
2024 No. 30
Landlord And Tenant, England
The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2024
Made 9th January 2024
Laid before Parliament 11th January 2024
Coming into force 23rd February 2024
The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 4 of Schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.
Citation, commencement, extent and application
1 

(1) This Order may be cited as the Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2024 and comes into force on 23rd February 2024.
(2) This Order extends to England and Wales but applies in relation to England only.
Interpretation
2 
In this Order—
 “the 1986 Act” means the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986;
 “disadvantaged land”, except in the expression “severely disadvantaged land”, means any area shown coloured blue on the England LFA maps;
 “eligible hectare” has the same meaning as in Article 32(2) of Regulation (EU)1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy as that Regulation had effect in relation to England on 31st December 2022;
 “the England LFA maps” means the four volumes of maps entitled “Less Favoured Area Map of England 2009”, each volume being marked with the number of the volume, dated 29th January 2010, signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and deposited at the Intelligence Hub at the former offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR;
 “less favoured area” means any area of disadvantaged land or severely disadvantaged land;
 “moorland” means all the land that is—
(a) severely disadvantaged land; and
(b) shown coloured brown in the three volumes of maps entitled “Moorland Map of England 2009”, each volume being marked with the number of the volume, dated 29th January 2010, signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and deposited at the Intelligence Hub at the former offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR;
 “severely disadvantaged land” means any area of land shown coloured pink on the England LFA maps.
Assessment of productive capacity of land
3 

(1) Paragraphs (2) and (3) and the Schedule have effect for the purpose of the assessment of the productive capacity of a unit of agricultural land situated in England in order to determine whether that unit is a commercial unit of agricultural land within the meaning of paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 6 to the 1986 Act.
(2) Where the land in question is capable, when farmed under competent management, of being used to produce any livestock, farm arable crop, outdoor horticultural crop or fruit as is mentioned in any of the entries under headings number 1, 2 or 3 in Column 1 of the table in the Schedule—
(a) the unit of production prescribed in relation to that use of the land is the unit in the corresponding entry in Column 2 of that table; and
(b) the amount determined, for the period of 12 months beginning with 23rd February 2024, as the net annual income from that unit of production in that period is the amount in the corresponding entry in Column 3 of that table as read with any relevant note to the Schedule.
(3) Where the land in question is capable, when farmed under competent management, of producing a net annual income and was an eligible hectare in 2022 in accordance with the entry under heading number 4 in Column 1 of the table in the Schedule, as read with any relevant note to the Schedule—
(a) the unit of production prescribed in relation to that use of the land is the unit in the corresponding entry in Column 2 of that table; and
(b) the amount determined, for the period of 12 months beginning with 23rd February 2024, as the net annual income from that unit of production in that period is the amount in the corresponding entry in Column 3 of that table.
Revocation of the Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2023
4 
The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2023 is revoked.
Sunset
5 
Except as otherwise provided by Article 6 this Order ceases to have effect at the end of 31st August 2024.
Saving
6 
Notwithstanding Article 5 this Order continues to have effect for the purpose of determining an application to the First-tier Tribunal made under Part 4 of the 1986 Act for a direction entitling the applicant to a tenancy of an agricultural holding on the death or retirement of a tenant where, in respect of any such application, the date of death or the date of the giving of the retirement notice is a date which falls on or before 31st August 2024.
Mark Spencer
Minister of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9th January 2024
SCHEDULE
Prescribed units of production and determination of net annual income
Article 3(1)


Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Farming use Unit of production Net annual income from unit of production (£)
1. Livestock
Dairy cows Cow 967.00
Beef breeding cows: on land in a less favoured area Cow 5.00
on other land Cow -28.00
Beef fattening cattle (semi-intensive) Head -24.00
Dairy replacements Head 154.00
Ewes: on land in a less favoured area Ewe -15.00
on other land Ewe 10.00
Store lambs (including ewe-lambs sold as shearlings) Head 12.00
Pigs: sows and gilts in pig Sow or gilt 265.00
porker Head 9.90
cutter Head 13.00
bacon Head 15.60
Poultry: laying hens Bird 4.60
broilers Bird 0.30
point of lay pullets Bird 0.90
Christmas turkeys Bird 14.90
2. Farm arable crops
Barley Hectare 334.00
Beans Hectare 181.00
Oilseed rape Hectare 164.00
Dried peas Hectare 200.00
Potatoes: first early Hectare 2650.00
maincrop (including seed) Hectare 3060.00
Sugar beet Hectare 620.00
Wheat Hectare 540.00
3. Outdoor horticultural crops and fruit
Orchard fruit Hectare 4460.00
Soft fruit Hectare 17870.00
4. Eligible hectare
Land which was, in 2022, an eligible hectare: moorland Hectare -13.40
severely disadvantaged land, excluding moorland Hectare 117.40
disadvantaged land Hectare 13.90
all other land Hectare -66.20

