Agricultural Land UK

Agricultural Land UK The majority of 'useable' land in the UK is agricultural land as it covers the widest area. This includes all the uplands and lowlands in Wales and northern parts of England, such as the Pennies and Lake District, plus the lowland and highlands areas of Scotland. For though some of these areas may only be suitable for sheep, and walking, they are still termed agricultural land.

There are essentially two types of agricultural land - arable and pasture or grazing land.

Arable land usually carries a higher price than pastureland because its supply is more limited. High yielding arable land requires certain soil types, it cannot be on a floodplain nor on the side of a steep hill as you literally would be unable to harvest it. The price of arable varies around the country from a minimum of £1500 per acre in Scotland to a maximum of £5600 in the Northwest of England.

Even within a regional of the UK, prices can vary tremendously depending on the location and quality of arable agricultural land. In autumn 2004, the greatest difference in price is the North west of England where the minimum price was as low as £2500 per acre and the premium arable land was selling for over double the price.

There is a wider supply of agricultural pasture or grazing land. For example, you can graze sheep on a welsh mountainside and dairy cattle really prosper well on summer pastureland that is prone to flooding in the winter. Again, there is a huge discrepancy on the price per acre around the country or with a certain region; with a minimum price of £1500 in eastern or north eastern England and a highest of £5750 in eastern England. (Prices taken from RICS farmland market survey third quarter 2004).

Some agricultural land can command far higher prices. A smaller acreage of good pastureland, say under 10 acres, can achieve prices of £30,000 plus per acre if it is well-located in a very popular equestrian area, where supply is restricted.

Strategically located agricultural land is also now the target for private investors, who see it as an option to stocks and shares. The RICS rural land market survey in November 2004 concluded 'Individual non-farmer buyers thought remain eager to enter the market, with agricultural land partly viewed as an alternative investment to the stockmarket.' At least agricultural land is a tangible asset and will always have an intrinsic value. Since the 1990's, overall, agricultural land prices have risen over 130%. For more information, please see farmland.

- James M

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