Scotland’s tenanted farming sector is on the brink of a new era.
However this will only happen if the Scottish Government comes up with a workable set of solutions which please all parties involved.
Spats between landlords and tenants have been going on for centuries and sadly these are likely to continue for centuries to come.
Yet a common thread of thinking seems to be emerging in the numerous pleas and evidence submissions batted around by industry over the past few months.
Everyone, as far as I can see, seems to agree that a new wave of thinking and legislation is needed.
All three agricultural mouthpieces – NFU Scotland, the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) and Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) – have called for the creation of a land commission or adjudicator to oversee relations between tenants and landlords with the authority to name and shame those engaging in bad practice.
Everyone also seems to agree that new legislation, whether that be in the form of grant funding or tax incentives, is needed to help new entrants into the sector and retiring tenants out.
However the one sticking point and bone of contention for many is the absolute right to buy (ARTB).
Landowners say they live in fear of being forced to sell their land, while the view with tenant farmers is mixed.
Some shout that the only way they can move their business forward is by owning their farm, yet others like Moray farmer Alastair Nairn say the concept is unworkable and will ruin the sector.
It would be a shame to let this one issue dominate debates, as it has done. Surely the way to move the sector forward is for all parties involved to get together and thrash out a way for their shared ideas to work.
We can only hope that farm minister Richard Lochhead and the review group he has tasked with outlining a vision for the sector will adopt the industry-wide recommendations rather than getting caught up in a debate dominated by the loud voices of the few.