The Agriculture Improvement Regulations 1985

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“agricultural business” means a business consisting in, or such part of any business as consists in, the pursuit of agriculture, including the storage, the transport and the preparation for market of the produce of the business;

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping and freshwater fish farming, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, reed beds, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes, and “agricultural” and references to farming shall be construed accordingly;

“the appropriate Minister” means—

(a)

in relation to England or Northern Ireland, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

(b)

in relation to any other part of the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State;

“approved” means approved by the appropriate Minister in writing, and “approve” and “approval” shall be construed accordingly;

“contractor” means any person who enters into an agreement to supply agricultural work or services in connection with agricultural land;

“dairy cows” means cows which have calved and which by reason of their breed or suitability are exclusively or principally kept for the production of milk either for human consumption or for processing into milk products;

“designated maps” means—

(a)

in relation to England, the 3 volumes of maps numbered 1 to 3, each such volume being marked “volume of maps of less-favoured farming areas in England” and with the number of the volume, dated 3rd April 1984, signed and sealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and deposited at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at Great Westminister House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AE;

(b)

in relation to Wales, the 2 volumes of maps numbered 1 and 2, both volumes being marked “volume of maps of less-favoured farming areas in Wales” and with the number of the volume, dated 29th March 1984, signed by the Secretary of State for Wales and deposited at the offices of the Welsh Office Agriculture Department at Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 1NG;

(c)

in relation to Scotland, the 4 maps numbered 1 to 4, each such map being marked “map of less-favoured farming areas in Scotland” and with the number of the map, dated 2nd April 1984, signed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and deposited at the offices of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland at Chesser House, Gorgie Road, Edinburgh EH11 3AW;

(d)

in relation to Northern Ireland, the map marked “map of less-favoured farming areas in Northern Ireland” dated 4th April 1984, signed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and deposited at the offices of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland at Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SB;

“earned income”, in relation to an agricultural business, means the revenue of the business as assessed by the appropriate Minister, and in any such assessment the said revenue shall be taken to include net inventory changes and farmhouse consumption less remuneration of capital invested in the agricultural business and such charges and expenses as that Minister may consider reasonable;

“eligible agricultural business” has the meaning assigned to that expression by regulation 4;

“eligible person” has the meaning assigned to that expression by regulation 3;

“glasshouse” means a fixed or mobile structure, used for the production of horticultural produce for sale, which is mounted on durable foundations, is not less than 1.67 metres high at the ridge, and of which more than half the total area of the sides, ends and roof is of glass or such other translucent material as will give a durability and transparency similar to that of glass;

“horticultural produce” means—

(a)

fruit;

(b)

vegetables of a kind grown for human consumption, including fungi, but not including maincrop potatoes or peas grown for seed or for harvesting dry;

(c)

flowers, pot plants and decorative foliage;

(d)

herbs;

(e)

seeds (other than pea seeds), bulbs and other material, being seeds, bulbs or material for—

(i)

sowing or planting for the production of fruit, of the vegetables, flowers, plants or foliage mentioned in (b) and (c) above or of herbs, or

(ii)

reproduction of the seeds, bulbs or other material planted; or

(f)

trees and shrubs, other than trees grown for the purpose of afforestation;

but does not include hops;

“labour unit” means the amount of work, other than work done by a contractor who does not satisfy the requirements of regulation 3(3) except to the extent that such work is carried out by seasonable labour, which would in the opinion of the appropriate Minister occupy the full time, not exceeding 2,300 hours per year, of a full-time worker;

“less-favoured area” means land—

(a)

which is situated in an area included in the list of less-favoured farming areas adopted by the Council or the Commission of the European Communities under Article 2 of Council Directive No. 75/268/EEC on mountain and hill farming and farming in certain less-favoured areas(1), and

(b)

which—

(i)

is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, inherently suitable for extensive livestock production but not for the production of crops in quantity materially greater than that necessary to feed such livestock as are capable of being maintained on such land, and whose agricultural production is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, restricted in its range by, or by any combination of, soil, relief, aspect or climate, or

(ii)

is situated in the Isles of Scilly,

which land is within the area shaded blue or shaded pink on the designated maps;

“livestock” includes any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land;

“main framework”, in relation to a building or structure, means the floor, outer walls and roof of that building or structure and any internal dividing walls which are integral to that building or structure;

“preparation for market”, in relation to produce, does not include canning, bottling, pulping or cooking, or preserving by sterilising, by freezing or by de-hydrating;

“the 1980 Regulations” means the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Regulations 1980(2);

“the 1981 Regulations” means the Farm and Horticulture Development Regulations 1981(3);

“the 1985 Scheme” means the Agriculture Improvement Scheme 1985.

(2) Any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or “the Schedule” shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these regulations or the Schedule to these regulations.

(1)

Article 2 was amended by Council Directive No. 80/666/EEC.

(2)

, amended by S.I. 1981/1708, 1983/508, 924, 1763, 1984/618, 1922, 1985/1025.

(3)

, amended by S.I 1983/507, 925, 1762, 1984/620, 1924.