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Horticulture
As consumers become more and more aware of the contamination of the food
supply, it is critical for purchasers of bare land that they consider
obtaining a soil test for contamination before they buy. This is
especially so if the purchaser intends to use the property for organic
horticulture. Testing for residues is relatively inexpensive.
Where the property is an existing orchard, it is normal to ensure that
all orchard practices are carried out prior to the settlement, including
pruning, mowing, fertilising and spray programmes.
It is not usual for the price to be broken down into compartments for
the vines, trees, bushes or other orchard plants or for a value to be
put on the crop that is currently growing. If a value is put on the crop
that hasn’t yet been harvested, it is taxable in the hands of the
vendor.
Most horticultural properties are sold as going concerns and in a number
of instances, plant and machinery is sold with the business. It is
important to ascertain that all plant and machinery sold with the
horticultural business is operating at the time the agreement was
entered into. The standard warranties in the agreement only relate to
the condition of the equipment at the time the agreement was signed.
In the kiwifruit industry it is important to ensure that all shares
attached to the business whether they be in a pack house, marketing
company or Zespri, are transferred to the purchaser on settlement. It is
likely that in the future, certification trade marks will become more
common where industries wish to control the quality of the product
produced by members of a particular industry. A certification trade mark
is used by Bio-gro and certain certification trade marks are used for
food safety and quality assurance.
As water is an essential ingredient for any horticultural business, it
is very important that the water source used by the business is able to
be used continuously in the future.
Please refer to our
disclaimer.
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