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Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937

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50-415: The Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 (P.L. 75-210) was passed on July 22, 1937, and authorized acquisition by the federal government of damaged lands to rehabilitate and use them for various purposes. Most importantly, however, the law authorized a modest credit program to assist tenant farmers to purchase land, and it was the culmination of a long effort to secure legislation for their benefit. Both

100-518: A 19th century increase of crofts but, particularly in Sweden, also to a shift from tenant farmers to farm laborers ( statare ) hired on yearlong contracts, paid in-kind. The lives of torpare and statare were described by prominent Swedish and Finnish novelists and writers such as Ivar Lo-Johansson , Jan Fridegård , Väinö Linna ( Under the North Star trilogy ) and Moa Martinson . The Statare system

150-468: A consultation paper. The aim was to deregulate, simplify, and encourage the letting of land. In the proposals as originally drafted, there was to be no security of tenure, the Common Law on Notice to Quit would apply, and there would be near-complete freedom of contract. So for example, contractual provisions could override the statutory compensation due to tenants for improvements to the holding. There

200-567: A periodic tenancy or a fixed term. In the cycle of animal husbandry and land use and improvement, the long-term effect of the Farm Business Tenancy on the landscape of Britain is not yet proven. It was predicted by landowners and other industry spokesmen that the 1995 Act would create opportunities for new tenants by allowing large areas of new lettings but this has not happened in practice as most landowners have continued to favour share farming or management agreements over formal tenancies and

250-490: A result, though the husmenn were technically free to leave the land at any time, their poor economic state made them in essence "economic serfs". Failing to own their own land also made tenant farmers ineligible to vote according to the Norwegian Constitution at the time. The number of tenant farmers in the country grew during the 19th century, rising from 48,571 in 1825 to 65,060 in 1855, the latter figure representing

300-471: A son or a widow. Their situation was usually poor but, contrary to in Denmark, they were in theory always free to leave. The croft's lease was typically paid in the form of corvée . They would work their own land as well as that of a landowning farmer ( bonde ), noble or other. In some aspects their situation made them easy victims of impressment . Population growth and landreforms ( enskiftet ) contributed to

350-591: A trade or business will fall within the limited protection of the 1995 Act so as to enjoy (provided the term is more than two years in length or there is a yearly tenancy) a mandatory minimum twelve months written notice to quit, including in respect of fixed terms. There is for all tenancies within the scope of the Act a mandatory tenants' right to remove fixtures and buildings (section 8) together with compensation for improvements (Part III). The rent review provisions in Part II may be

400-420: Is a tenant farmer who usually provides no capital and pays fees with crops. A hired hand is an agricultural employee even though he or she may live on the premises and exercise a considerable amount of control over the agricultural work, such as a foreman. A sharecropper is a farm tenant who pays rent with a portion (often half) of the crop he raises and who brings little to the operation besides his family labor;

450-606: Is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to England and Wales. It is in force. The Act reformed and substantially deregulated the law relating to agricultural tenancies, and has had the dual effects of increasing the amount of land available to rent in the agricultural sector, and increasing the average rent per acre charged. By the early 1990s, it was clear that the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986

500-458: The Black Death in the mid-14th century, the number of free tenants substantially increased. Many tenant farmers became affluent and socially well connected, and employed a substantial number of labourers and managed more than one farm. Tenancy could be either in perpetuity or rotated by the owners. Cottiers (cottagers) held much less land. The 17th century to the early 19th century witnessed

550-539: The Church of Ireland and State. The majority of the people had no access to land. 1.5% of the population owned 33.7% of the island, and 50% of the country was in the hands of only 750 families. Absenteeism was common and detrimental to the country's progress. Tenants often sub-rented small plots on a yearly basis from local farmers paying for them by labour service by a system, known as conacre , most without any lease or land rights. Irish smallholders were indistinguishable from

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600-689: The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management manage some Bankhead–Jones lands. Some Forest Service Bankhead-Jones lands are National Grasslands . In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the Laura S. Walker National Park under a Federal land utilization program authorized by the Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act. The park was named for Waycross, Georgia , conservationist Laura S. Walker , in recognition of her work promoting forestry and other civic activities. Work on

650-471: The freehold was assigned under mortgage to tenant farmers and farm workers. The focus had been on the compulsory purchase of untenanted estates so that they could be divided into smaller units for local families. In 1983, the Commission ceased acquiring land; this signified the start of the end of the commission's reform of Irish land ownership, though freehold transfers of farmland still had to be signed off by

