AS many a farmer will no doubt tell you, making a living in the modern agriculture industry is hard enough – the last thing you need are flawed laws that make it even more difficult.
It was this principle that led six tenant farmers to seek compensation in the courts after they were evicted from the land they managed after a legal wrangle. Initially, the six had been granted secure tenure after an amendment was made to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act, which changed the status of their lease.
But this was overruled by the UK Supreme Court in 2013, with judges ruling that it breached landlords' human rights and was actually outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Yesterday, in the Court of Session, Lord Clark ruled that tenant farmers who suffered under the law may be entitled to compensation. Under the circumstances, this was surely a wise decision.
Two of the evicted tenants, brothers John and Ian Paterson, owners of more than 1400 sheep and 100 cattle on a farm in Arran initially leased for 22 years, have spoken of the immense stress and financial impact of their eviction from the land; pursuing a case through the civil courts can only have added to this.
The young farmers claimed the Scottish government had initially been sympathetic to their situation, but later washed their hands of the case, leaving them no choice but to go through the courts. In November, on eviction, they handed a petition of more than 25,000 signatures to the Scottish parliament.
We can only hope that Patersons and the other farmers involved will get recompense for their losses and perhaps set up somewhere else. But this situation should never have arisen in the first place, and the Scottish Government must bear some responsibility for the weakness in the law that led to it.
Scotland’s agriculture industry needs new blood. It is sad indeed that the experiences of the Patersons may make young people think again about considering a farming career.
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