A new Government, a familiar call
As the new Prime Minister and his ministerial team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) take office, it is no surprise that the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) is urging them to place the tenanted sector of agriculture at the heart of policy for farming, food security, environmental delivery and rural opportunity.
Why the tenanted sector matters
Tenant farmers are not a marginal interest. Around a third of farmed land in England is occupied under tenancy arrangements, and these businesses produce food, manage landscapes and sustain rural communities without owning the land beneath their feet. For new entrants, tenancies are often the only realistic route into farming. Even for established businesses, renting land allows scarce capital to be invested in livestock, machinery, people, productivity and environmental improvement rather than locked up in land purchase.
That makes the tenanted sector essential to any Government that wants a productive, fair and resilient rural economy. Tenant farmers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for fair rules, secure foundations and a proper share in the public and private opportunities now reshaping land use.
Priority one: encourage longer-term tenancies
Ambitions for regenerative agriculture, nature recovery, carbon reduction, soil health and resilient food production cannot be delivered on insecurity. A farmer cannot sensibly plan rotations, invest in infrastructure or change a business model if the tenancy horizon is only one, two or three years. Yet short Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) remain common, and recent evidence points to average terms on new agreements of barely over three years.
The TFA believes reforms to taxation must be used to change landlord behaviour. In particular, landlords offering tenancies of 10 years or more should be rewarded through the inheritance tax framework, with those offering less security denied access to reliefs. If ministers reject that approach, they must set out an alternative that will achieve the same outcome.
Priority two: tenant-proof all support schemes
All agricultural support schemes must be tenant-proofed from the outset. The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) showed what can be achieved when schemes are designed around the active farmer, with shorter agreement lengths, reduced reliance on landlord consent and flexibility where tenancies end unexpectedly. That principle must now be protected and extended across farming, environment, productivity and nature-market schemes.
Public money should support those taking the risk and delivering the outcomes on the ground. Landlords should not be able to claim support on land they have let to others, nor should schemes create incentives for land to be resumed from tenants simply to secure easy payments. Public support must empower active farmers and must not destabilise the tenanted sector.
Priority three: fair protection when land is taken for development
Tenant farmers need fair protection when land is taken for solar, infrastructure or other development. The TFA supports the transition to clean energy and recognises the need for infrastructure, but that transition must not be delivered by removing tenant farmers from land, homes and livelihoods with little meaningful compensation.
Priority four: reform must not be delayed
Reform must not be delayed. The Law Commission’s recently announced work on agricultural tenancy legislation, due to start in 2027, is important, but tenant farmers cannot wait years while short tenancies continue, land is removed from agriculture and compensation for loss of land remains inadequate. Action is needed during this Parliament.
Enterprise without privilege
Tenant farmers represent enterprise without privilege. They work hard, take risks, produce food, care for land and sustain rural life with far less security than many around them. If the new Government wants to widen opportunity, strengthen food security and rebuild trust in rural Britain, there are few better places to start than the tenanted sector of agriculture.
-Ends-
This blog was written by George Dunn, Chief Executive, Tenant Farmers Association. It is based on a piece, written for The Cumberland News and Westmorland Gazette, published online and in paper on 31 July 2026.
Additional reading:
Further Resources from the TFA:
TFA members can get expert one-to-one advice and guidance, by calling TFA head office on 0118 930 6130.
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Media Enquiries
For press and media enquiries about any of these stories, please contact Julia Meadows, TFA Communications and Events Coordinator by calling TFA head office on 0118 930 6130 or 07887 777157.