700-558: The 1986 Act remain in force and unchanged by the subsequent legislation. The 1995 Act has been amended somewhat in the Regulatory Reform Order 2006. This has, in a modest way, streamlined, simplified and deregulated Farm Business Tenancies to an even greater extent. According to Williams et al. 2007, the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 changes agricultural tenancies in the following ways: The 2006 reforms made

750-601: The Act of 1903 and the consequential Act of 1909, the national situation was completely transformed. When in March 1920, the Irish Estate Commission reviewed the development since 1903 under these Acts, they estimated that 83 million sterling had been advanced for 9 million acres (36,000 km ) transferred, whilst a further 2 million acres (8,100 km ) were pending costing 24 million sterling. By 1914, 75% of occupiers were buying out their landlords, mostly under

800-494: The Commission into the 1990s. The commission was dissolved in March 1999. In Japan, landowners turned over their land to families of tenant farmers to manage. During the Meiji period , Japanese tenant farmers were traditionally cultivators rather than capitalistic or entrepreneurial venture by nature, paid in kind for their labors. Approximately 30% of land was held by tenants. Many aspects of Tokugawa feudalism continued. After WWII,

850-673: The Custom's essential principles. Although the RICS' prediction of 1 million additional acres did not materialise, the decline in the amount of land available to let was halted and indeed there was a modest increase in supply. The 1995 Act seems to have caused land to be let for a shorter term and a higher rent. Since 1977 the Agricultural Land Occupation Surveys of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers has monitored

900-529: The Farm Land Reform Law of 1946 banned absentee landlordism, re-distributing land and permitted tenants to buy. By the 1950s, it virtually eliminated the landlord-tenant relationship. Historically, despite Norway being practically a Danish province for almost 300 years before 1814, the countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (with Finland) had differing approaches to land tenure. A tenant farmer in Norway

950-871: The Mississippi River delta country. In its heyday, Panola controlled some eleven thousand acres, two-thirds planted in cotton and the other third in grains. Netterville became general manager of three highly profitable Panola properties, the Balmoral, Blackwater, and Wyoming plantations near Newellton , in which capacity he supervised 125 African-American tenant farming families, with little strife and great ease, according to reports from that period. For tenant farmers and other landholding arrangements in Latin America , see Peasant#Latin American farmers . Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 The Agricultural Holdings Act 1995

1000-539: The breakup or reduction of many large estates, allowing many tenants to buy their holdings at favourable prices. The landmark 1948 Act was enacted at a time when war-time food rationing was still in force and sought to encourage long-term investment by tenants by granting them lifetime security of tenure. Under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, security was extended to spouses and relatives of tenants for two successions, providing that they had been earning

1050-567: The cashless system. Economic historians Lee Alston and Joseph Ferrie (1999) describe the system as essentially an informal contract that: Tenant farmers often had agricultural managers who supervised their activities. In 1907, for instance, J. H. Netterville began employment for the Panola Company, an agricultural business founded by William Mackenzie Davidson in the rich farming area of St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana in

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1100-528: The contract, tenants can make payments to the owner either of a fixed portion of the product, in cash or in a combination. The rights the tenant has over the land, the form, and measures of payment vary across systems (geographically and chronologically). In some systems, the tenant could be evicted at whim ( tenancy at will ); in others, the landowner and tenant sign a contract for a fixed number of years ( tenancy for years or indenture ). In most developed countries today, at least some restrictions are placed on

1150-716: The cottiers of England. The abuse of tenant farmers led to widespread emigration to the United States and the colonies and was a key factor within the Home Rule Movement . They also underlined a deterioration in Protestant-Catholic relationships, although there were notable elements of cooperation in reform attempts such as the Tenant Right League of the 1850s. Following the Great Famine tenant farmers were

1200-429: The definition of "agriculture" in section 96(1) was wide enough to include various uses that in themselves were not agricultural but were deemed so if ancillary to agriculture (e.g. woodlands). The essence of the code was to establish complex constraints on the landlord's ability to give the notice to quit while also converting fixed-term tenancies into yearly tenancies at the conclusion of the fixed term. In addition, there

1250-503: The development of agricultural land reletting and availability with statistics produced on an annual basis and in 2019 the figures indicate that where there is a change of occupation, between 15 and 30% of lettings are made to persons farming for the first time ("new entrants"). The new kind of tenancy introduced in the 1995 Act is called a Farm Business Tenancy ("FBT") and since 1 September 1995, almost all new agricultural lettings have used this framework. However, tenancies created under

