Tenants of the Scottish Crown Estate are facing an uncertain future over who owns the carbon held in their soils and trees.

Chair of the Crown Estate Tenant Farmers Working Group, Alistair Nairn, has challenged the Crown Estate to confirm that the carbon sequestered on their farms is owned by the tenants – and available for activating future carbon-linked farm support.

Mr Nairn also raised concerns that the Crown Estate was trying to 'sideline' the long-established Tenant Farmers Working Group and called for an urgent meeting to clarify the situation.

The row has been triggered by reports of correspondence between a tenant farmer and the Crown Estate’s agents suggesting that carbon credits associated with new tree plantations will be retained by the landlord, and that any application for planting trees on the tenant farmer's land will be in the name of Crown Estate Scotland.

While accepting that the soil belongs to the landlord, Mr Nairn argued: “The content of the soil on tenanted land has belonged to the tenant farmer for generations, and has always had a value to the occupier of the land. The content of the soil should remain with the farmer as should the carbon within the trees."

The Glenlivet farmer, who last met with the Crown Estate's agents on behalf of the TFWG in Perth on July 6, continued: "When a tenancy is relinquished, if the carbon in the soil has risen or fallen due to the farming then it should be addressed at waygo. I don’t want carbon to be tradable.

“My concerns are that there could be a precedent set here, and it could be rolled out across all tenanted land on the Crown Estate," he warned. "That will affect not only tenants on the Crown Estate, but on estates that they [the Crown Estate's agents Strutt and Parker] manage elsewhere. If this happens other agents will follow suit and it will have huge ramifications for the tenanted sector right across Scotland.”

A Crown Estate spokesperson said: “We are strongly supportive of measures to manage land in a sustainable and ecologically sound way, including appropriate tree planting. We want tenants to be able to make the most of opportunities as they arise, in a way that suits them and fits with their longer-term aspirations.

“The issue of carbon policy is an evolving one, which is why we are discussing various options with our farm tenants and other key stakeholders. The Scottish Government has a key role here, and we are also in dialogue with them as they explore the policy options available.”

Regarding the future of the Crown Estate Tenant Farmers Working Group, the estate’s spokesperson said: “We are constantly seeking ways to improve how we communicate with all of our farm tenants so that we can support them and their businesses effectively.

“During visits to their holdings, our tenants have made clear that changes to the way they engage with us would enable them to express their diverse range of views more easily."

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"We are currently working with them to develop our new Farm Tenant Forum, which will provide a more representative way to engage with all of our 220 tenants and give them a better way to provide feedback directly to Crown Estate Scotland," said the Crown Estate spokesman.

“We are planning our first all-tenant engagement meeting, at our expense, this autumn, for which our tenants are helping to develop the agenda. This, and subsequent meetings, will also see the creation of focus groups to explore in detail those issues of greatest concern to our tenants.

“In developing this approach, we are taking into account best practice from the Tenant Farming Commissioner, and any concerned tenants can be assured that we will continue to engage with existing tenant groups.”

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association managing director, Doug Bell, commented: “As the market for carbon develops alongside new policy and legislation, it is essential that tenant farmers have the same opportunities to engage in environmental management as those who own their farms – a concept recognised by the previous Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing, who promised a level playing field for tenants.

“STFA believes any value generated by capturing carbon should reside with the party providing the investment and the management which delivers the carbon sequestration. The current situation with the carbon codes for woodland and peatland effectively means that landlord’s consent can be withheld with little or no justification, preventing a tenant from acquiring carbon credits. This immediately puts tenants at a comparative disadvantage to owner-occupiers and has obvious ramifications for negotiations between landlords and tenants.

“The Soil Carbon Code, currently under preparation, will set a blueprint for generating carbon credits from soil management on farms. This code, along with any new Government environmental schemes designed to tackle climate change, must provide a trading and support framework which is equitable for tenants. Developing mechanisms appropriate for both tenants and landlords will be key.”