Agricultural Occupancy Condition

System

Does "working in agriculture" have to mean getting your hands dirty?
I could imagine that there are, or will be shortly, agricultural office jobs that could be done at home on the internet. I was reading about American farms where the "farmer" works from an office and automated machinery does the work.

Have there been any test cases pushing the boundaries of this restriction?

lincroft1710

There used to be a phrase "carrying out or directing agricultural operations upon the land". So Farmer Giles can call up Tony Archer on his mobile, tell him to plough Bottom Acre and then get Kenton Archer to sow it and in August get David Archer to combine it. He can do the same with his livestock, Ruth Archer can milk the cows, then Brian Aldridge can take them to graze in Lower Loxley Meadow. He's still a farmer. It's only when a "farmer" has another occupation, i.e. stockbroker, that the waters start to get muddy.

zcrat41

You are a farmer if you have financial and management responsibility for the land I think.

If you rent it out on an FBT you are not farming it.
If you are contracting it out you are farming it.

But that's for SFP purposes, I don't know how it affects ag ties.

However, I don't know how that applies to one chappie with a field. In terms of ag office jobs I doubt that counts - otherwise you'd have every grain trader and agronomist claiming it and I'm pretty sure they don't.

Try AMC.

And take some serious advice - no offence but it sounds like you don't have a clue what you are doing.

planning_officer

zcrat41 wrote: »

You are a farmer if you have financial and management responsibility for the land I think.

If you rent it out on an FBT you are not farming it.
If you are contracting it out you are farming it.

But that's for SFP purposes, I don't know how it affects ag ties.

However, I don't know how that applies to one chappie with a field. In terms of ag office jobs I doubt that counts - otherwise you'd have every grain trader and agronomist claiming it and I'm pretty sure they don't.

Try AMC.

And take some serious advice - no offence but it sounds like you don't have a clue what you are doing.

Very true - an agricultural office job would never be regarded as working in agriculture. I also do not consider someone who just contracts out land to be working in agriculture either (in terms of complying with an ag tie condition).

lincroft1710

planning_officer wrote: »

Very true - an agricultural office job would never be regarded as working in agriculture. I also do not consider someone who just contracts out land to be working in agriculture either (in terms of complying with an ag tie condition).

But if he owns a reasonable amount of land, say 50 acres, employs other people to do the actual work and tells them exactly what he wants doing, and has no other source of income, is he not a farmer?

planning_officer

Yes, he probably would be if he was telling people what to do - i.e. acting in a managerial role, but if he was just contracting the land out and not doing any managing at all, then I'd say he probably wasn't employed directly in agriculture. I have no appeal decisions to back that up though - just my opinion!

cuckoopark

What mortgage companies consider properties with Agricultural Condition of Occupancy? We are interested in a 3 acre property - we will use it as a residential dwelling but we also breed goats and pigs so will fulfill the criteria - we have just heard it is hard to find a mortgage company

Thanks

*Robin*

cuckoopark wrote: »

What mortgage companies consider properties with Agricultural Condition of Occupancy? We are interested in a 3 acre property - we will use it as a residential dwelling but we also breed goats and pigs so will fulfill the criteria - we have just heard it is hard to find a mortgage company

Thanks

You could try the Ecology Building Society. I'm a few years out of date, but they were very helpful when we were looking for a mortgage on a rural property (both partners working on the land).

Good Luck.

Davesnave

Knolton finance is currently advertising finance for ag-tied property, but I have no idea what their rates are like. The cynic in me reasons that if ordinary mortgages are hard to come by at the moment, those for tied property must have special conditions attached.

Emmylou_2

OH is currently studying a post-grad qualification in Meat Science & Hygiene and will (hopefully) be looking to get employment in the food production industry from next year (abbatoir or similar, or working for one of the "major" producers of meat/poultry). He grew up in a very rural place and wants the same for our (future) family - and (subject to owning a big truck) so do I.

Would working in an abbatoir (or similar level of food production) mean he qualifies for an Ag-Tied property?