FARM TENURE AND FARMING PRACTICE |
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| Authors: | Berkeley Hill Ruth Gasson |
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| Institution: | 1. ?School of Rural Economics, Wye College, Near Ashford, Kent TN25 5AH.;2. ?School of Rural Economics, Wye College, Near Ashford, Kent TN25 5AH.
*We wish to acknowledge the financial support of M.A.F.F. which enabled us to carry out this project. The views expressed are, however, our own and do not necessarily reflect that of the Ministry. |
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| Abstract: | The performance of wholly owned, wholly rented and mixed tenure farms in the Farm Management Survey sample for England and Wales is compared on a range of criteria, controlling farm size and type. Mixed tenure farms are found to perform noticeably better than ‘pure’ tenure types. Possible explanations for inter-tenure differences in performance are reviewed under the headings of capital provision, farmer motivation and resource mobility. Evidence from the FMS and from interviews with 48 farmers provide only weak support for hypotheses relating performance to capital endowments, the ‘spur’ of market rents or asset appreciation. Findings on changes in farm size and tenure, however, suggest that tenure could be determined by, rather than being a determinant of, farm performance. |
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