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Agriculture Sector Solicitors

The agriculture sector is of major importance to the UK's economy. Agricultural production continues to increase, as does the economic contribution of farming.

There is a constant balance between input costs and the output price of commodities produced and profitability for many farmers can vary significantly each year.

Land prices have for some considerable period of time held up and Banks remain strongly committed to the sector.

It is clear to us that those in the sector are exploring diversification options and these are not solely limited to renewables and land flooding schemes. Some businesses have abandoned farming partly or even completely as they see the opportunities to make more money by developing leisure and tourism attractions. Hence the rise of visitor farms, vineyards, wedding barns, ice-cream parlours, farm shops and shooting and fishing facilities. As farmers let or sell their former farm buildings for industrial or other purposes, multi-million-pound deals involving vast areas of land are being struck.

To enable you to take advantage of the available opportunities, or simply deal with the legal aspects of farming in the most efficient way possible, our rural solicitors can advise you and provide the guidance and representation you need to deal with the complex issues arising in modern farming.

We have a reputation for excellence in the agricultural law sector and have a sound understanding of the business and opportunities of farming as well as the challenges. We will take the time to understand your circumstances and our advice to you will be based on the vision you have for yourself and your farm.

  • They provide a very good service level and are extremely responsive.

    Chambers and Partners, 2023 edition

  • The ability to get proper advice which is commercially focused – always a sense of realism to the advice that is provided. Equally, the ability to get in contact with all levels of staff, including partners by telephone and without any long delay.

    The UK Legal 500. 2024 edition

  • Very friendly and easy to engage with. Pragmatic approach to finding solutions and good communication with clients. They provide a good service.

    The UK Legal 500. 2024 edition

  • Rollits have a long established team with lots of experience. They deliver what they promise which is often not the case with some of their competitors. We know their team well and they know ours. It works very well and has done for very many years.

    The UK Legal 500. 2022 edition
John Flanagan
Caroline Hardcastle
Alison Benson
Libby Clarkson
John Lane
Ruth Maltby-Sinkler
Kathryn Matthews
Neil Franklin
Patrick Burstall
Meet the team

Our agricultural law expertise

Our farming solicitors provide a full range of agriculture law services, including:

  • Purchase and sale of agricultural land
  • Financing/ mortgages/ charges over farm land, acting for the owner and/ or the lender
  • Farm business tenancies
  • Other rural tenancies
  • Pipelines and other easements
  • Solar Parks and other renewables
  • Options and overage agreements
  • Environment and planning issues
  • Farming partnerships and other methods of trading such as companies
  • Contract Farming
  • Rural payment schemes and Environmental Schemes

Where necessary, we can call on the services of colleagues in related areas of law, including family law, trusts and estates, employment, banking and finance, contracts and commercial law and planning and development. This enables us to provide you with a full service in-house.

Other related services include:

Get in touch with our agriculture law solicitors in Yorkshire

To discuss your agricultural law requirements, get in touch with our specialist agriculture solicitors. From our offices in both Hull and York, we support clients in the region and the North, as well as across the rest of the UK.

Call us in Hull on 01482 323239 or in York on 01904 625790. Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form and one of our local agricultural solicitors will get back to you.

Our agricultural law services

If you are thinking of buying or selling a farm, agricultural land or a farming business, our agricultural land solicitors can represent you to ensure your transaction goes as smoothly as possible.

A farm sale or purchase can be very complex and you will need the expertise of farming solicitors with a deep understanding of each aspect of the transaction, from checking the legal title and rights that run with the land to dealing with sporting rights and development potential.

Our team are highly experienced in handling agricultural sales and purchases and we will work with you to ensure you understand the rights and liabilities that you will be taking on and that the transaction is set up in the most efficient way possible.

If you are entering into a farm tenancy or you are already a party to a tenancy, it is important to have expert advice on your rights and how to deal with issues that arise. Failure to follow the proper procedure can result in difficulties for both landlord and tenant.

Our team advises tenants on protecting their position, to include defending tenancy rights, opposing a notice to quit and negotiating and renewing tenancies.

We also deal with share farming agreements between landowners and farmers. This includes dealing with issues such as ownership and provision of buildings and machinery, how maintenance will be dealt with and which costs will be shared.

