliver environmental outcomes was not the norm in practice. Farm business tenancies are often made using standard formats without utilizing the flexibility they can offer. They recommended the establishment of a code of practice to guide the conduct of landlords, tenants, and their professional advisers, and in so doing improve collaboration in issues of tenancy and land management. The Farm Tenancy Forum was asked to produce a code, and this resulted in the publication of the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice for England in 2024.  The Code is intended to promote positive, productive, and sustainable commercial relationships and to achieve positive landlord-tenant relationships through dialogue and a sense of fairness and proportionality. Although adherence to the Code is voluntary, the standards it sets out can be taken into account by, for example, an arbitrator or third party determinator when assessing the reasonableness of landlord and tenant actions and proposals in relation to matters such as rent review, variation of the terms of a tenancy and other landlord and tenant matters. This is, therefore, an important development. The Code was endorsed by all the principal rural professional bodies involved in the Farm Tenancy Forum, including the RICS, Agricultural Law Association and Country Land and Business Association.

Are there any emerging trends that you think will influence agricultural law over the next few years?

An important trend that will doubtless influence the development of agricultural law in the future is the increasing use of alternative land tenure arrangements that can give greater flexibility to farm businesses to adjust to changing market conditions. This can include the increased use of partnerships, share farming arrangements, and licenses. These can provide greater flexibility than traditional farm tenancies and enable farm businesses to respond with greater agility to market signals and the need to adjust land management. This development has been helped by guidance from the courts on the use of joint tenancy arrangements and partnerships that has resolved some long-standing problems – notably the decision of the court of appeal in Procter v Procter (2021).

How has Brexit impacted agricultural law?

Brexit has had a profound impact on agricultural law. Withdrawal from the common agricultural policy has given the UK the opportunity to develop new farm support policies more attuned to local circumstances. But it has also meant the removal of over £3 billion per annum of public financial support to the agricultural industry, formerly provided to farmers through the EU basic payment scheme. Public policy has moved towards the use of ‘public money for public goods’, with an emphasis on delivering environmental benefits from farm management. This provides the context for the changes to tenancy law outlined above, where there is a greater focus on farm efficiency, improved productivity, and facilitating the ability of farm tenants to enter publicly funded environmental schemes such as ELMs. But Brexit has also significantly impacted the law of land use (considered in Section III of Agricultural Law). Much of the environmental regulation that applies to farms originated in EU measures. Freedom from the straitjacket of EU environmental law has given the UK the ability to introduce reforms that are intended to make development on former farm land easier and quicker. The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and revised National Planning Policy Framework (2024) have, for example, weakened important legal controls on the development of farmland. The 2025 Act has also weakened the legal protection of wildlife habitats like SSSIs and special protection areas (SPAs).