Mediation in Agriculture and the Land

John Sturrock writes in the June/July 2010 edition of Land Business about the potential of mediation for resolving differences in the agriculture and farming sector.

In the article, entitled 'Let's Talk', he argues that disputes or differences arising in farming tenancies, such as rent reviews, are ideal for this sort of problem-solving, for both tenant and landlord, as are land management and estate ownership issues in general.

He notes that mediation has been used recently in Scotland to help farming families deal with difficult issues of succession and intergenerational transition and to address division of land where relationships have broken down.

It has also helped settle claims for unpaid sums when an agricultural agent became insolvent, resolve boundary disputes over adjoining pieces of land, and resolve issues relating to crop damage.