A NEW REPORT has revealed that farmland prices are at their highest level since the Celtic Tiger.

There’s also been a huge increase in the amount of farmland bought by business buyers, at over 43% last year compared to a figure of 18% in 2018.

That’s according to the Irish Farmer Journal’s annual Agricultural Land Price Report for 2022.

The Irish Farmer’s Journal report notes that the farmland market had a “buoyant 2022”, with both supply and prices up.

The average price increased last year by almost 3% – to €12,288 per acre, the first time the national average has broken €12,000 since the Celtic Tiger

Business buyers, a category that includes business owners, investors and farmers with substantial off-farm income, were the biggest purchasers of farmland last year.

The size of farms being acquired by these business buyers was also larger than most other enterprises, at 54 acres for tillage farm purchases.

Dairy farmers acquired 26% of farms and holdings that sold, while there’s a continued decrease in the percentage of farmland being acquired by full-time beef farmers, falling from 35% in 2018 to just 15% last year.

Price breakdown

The province with the most expensive land last year was Leinster, where the average is €13,776 per acres.

Next comes Munster, with an price per acres of €12,860.

Ulster, excluding Northern Ireland, had an average of €10,519, while Connacht has an average of €8,170 per acre.

The prices in Northern Ireland are higher and hitting record highs in each of the six counties, with Armagh and Down having the highest average price per acre on the island, more expensive than Dublin.

The gap between average prices paid for farmland in Northern Ireland compared with the Republic of Ireland has also widened.

The average price paid for land in Northern Ireland during 2022 stood at £13,958 per acre (€16,421), an increase of 22%, when compared to 2021. 

At a county level in the Republic of Ireland, the most expensive farmland is in Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Wicklow and Kilkenny.

The least expensive land in is counties Leitrim, Cavan, Sligo, Longford and Mayo.

But while farmland prices were up a huge 78% in Mayo last year, prices decreased by 11% in Sligo.

‘Concerns’

The Irish Farmer’s Journal said there were “valid concerns at the start of the year” around the ability to sell farmland given the ongoing was in Ukraine and rising interest rates.

However, it notes that “the year got off to a promising start with a number of good farm auctions” and that it “became clear that demand was strong and there were multiple customers for many farms”.

The report also recognised the activity of non-farmer buyers last year.

The Irish Farmer’s Journal report claims: “Rising inflation pushed more investors to look at putting their cash into land, rather than leaving it sitting in the bank.

“The buoyant market was confirmed by the sale of a number of high-value stud farms and country estates.

“Some of the best farms were bought by farmers who sold land on the edge of expanding towns, who now have financial firepower and who want to reinvest in farmland.”

77% of the farmland offered for sale in last year was sold, with the total value of land transactions in the Republic of Ireland hitting €524 million, up 5% from €511 million in 2021.

A total of 42,645 acres were brought to the market in 2022, also up 5% on 2021.

Some of the top lots sold last year included a €44,000 per acre sale for a 58 acres site at Ballineen in Co Cork, €1.15m, or €41,712 per acre for land with an extensive yard near Leighlinbridge in Co Carlow, and €2.1m, or €39,623 per acre, for Windgates in Co Kildare, located near Celbridge.