We advise businesses and land owners on other types of rural tenancy. We have a strong commercial understanding and our advice to you will be based on your long-term aims and goals.

Farms are increasingly becoming involved in the provision of renewable energy, including wind, solar, biomass and anaerobic digesters.

We can provide the advice and recommendation needed to make the most of opportunities to use land and resources to produce new sources of energy, to include negotiating options and lease agreements.

For land owners considering development, we can discuss the possibility of obtaining planning consent as well as environmental restrictions and how best to handle these while maximising the potential your land has.

We also deal with issues such as options and overage agreements.

Putting the right structure in place for a farm business is crucial. We advise on farm partnerships and other business structures to ensure that everyone involved has the interest intended in the organisation.

This can ensure that matters are dealt with fairly, that everyone clearly understands their role and position and that the risk of misunderstandings and disputes is minimised.

Where you wish to enter into a contract farming agreement with a buyer, we can go through the agreement with you and ensure that it is robustly drafted and in your best interests. This includes looking at issues such as agreed quality standards, payment requirements and agreement for delivery.

If you are buying or selling farmland, we can consider subsidies and grants with you.  In recent years, and going forwards there has been significant changes in subsidies and funding available to farmers, new entrants and those leaving farming, and we can consider your specific requirements with you.

Why choose our agriculture lawyers?

At Rollits, we have a strong presence in the local farming community and a sound understanding of the challenges you face in this ever-changing sector. Our historical connection to Hull led to us working with agricultural companies in the city as wealth poured in to farms from the trawler-owner families and other successful businesses.

We act for many farmers and land owners and fully understand the sector’s key issues. We now work with farmers and landowners across Yorkshire, Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and throughout the country.

We are recognised by leading law directories Chambers and The Legal 500 as one of Yorkshire’s best agriculture firms, with consistently high ratings.

Our agricultural clients are extremely varied, from 100-acre tenant farmers to large corporate farming freeholders with well in excess of 3,000 acres, and from significant pig and other livestock farms to horticultural growers.

We are also trusted to act on behalf of bank interests within the sector. Work in this area specifically relates to land and farm sales, purchases, tenancies and land transfers, freehold and leasehold property transactions, inheritance and other planning, succession issues, mergers and other commercial deals, public right-of-way issues, the sale of entitlements and, due to increasing diversification, sporting rights and mineral rights.

Generally speaking, the same laws that apply to agriculture also apply to horticulture. Farmers are business people and therefore turn to us for guidance on commercial agreements and corporate and partnership agreements, as well as matters relating to tax and liability claims. Our work in this sector is growing both from our existing client base and from recommendations.

In addition to our long sector-specific history and fine pedigree, Rollits’ quality agricultural lawyers have a demonstrable dedication to the job, vast experience and sound local and regional knowledge.

As a multi-disciplinary law firm, we are also able to offer comprehensive help and advice in all related legal areas. Whilst our role can enable farmers to face challenges and opportunities head-on, deal with the need to become more efficient and reduce the workforce, we can also help land owners diversify.

To that end, we can offer planning advice, play our part in negotiating options and lease agreements for renewables projects, for instance, our commercial property department can provide assistance in the business purchase of buildings with development potential. We genuinely believe that our expertise in agriculture is unique in the region.

We have put together a strong team of agricultural solicitors with a depth of knowledge that enables them to provide advice that takes into account all relevant factors, including potential changes in the law and grants system, market forces and succession issues.

Our advice to you will be clear and practical. You will find our team to be friendly and approachable and willing to talk through issues at length to ensure you have the support and guidance you need.

Our agriculture legal services fees

You will find our services competitively priced, while also providing an outstanding level of assistance. We always provide clear costs estimates of the work you need at the outset so that you have all of the information you need to budget.

If you have work you would like us to take on, contact us today and we will be happy to go through the likely charges and answer any other questions you may have.

Speak with our agriculture solicitors today

If you are looking for the best agricultural solicitors for a rounded service and sound legal advice in this complex sector, our team will be happy to help.

To discuss your requirements, get in touch with our specialist agricultural solicitors. From our offices in both Hull and York, we support clients in the region and the North, as well as across the rest of the UK.

Call us in Hull on 01482 323239 or in York on 01904 625790. Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form and one of our lawyers will get back to you.