ONE of Scotland’s biggest landowners, Buccleuch Estates, is in advanced discussions with a number of its limited partnership agreement tenant farmers with a view to either them purchasing the farms they rent or converting to alternative long-term arrangements.

The Buccleuch announcement follows concerns raised by the Scottish Tenants Farmers Association over reports that some of Scotland’s largest estates have been taking steps to bring limited partnership tenancies to an end, often with a view to replacing tenant farmers with trees.

The prospective sales involve ten farms totalling 7304 acres on Buccleuch’s Bowhill, Eskdale and Liddlesdale and Queensberry estates. All the farms are currently occupied on limited partnership agreements.

Buccleuch is also in discussions with a number of other limited partnership tenants with a view to converting their agreements to alternative long-term letting arrangements.

Buccleuch chief executive John Glen said: “We are pleased to offer tenants the opportunity to buy their farms and have been very encouraged by the response from farmers keen to develop their businesses. Most of the farmers interested would like to purchase their whole farm while others are interested in buying part of the land they occupy and the farmhouse.

“There are some farmers who will not want to purchase their farms and we will continue discussions with them to seek a mutually satisfactory outcome," he noted. “Several tenants have also indicated their willingness to move to new tenancy arrangements and we are in the process of dissolving their existing limited partnership agreements – a tenancy type that is largely being phased out across the sector.

“We are still heavily invested in tenant farming and the proceeds of any farm sales will be invested in our rural business operations," he added.

STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson commented: “STFA has been concerned about the future of tenants in limited partnership tenancies and the vulnerable position in which they find themselves.

“We are therefore pleased to hear that Buccleuch Estate is taking steps to enter into discussions with their tenants to agree a mutually beneficial way forward for their farming businesses in line with guidance issued by the interim government adviser, Andrew Thin, soon to be incorporated into a code of practice by the tenant farming commissioner.

“STFA hopes that other landlords will follow suit in their dealings with limited partnership tenants, abiding by the codes of practice which lay out a procedure which should be followed when initiating discussions about bringing a LP tenancy to an end," said Mr Nicholson.

“In particular, formal notices to dissolve partnerships or terminate tenancies should not be served before discussions have taken place and attempts made to reach a mutually agreeable solution," he stressed. “It should also be remembered that most of the tenants affected will be in mid-career, having farmed the land for well over twenty years, and many will also have sons or daughters who would like to follow in their footsteps.

“The circumstances and aspirations of these farming families should be taken into account before decisions are made about the future of their farms.”