Scots make sales simple

TRADING FARMLAND in Scotland became much simpler last week, according to John Rhind, general manager of Aberdeen and Northern Estates.

Mr Rhind said the release of new information from SEERAD should end the relative dearth of farm sales.

“All that is required now is a letter to say single farm payment entitlements have been transferred with the land. The seller will still have to complete an IACS form for at least 0.3ha, to show they”re still farming it, but this can be achieved with a simple grazing lease for the mandatory 10 months.”

Uncertainty over transferring SFP entitlements with land meant vendors had been reluctant to sell, fearing the costs and legal wrangling to protect their entitlements, said Mr Rhind.