1300-535: The existence of the 1995 Act and for those tenancies falling within section 4 of the 1995 Act. For all other tenancies granted on or after 1 September 1995, their regulation is within the 1995 Act framework. That Act was altered with effect from 18 October 2006 by the Regulatory Reform (Agricultural Tenancies)(England and Wales) Order 2006 SI 2006/2805, which also contains changes to the 1986 Act. Tenancies granted after 18 October 2006 over agricultural land used for

1350-628: The first attempt to resolve problems of tenants rights in Ireland and the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 went even further to inspire campaigners even in Wales. The Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 followed, finally the great breakthrough after the successful 1902 Land Conference , the enactment of the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 whereby the state financed tenants to completely buy out their landlords. Under

1400-424: The growth of large estates, and the opportunity for a farmer to hold land other than by tenancy was significantly reduced, with the result that by the 19th century, about 90% of agricultural land area and holdings were tenanted, although these figures declined markedly after World War II, to around 60% in 1950 and only 35% of agricultural land area in 1994. High rates of inheritance taxes in the postwar period led to

1450-507: The height of the husmann population in Norway, most of whom lived in the eastern part of the country. Given their difficult economic and social position in Norway, many Norwegian husmenn immigrated to Canada and the United States throughout the 19th century. Following the revolutions of 1848 the husmenn's cause was taken up by Marcus Thrane . Thrane fought for the husmenn's rights at home and also encouraged them to emigrate and seek better fortunes abroad. The number of husmenn began to decline in

1500-492: The landlord usually furnishing working stock, tools, fertilizer, housing, fuel, and seed, and often providing regular advice and oversight. Tenant farming in the North was historically a step on the "agricultural ladder" from hired hand or sharecropper taken by young farmers as they accumulated enough experience and capital to buy land (or buy out their siblings when a farm was inherited). About two-thirds of sharecroppers were white,

1550-580: The largest class of people. Discontent led to the Land War of the 1870s onwards, the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 , the founding of the Land League 1879 to establish fair rents and the fixity of tenures. The movement played a key element in the unification of country and urban classes and the creation of a national identity not existing before. The Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 stands out as

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1600-570: The majority of new lettings under the Act have been to existing farmers, often owner-occupiers taking on extra land at significantly higher rents than could be afforded by a traditional tenant. From the nineteenth century on, tenant farming immigrants came to Canada not just from the British Isles but also the United States of America. Until about 1900, the majority of Ireland was held by landlords, as much as 97% in 1870, and rented out to tenant farmers who had to pay rent to landlords and taxes to

1650-473: The majority of their income from the holding for five years. Succession rights were however withdrawn for new tenancies in 1984 and this was consolidated in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. These two statutes also laid down rules for the determination of rents by the arbitration process. The 1986 statute covered tenancies over agricultural land where the land was used for a trade or business and

1700-746: The park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps . In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia , becoming the State's 13th state park. In February 1943, Roddie and Lucile Pridgett of Rankin County, Mississippi , "became the first Negro farm family in the United States to repay their 36-year farm purchase loan to the Farm Security Administration which they obtained under

1750-531: The previous legislation in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 and the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948. For Scotland see Crofting , a traditional and long-established means of tenant and subsistence farming. Tenant farming has been important in the US from the 1870s to the present. Tenants typically bring their own tools and animals. To that extent it is distinguished from being a sharecropper , which

1800-589: The provisions of the Bankhead–Jones Tenant Purchase Act." They repaid their loan of $ 1,495 in only five years. Tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person ( farmer or farmworker ) who resides on land owned by a landlord . Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying amounts of capital and management. Depending on

1850-712: The rest black. Sharecroppers, the poorest of the poor, organized for better conditions. The racially integrated Southern Tenant Farmers Union made gains for sharecroppers in the 1930s. Sharecropping had diminished in the 1940s due to the Great Depression, farm mechanization, and other factors. In the Black Belt in the American South until the mid 20th century, the predominant agricultural system involved white land owners and African-American tenant farmers. Very little cash changed hands. The few local banks were small and cash

1900-420: The rights of landlords to evict tenants under normal circumstances. Historically, rural society utilised a three-tier structure of landowners ( nobility , gentry , yeomanry ), tenant farmers, and farmworkers . Originally, tenant farmers were known as peasants . Under Anglo-Norman law , almost all tenants were bonded to the land, and were therefore also villeins , but after the labour shortage occasioned by

