The Agriculture Act 2020 introduced a number of changes to the farming industry that are hoped will help new, forward-thinking farmers enter the sector and could tackle some of the problems that have beset the farming industry since the Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) of 1986. However, there are some with doubts about more deep-rooted problems in farming. Also, the Act avoided a number of controversial issues, and further tenancy reforms are likely.

Important role of the tenancy

The facts of farming are that around a third of the agricultural land in the UK is let under an agricultural tenancy. The Act is expected (hoped) to increase the industry’s productivity to some extent, particularly with regard to AHA tenancies.