| Summary: |
This Order prescribes units of production for the assessment of the productive capacity of agricultural land situated in Wales and sets out the amount which is to be regarded as the net annual income from each such unit for the years 12 September 2004 to 11 September 2005 inclusive and 12 September 2005 to 11 September 2006 inclusive by reference to Schedules 1 and 2 respectively.
This Order revokes the Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (Wales) Order 2004.
An assessment of the productive capacity of agricultural land is required in determining whether or not the land in question is a "commercial unit of agricultural land" for the purposes of the succession provisions in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986: see in particular sections 36(3) and 50(2).
A "commercial unit of agricultural land" is land which, when farmed under competent management, is capable of producing a net annual income which is not less than the aggregate of the average annual earnings of two full-time male agricultural workers aged 20 years or over (paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 to the 1986 Act).
In determining this annual income figure, whenever a particular farming use mentioned in column 1 of the appropriate Schedule to this Order is relevant to the assessment of the productive capacity of the land in question, the units of production and the net annual income specified in columns 2 and 3 respectively of that Schedule will form the basis of that assessment.
The net annual income figures in column 3 of the relevant Schedule specify the net annual income from one unit of production. In some cases the net annual income is derived from a unit which will be on the land for the full twelve-month period. In other cases the net annual income is derived from a unit which will be on the land for only part of the year, and there may be more than one production cycle in the twelve-month period. The assessment of the productive capacity of the land will take account of the total production in the course of a year.
The Notes to Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 require various additions and deductions to be applied in respect of payments which were payable under several Common Agricultural Policy schemes which have now been replaced by the Single Payment Scheme. The notes require those additions and deductions to be applied where the payments would or would not be made if those schemes were still in operation and the conditions for receiving payments in the last year of operation of each scheme still applied.
|