1950-411: The second half of the 19th century, and by 1910 they made up less than 5% of Norwegian society. The term torpare/torppari (Swedish/Finnish for crofter ) refers to a slightly different type of tenant farmers, less secure than the inheritable usufruct right as åbo but sometimes with contracts as long as 50 years. The lease was, depending on the landowner's good will, in practice often transferred to

2000-463: The subject of choice to a much greater extent than previously. Disputes under the Act are usually, by the terms of Part IV, the subject of statutory arbitration controlled by the framework of the Arbitration Act 1996 . The current regime under the 1995 Act for regulating tenancies, commonly known as Farm Business Tenancies, permits the creation of a clearly and easily terminable interest, whether by

2050-456: The tenants picked the cotton, and turned it all over to the landowners. They sold the cotton on the national market and used part of the funds to pay the debts owed to the country store. The cycle then started all over again. Landowners also worked some of the land directly, using black labor paid in cash. The landowners held all the political power, and fought vigorously against government welfare programs that would provide cash that would undermine

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2100-476: The term of an agricultural tenancy to less than two years. But most farmland that fell vacant was not available to let at all: the landlords were often hiring contractors to farm it for them, or entering into share farming or partnership arrangements, rather than letting to the small businessman farmer. In February 1991, the MAFF ("Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food", the body that later became DEFRA ) published

2150-646: The two Acts. In all, under the pre-UK Land Acts over 316,000 tenants purchased their holdings amounting to 11,500,000 acres (47,000 km ) out of a total of 20 million in the country. On the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Irish Land Commission was reconstituted by the Land Law (Commission) Act, 1923. The commission had acquired and supervised the transfer of up to 13 million acres (53,000 km ) of farmland between 1885 and 1920 where

2200-511: Was a uniform rent ascertainment scheme contained in section 12. It became difficult to obtain new tenancies as a result of landlords' reluctance to have a tenant protected by the 1986 Act and in 1995, the government of the day, with the support of industry organizations, enacted a new market-oriented code in the form of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 . The protection of the 1986 Act remains in respect of tenancies created prior to

2250-871: Was abolished in 1918 (Finland) and 1945 (Sweden), the Torpare system more gradually. Scotland has its own independent legal system and the legislation there differs from that of England and Wales. Neither the AHA 1986 nor the ATA 1995 applies in Scotland. The relevant legislation for Scotland is rather the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 with the following amendments in The Public Services Reform (Agricultural Holdings) (Scotland) Order 2011, The Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2012 and The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) 2003 Remedial Order 2014. These supersede

2300-660: Was dissatisfaction from industry groups with this approach, and the detailed proposals published in September 1992 watered down the initial consultation document quite considerably. In December 1993, the National Farmers Union , the Country Landowners Association , the Tenant Farmers Association and others issued their Joint Industry Statement setting out the consensus proposals for reform. It

2350-431: Was known as a husmann (plural: husmenn ) and were most common in the mid-19th century when they constituted around one-quarter of the country's population. Heavy demands were placed on these tenants by their landlords, the bønder or land-owning farmers. The majority of the husmann's working hours were usually taken up by work for the landlord, leaving him little time to work on his own land or better his own situation. As

2400-527: Was not working. The 1986 Act had given security to agricultural tenants and held down rents, and the effect on landlords was so onerous that the amount of farmland available to let in the UK was declining by more than 50,000 acres a year. A loophole in the law was found that enabled landlords to avoid the security of tenure conferred by the 1986 Act ( Gladstone v Bower agreements), and by 1994 more than 70% of new agricultural tenancies used this loophole. This held down

2450-412: Was scarce and had to be hoarded for taxes. Landowners needed a great deal of labor at harvest time to pick the cash crop, cotton. The typical plan was to divide old plantations into small farms that were assigned to the tenants. Throughout the year the tenants lived rent-free. They tended their own gardens. Every week, they bought food and supplies on credit through the local country store. At harvest time,

2500-456: Was this statement that formed the basis of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, which received royal assent on 9 May 1995. The RICS predicted that it would lead to 1 million extra acres becoming available for letting. Market garden land tenanted under the so-called Evesham Custom was given a specific exemption, as otherwise an outgoing tenant would not be able to offer a tenancy to an incomer on equivalent terms and security, this being one of

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