FARM STRUCTURE POLICY IN NORTH‐EAST SCOTLAND
| Published date | 01 November 1981 |
| Author | E. L. Naylor |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1981.tb00091.x |
| Date | 01 November 1981 |
eftish
Jourd
ofPoliticd~Economy,
Vol.
28.
No.
3,
November
1981
cj
1981
Longman
Group
LIrmted
0036-9292~81’00170266
$02
00
FARM
STRUCTURE
POLICY
IN NORTH-EAST
SCOTLAND
E.
L.
NAYLOR
Unitlersity
of
Aberdeen
A policy of planned structural change in agriculture was introduced in a
government White Paper in 1965 (Cmnd. 2738) which concluded that the
small farmer’s inability to win an adequate livelihood from his holding was
due to a lack
of
land. Three solutions were envisaged; firstly, the creation of
2
man units by the enlargement of small farms
;
secondly, co-operation with
other farmers and thirdly, retirement, where the farmer wished to give up an
unrewarding struggle (Hine and Houston, 1973).
The 1967 Agriculture Act introduced an outgoers payment for farmers of
any age whose main source of income was agriculture who released holdings
between 100 and 600 standard man days (s.m.d.) for an approved amalgama-
tion. Farmers over 65 years of age received an annunity and those under
55
a
lump sum, with a choice of either method of payment between these two ages.
Annuitants were not allowed to enter farming again. If possible, the retiring
farmer could remain in the farmhouse and retain a subsistence holding of up
to
4
ha. Essential costs were also available for approved amalgamations
which involved the disappearance of an uncommercial unit of 100-600 s.m.d.
and created a farm in single ownership and single occupation with at least
600 s.m.d. or capable of reaching this minimum size in the near future.
Owner and occupier were not necessarily the same person,
so
that a variety
of different types of amalgamation were possible within the legislation.
Grants were also given for boundary adjustments, though these have been
few in number. Four separate Payment to Outgoers and Farm Amalgamation
and Boundary Adjustment Schemes have operated, beginning in 1967,1970,
1973 and 1976.
Under the 1967 scheme, a 40-year restrictive covenant prevented frag-
mentation
of
holdings which had received an amalgamation grant. This
protected public investment but limited the freedom of action of farmers and
their successors
;
together with the administrative complexity of the scheme
and the low value of the outgoers payment this resulted in initial interest in
the scheme being less than expected. There were only 258 requests for
amalgamation grants and 340 outgoers payments in the North East up to the
end of 1968, although this was the highest level of applications achieved in any
subsequent period (Fig.
1).
Under the 1970 scheme, the covenant was reduced
to
15
years and the value of the amalgamation grant increased by
10
per cent;
this resulted in a slight rise in applications for 1971 and of payments granted
266
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